Background
Thomas B. Florence was born on January 26, 1812, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of David Florence, a boat-builder.
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(Excerpt from The Principles of Democracy: Speech of the H...)
Excerpt from The Principles of Democracy: Speech of the Hon. Thomas B. Florence, of Penn., Delivered in the House of Representatives of the United States, Wednesday, April 12, 1860 Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That all goods, wares, and mer_ phandise imported after the passage of this act, and which may be ln the public stores on the thirtieth day of June next, shall be subject, when afterwards entered for consumption, to no other rate of duty than if the same had been respectively imported at the date of entry. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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Thomas B. Florence was born on January 26, 1812, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of David Florence, a boat-builder.
Florence was placed in public school, when six years old but upon the death of his father was apprenticed to a carpenter and later to a hatter.
In 1833 Florence went into the hat business for himself but failed in 1841. Early in life he became interested in politics, and as he was a fluent speaker and writer took an active part in the affairs of the Democratic party. When his business failed he was elected secretary of the board of controllers of the public schools for the City and County of Philadelphia, which position he ably filled until 1849.
In 1850 Florence was appointed one of the board of mercantile appraisers for the City and County of Philadelphia.
Before the war with Mexico he was elected colonel of the 5th Regiment of the state militia. Thus, being connected with military affairs, on the opening of the war he requested that a volunteer company, of which he was captain, be accepted for service in Mexico, but the company was not used.
After two unsuccessful attempts Florence was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-second and to the four succeeding congresses (March 4, 1851 - March 3, 1861), where he served as a member of the committee on naval affairs and invalid pensions and during which time he became very popular with his constituents because of his ability to obtain contracts for the Philadelphia Navy Yard, tie served as a delegate to the Philadelphia "National Union Convention" of 1866.
In 1868 and 1874 Florence tried for reelection but was unsuccessful. He owed much of his political popularity to his championship of the temperance cause and to his activities in connection with Philadelphia volunteer fire companies, as well as to his fraternal affiliations.
Throughout his life Florence had a liking for journalism and was connected in one way or another with quite a number of newspapers in Philadelphia; among these were the Daily Keystone and People’s Journal, which was established in 1844 and lasted three years, and the National Argus (Democratic), published from 1853 to 1861.
After leaving Congress he resided in Washington, District of Columbia, where he edited and published a Democratic afternoon daily, the Constitutional Union (1863 - 1868), and subsequently became the proprietor of the Sunday Gazette. He died on July 3, 1875, in Washington, District of Columbia, of gangrene resulting from an accident that occurred during the campaign for reelection to Congress in the previous year.
(This reproduction was printed from a digital file created...)
(Excerpt from The Principles of Democracy: Speech of the H...)
Thomas B. Florence was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for election in 1846 and 1848.
Florence was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-second and to the four succeeding Congresses. After leaving Congress edited and published the Constitutional Union in Washington, District of Columbia, and subsequently became the proprietor of the Sunday Gazette.
He was an unsuccessful candidate in his old district for election in 1868 and in 1874.
Thomas B. Florence was one of the founders of a secret organization called "The Brotherhood of the Union. "
Thomas B. Florence professed the warmest interest in the poor and laboring classes and was widely known under the cognomen of "the widow’s friend. "