Career
Mattocks commenced practice in Danville; moved to Peacham, Caledonia County, Vermont. He was a member of the Vermont State house of representatives in 1807, 1815, 1816, 1823, and 1824. During the War of 1812, he served as a brigadier general of militia.
Mattocks was elected to the Seventeenth Congress (March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1823); elected to the Nineteenth Congress (March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1827); and served as chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War (Nineteenth Congress). He was a judge of the State supreme court in 1833 and 1834; declined to be a candidate for renomination; and became a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1836. He was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843).
Neither Mattocks nor his Democratic opponent was elected by a majority of the popular vote, therefore, the state legislature selected Mattocks as the 16th Governor of Vermont in 1843. During his tenure, he took a strong stand against slavery. During his term, his son, George, committed suicide and, grief-stricken, Mattocks declined to run for another term. He became active in his local Congregational Church.
Read more about this topic: John Mattocks
Famous quotes containing the word career:
““Never hug and kiss your children! Mother love may make your children’s infancy unhappy and prevent them from pursuing a career or getting married!” That’s total hogwash, of course. But it shows on extreme example of what state-of-the-art “scientific” parenting was supposed to be in early twentieth-century America. After all, that was the heyday of efficiency experts, time-and-motion studies, and the like.”
—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)
“From a hasty glance through the various tests I figure it out that I would be classified in Group B, indicating “Low Average Ability,” reserved usually for those just learning to speak the English Language and preparing for a career of holding a spike while another man hits it.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)
“Like the old soldier of the ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Goodbye.”
—Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964)