Thomas Wilson Dorr (November 5, 1805 – December 27, 1854), American politician and reformer, known for leading the Dorr Rebellion, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, the son of Sullivan and Lydia (Allen) Dorr. His father was a prosperous manufacturer and co-owner of Bernon Mill Village. Dorr's family occupied a good social position. Thomas never married, but two of his sisters married prominent men and the son of one of them married the daught...
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Thomas Wilson Dorr (November 5, 1805 – December 27, 1854), American politician and reformer, known for leading the Dorr Rebellion, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, the son of Sullivan and Lydia (Allen) Dorr. His father was a prosperous manufacturer and co-owner of Bernon Mill Village. Dorr's family occupied a good social position. Thomas never married, but two of his sisters married prominent men and the son of one of them married the daughter of John Lothrop Motley. Dorr was therefore no plebeian when he led the cause of the unenfranchised classes. As a boy, he attended Phillips Exeter Academy. He graduated from Harvard College in 1823, and then went to New York City, where he studied law under Chancellor James Kent and Vice-Chancellor William McCoun. He was admitted to the bar in 1827 and returned to Providence to practice. He began his political career as a representative in the Rhode Island General Assembly in 1834.
In the half-century following the American Revolution...
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