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NATHAN CLIFFORD
was born on August 18, 1803, in Rumney, New Hampshire.
After reading law in the office of a local attorney, he
was admitted to the bar in 1827 and moved to Newfield,
Maine, to establish a law practice. Clifford was elected
to the lower house of the Maine legislature in 1830 for
a one-year term and was re-elected three times, serving
as its Speaker during the last two terms. He was then
elected Attorney General of Maine by the State Legislature
and served in that position from 1834 to 1838. In 1838,
Clifford was elected to the United States House of Representatives,
where he served two terms. Defeated in a bid for a third
term, he returned to his law practice in 1843. President
James K. Polk appointed Clifford Attorney General of the
United States in 1846. Two years later, President Polk
appointed Clifford United States Minister to Mexico. Clifford
returned to Maine in 1849 and resumed his law practice
in the City of Portland, Six years later, on December
9, 1857, President James Buchanan nominated Clifford to
the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed
the appointment on January 12, 1858. Clifford served on
the Supreme Court for twenty-three years. He died on July
25, 1881, at the age of seventy-seven. |
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