Hannibal Hamlin: The Least Popular Vice President

The official vice presidential photograph of Hannibal Hamlin, the 15th Vice President of the United States under Abraham Lincoln

The first Vice-President under Abraham Lincoln, Hannibal Hamlin only narrowly missed out on being President, having been replaced as Vice President by Andrew Johnson only a month prior to Lincoln’s assassination.

A Republican like Lincoln unlike Johnson, Hannibal Hamlin was relatively unpopular with both the people and Lincoln, the latter of whom dropped him from his 1860 re-election ticket in favor of the Southerner Johnson.

Yet even after he finished his term as VP, Hannibal Hamlin went on to have a rather interesting career as a senator, Collector of the Port of Boston and foreign ambassador before retiring.

Early Life

A Start in Politics

Vice President

Post-VP Politics

Later Life & Death

Legacy