Hahn, Michael, 1830-1886

<p>George Michael Decker Hahn (November 24, 1830 – March 15, 1886), was an attorney, politician, publisher and planter in New Orleans, Louisiana. He served twice in Congress during two widely separated periods, elected first as a Unionist Democratic Congressman in 1862, as a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 1865, and later as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1884. He was elected as the 19th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1864 to 1865 during the American Civil War, when the state was occupied by Union troops. He was the first German-born governor in the United States, and is also claimed as the first ethnic Jewish governor. By that time he was a practicing Episcopalian.</p>

<p>In 1865 Hahn was elected to the U.S. Senate, but Radical Republicans refused to allow him and other Southerners to be seated. Later he was elected for several terms as a Republican to the state House during the Reconstruction era, where he was also elected as Speaker. Hahn was active as a publisher and editor, owning and operating three newspapers in succession that supported the Republican Party, its program, and its candidates in the state. He spent much of his wealth in supporting these papers. Hahn continued to be politically active, being elected to Congress from Louisiana's 2nd congressional district in 1884 with a strong majority. He served about a year before his death in office.</p>

<p>Hahn was born in 1830 as the last child in his family, in Klingenmünster, Palatinate, then part of the Kingdom of Bavaria, now of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. His father died before he was born. Some sources indicate that Hahn's parents were Jewish.</p>

<p>Bavarian immigrant and Unionist Michael Hahn served as the first Union governor of Louisiana for one year during the Civil War. He was elected in a special gubernatorial election held in Union-occupied Louisiana in 1864. Hahn resigned a year later, however, when Stephen A. Hurlbut, the military commander of the Department of the Gulf, refused to recognize his authority. Although criticized for strong Unionist sympathies expressed before, during, and after the Civil War, many of Hahn’s opponents still respected his personal courage, honesty, and civic mindedness.</p>

<p>Georg Michael Decker Hahn, known as Michael for most of his life, was born November 24, 1830, in Klingenmunster in the German Palatinate. As a small child, he accompanied his widowed mother, Magaretha Decker Hahn, and four siblings to New York. About a decade later, the family moved to New Orleans, where his mother died of yellow fever the year after their arrival. Hahn attended local schools and studied law at the University of Louisiana (now Tulane University). In 1851 he worked in the law office of Christian Roselius, future attorney general of Louisiana, and also as a real estate agent and newspaper writer. After graduation, Hahn practiced law and served as a notary public.</p>

<p>A pre-war Democrat, Hahn became a Republican in 1862 when Union military forces occupied New Orleans. That year he also became the US Representative from Louisiana’s second congressional district. During his short stay in Washington, Hahn became friends with Abraham Lincoln. On his return to New Orleans, Hahn bought and edited the New Orleans True Delta, where he promoted the emancipation of enslaved people and various pro-Union policies.</p>

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HAHN, Michael, a Representative from Louisiana; born in Bavaria, Germany, November 24, 1830; immigrated to the United States with his parents, who settled in New York City; moved to New Orleans, La., about 1840; attended the graded and high schools, and was graduated from the law department of the University of Louisiana in 1850; was admitted to the bar in 1851 and commenced practice in New Orleans, La.; elected as a Unionist to the Thirty-seventh Congress and served from December 3, 1862, to March 3, 1863; returned to New Orleans and engaged in newspaper work; appointed prize commissioner of New Orleans; elected Governor of Louisiana on February 22, 1864, and served until March 4, 1865, when he resigned; manager and editor of the New Orleans Daily Republican 1867-1871; founded the village of Hahnville; member of the State house of representatives 1872-1876 and served as speaker in 1875; appointed State register of voters on August 15, 1876; superintendent of the United States Mint at New Orleans in 1878; district judge of the twenty-sixth district from 1879 until March 3, 1885, when he resigned; elected as a Republican to the Forty-ninth Congress and served from March 4, 1885, until his death in Washington, D.C., March 15, 1886; interment in Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans, La.

MICHAEL HAHN was born in Klingenmunster, Bavaria, Germany on November 24, 1830. Around 1840, his family immigrated to America, settling first in New York, and finally settling in Louisiana, where Hahn attended the New Orleans public schools. In 1850, he graduated from the University of Louisiana, earning a law degree. Hahn entered politics in 1862, serving as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, an office he held until March 3, 1863. He also served as the New Orleans prize commissioner, and was publisher of the New Orleans True Delta, a pro slavery newspaper. On February 22, 1864, Hahn was elected governor of Louisiana parishes that were controlled by the Union Army and was sworn into office on March 4, 1864. He advocated for blacks suffrage, and state constitutional amendments were approved that eliminated slavery and improved the educational system. After being elected to the U.S. Senate, Hahn resigned from the governor’s office on March 3, 1865. However, he was denied his senatorial seat, as were all Southern representatives at the time. From 1867 to 1871, he edited the New Orleans Republican, and from 1872 to 1876, he served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. He served as speaker of the house in 1875, was named the state registrar of voters in 1876, and served as the superintendent of the U.S. Mint from 1878 to 1879. He also served on the bench of the Twenty-Sixth Judicial District from 1879 to 1885, and served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1885 until his death on March 15, 1886. Governor Michael Hahn, who founded the village of Hahnville, was buried at the Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans.