Alexander Hamilton Stephens (1812-1883) was a U.S. congressman, vice president of the Confederacy, and briefly governor of Georgia.

Alexander H. Stephens was born on Feb. 11, 1812, in Wilkes County, Ga. Sickly almost from infancy and orphaned at the age of 14, Stephens received little education until he went to a small academy in Washington, Ga. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1832 at the head of his class. Two years later he was admitted to the Georgia bar.

Acutely aware of his era's political issues, Stephens criticized the idea of nullification but upheld the right of a state to secede from the Union. In 1836 Stephens was elected to the state legislature. In 1843, elected to the U.S. Congress, Stephens consistently, but moderately, championed Southern interests. He endorsed the Compromise of 1850 but warned the North that any conciliation must be reasonable toward the South. He collaborated in forming Georgia's...