Thomas Bartlett Jr. (June 18, 1808 – September 12, 1876) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

Biography

Bartlett was born in

Sutton, Vermont Sutton is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 913 at the 2020 census. History Sutton was chartered on February 26, 1782, by the Vermont Legislature. Chartered as Billymead to Dr. Jonathan Arnold of Rhode Isl ...

, and attended the

common school A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretar ...

s. He studied law under Isaac Fletcher at the same time as Thomas J. D. Fuller, and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1833. He began the practice of law in

Groton, Vermont Groton is a New England town, town in Caledonia County, Vermont, Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 984 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It contains the places Groton Pond, Rickers Mills, Rickers and West Gr ...

. In 1836 he moved to

Lyndon, Vermont Lyndon is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,491. Lyndon is the home of Lyndon State College. The town contains five unincorporated villages, Lyndonville just east of the geographic ...

, where he continued to practice law. From 1839 until 1842, Bartlett served as the

State's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

for Caledonia County. He was a member of the Vermont State Senate in 1841 and 1842, and served in the Vermont House of Representatives in 1849, 1850, 1854 and 1855. Bartlett was a delegate to the State constitutional conventions in 1850 and 1857, and was President of the Vermont Constitutional Convention in 1850. Bartlett was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Thirty-second Congress, serving from March 4, 1851, until March 3, 1853. In Congress, he served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1852. After leaving Congress, Bartlett resumed the practice of law. In 1851, Bartlett aired his dismay for the current behavior of college students in a letter that appeared in the July 19, 1851, edition of the Caledonian, a newspaper printed at St. Johnsbury, VT. The letter then became a pamphlet entitled "An Epistolary Disquisition on College Morality." His main complaint was what he felt was the loose language of college students. He had sent the letter to the editor outlining his complaints and the pamphlet, written just before his induction to the 32nd Congress, was written to justify his earlier criticisms. A pamphlet mocking Bartlett for his criticisms of "the shockingly profane and obscene" language he complains of was circulated in late 1851 with Barlett's letter printed intact and a mocking rebuke of the letter and its author following.

Death

Bartlett died on September 12, 1876, in Lyndon, Vermont. He is interred in Lyndon Town Cemetery in Lyndon.United States House of Representatives
/ref>

References

External links

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: Bartlett, Thomas, Jr., (1808 - 1876)

Govtrack.us: Lucius Benedict Peck

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartlett, Thomas Jr. 1808 births 1876 deaths People from Caledonia County, Vermont Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont Democratic Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives Democratic Party Vermont state senators State's attorneys in Vermont Vermont lawyers American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly