Alexander Hardy
Alexander Merrill Hardy was a Canadian-born American politician and lawyer, born on December 16, 1847, in Simcoe, Ontario. He initially studied law in Canada before moving to the United States in 1864, where he took a commercial course at Eastman Business College in New York. Hardy's career began in journalism when he wrote for a newspaper in New Orleans, Louisiana, before running a Republican-leaning newspaper in Natchez, Mississippi. In 1877, he was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant as a collector of trade at the Port of Natchez, a position he held for seven years.
Hardy transitioned into politics and was elected as a Republican representative for Indiana in the Fifty-Fourth Congress, serving from 1895 to 1897. During his term, he witnessed significant legislative actions, including the declaration of the income tax as unconstitutional and Utah's admission as a state. After losing his reelection bid, he resumed his law practice in Indiana and later moved to various locations, including Los Angeles and Tonopah, Nevada, where he invested in mining. Hardy continued his legal career until his passing on August 31, 1927, at the age of seventy-nine.
Subject Terms
Alexander Hardy
Politician
- Born: December 16, 1847
- Birthplace: Simcoe, Province of Canada (now Ontario)
- Died: August 31, 1927
- Place of death: Tonopah, Nevada
Contribution: Alexander Hardy was a Canadian-born politician, newspaperman, and attorney who served as a US representative for the state of Indiana from 1895 to 1897. After losing his reelection bid, Hardy returned to his career as an attorney, which continued until his death in 1927.
Early Life and Education
Alexander Merrill Hardy was born on December 16, 1847, in Simcoe, an unincorporated community in Norfolk County, in present-day Ontario, Canada. Hardy began his college coursework in Canada, where he first began studying law. He arrived in the United States in 1864 and enrolled in a commercial course at Eastman Business College, a business school that operated in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Hardy left Poughkeepsie in 1869 and went to New Orleans, Louisiana, where he began writing for a newspaper. He left New Orleans in 1873 for Natchez, Mississippi, a community along the Mississippi River. While in Natchez, Hardy ran a newspaper with a Republican political bias until 1877, when he was selected by US president Ulysses S. Grant to act as a collector of trade at the Port of Natchez. Hardy held this appointment for seven years. In 1884, he traveled to Washington, Indiana, where he was admitted to the Indiana state bar. During the same year, Hardy resumed practicing law in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Political Career
After nearly ten years as a practicing attorney in Indiana, Hardy decided to run for Congress. He ran a successful campaign and was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-Fourth Congress, which met under the leadership of speaker of the house Thomas B. Reed, a Republican from Maine, and president Grover Cleveland. On March 4, 1895, Hardy began his term as a US representative for the state of Indiana.
During Hardy’s time in Congress, two notable federal legislative efforts were enacted. On May 20, 1895, Congress declared US income tax collected during the previous year unconstitutional. Also during Hardy’s term, Utah was admitted to the Union as the forty-fifth state. Hardy served a congressional term of two years. In 1896 he lost his bid for reelection to Democrat Robert W. Miers, and his congressional career ended on March 3, 1897.
Law Career
After losing his reelection campaign, Hardy returned to Washington, Indiana, where he recommenced his law practice. At the age of fifty-seven, he moved to Los Angeles to continue practicing law. He later moved to Searchlight, Nevada, and Salt Lake City, Utah, where he invested in the mining industry. Hardy finally settled in Tonopah, a mining town located in central Nevada, in 1914. He continued practicing law in Tonopah until his death on August 31, 1927, at the age of seventy-nine.
Bibliography
Conrad, Margaret. A Concise History of Canada. New York: Cambridge UP, 2012. Print.
Graff, Henry. Grover Cleveland. New York: Macmillan, 2002. Print.
Grant, James. Mr. Speaker!: The Life and Times of Thomas B. Reed. New York: Simon, 2011. Print.
“Hardy, Alexander Merrill (1847–1927).” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. United States Congress, n.d. Web. 28 July 2013.
McCracken, Robert D. A History of Tonopah, Nevada. Tonopah: Nye County, 1990. Print.