Sixth plate daguerreotype portrait of Thomas Pratt (1804-1869). Full leatherettecase. 

A compelling portrait of Maryland Senator Thomas Pratt (1804-1869), who exemplifies the complicated relationship that Maryland had with slavery before and during the Civil War. 

Pratt, a Maryland lawyer, was well connected to powerful Maryland figures, marrying the Governor of Maryland's daughter, Adeline MacKubin Kent, in 1835. As a Whig, he served as a presidential elector for William Henry Harrison in the 1836 presidential election. The next year he was elected as a state senator representing Prince George's County. 

In 1844, he was narrowly elected Governor of Maryland as a Whig, winning by a margin of only 548 votes. Pratt staunchly enforced compliance with the Fugitive Slave Act and clashed with Pennsylvania Governor William F. Johnston (1808-1872), who refused to comply. There were several flashpoints, including an incident of a Maryland slaver entering Pennsylvania to recapture an escaped slave only to be ambushed by abolitionists when attempting to return to Maryland. 

During his tenure, he became more aligned with the Democratic party. After his term expired, he returned to practicing law in Annapolis before returning to politics in 1850 when he assumed the U.S. Senate seat of Reverdy Johnson. Winning re-election, he served until 1857. After the dissolution of the Whigs, he fully supported the Democrats, endorsing James Buchanan in the 1856 presidential election. 

At the outbreak of the war, his pro-slavery and pro-Southern sentiments were well-known. One of his sons even enlisted with a Confederate regiment. When he attempted to vote in the November 1863 election, he was barred and arrested because he refused to take a loyalty oath. He was imprisoned briefly at Fort Monroe. After he was released, he moved to Baltimore in 1864 and once again resumed his legal practice. He continued to be involved in Democratic politics and served as one of Jefferson Davis's attorneys in his trial at Fortress Monroe.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Slavery, Enslavement, Abolition, Emancipation, Black History, African American History, Frederick Douglass, Fugitive Slave Act, Bleeding Kansas] [Early Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Cased Images, Union Cases]