Paris C. Dunning

Who was Paris C. Dunning?

Paris Chipman Dunning was a Democratic state representative, state senator, senate president pro tempore, the tenth Lieutenant Governor, and the ninth Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from December 26, 1848 to December 5, 1849. He is the only person to hold to every elected seat in the state government under the 1816 constitution. His brief term as governor was marked by the calling of a state constitutional convention and overshadowed by the national anti-slavery debate, where Dunning urged state leaders to issue and forward resolutions to Congress expressing opposition to the expansion of slavery. As a delegate to the subsequent convention, he successfully advocated legislative and educational reform. As the American Civil War broke out, he left the Democratic party and declared for the Union, personally raising many companies of soldiers for the war effort. He returned to the state senate during the war, and then resumed his law practice after his term ended. He remained popular in the state, and declined several nominations to run for office after retiring from politics.