Henry Smith Lane (February 24, 1811 – June 19, 1881) was a United States Representative, Senator, and Governor of Indiana; he was by design the shortest-serving Governor of Indiana, having made plans to resign the office should his party take control of the Indiana General Assembly and elect him to the United States Senate. He held that office for only two days, and was known for his opposition to slavery. A Whig until the party collapsed, he sup...
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Henry Smith Lane (February 24, 1811 – June 19, 1881) was a United States Representative, Senator, and Governor of Indiana; he was by design the shortest-serving Governor of Indiana, having made plans to resign the office should his party take control of the Indiana General Assembly and elect him to the United States Senate. He held that office for only two days, and was known for his opposition to slavery. A Whig until the party collapsed, he supported compromise with the south. He became an early leader in the Republican Party starting in 1856 serving as the president of the first party convention, delivering its key-note address, and was influential in the nomination of Abraham Lincoln. With the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, he became a full-fledged abolitionist, and in the Senate he was a pro-Union advocate and a strong supporter of the war effort to end the rebellion.
Henry Smith Lane was born near Sharpsburg, Kentucky on February 24, 1811 the son of James H. and Mary Higgins...
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