Solomon Foot

Solomon Foot
Brady-Handy Photograph Collection, Library of Congress, circa 1860
United States Senator
from Vermont
In office
March 4, 1851 – March 28, 1866
Preceded bySamuel S. Phelps
Succeeded byGeorge F. Edmunds
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office
February 16, 1861 – April 13, 1864
Preceded byBenjamin Fitzpatrick
Succeeded byDaniel Clark
Chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds
In office
1861–1866
Preceded byJesse D. Bright
Succeeded byB. Gratz Brown
Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives
In office
1847–1848
Preceded byEbenezer N. Briggs
Succeeded byWilliam C. Kittredge
Member of the
United States House of Representatives
from Vermont's 1st district
In office
March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1847
Preceded byHiland Hall
Succeeded byWilliam Henry
Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives
In office
1837–1839
Preceded byCarlos Coolidge
Succeeded byCarlos Coolidge
State's Attorney of Rutland County, Vermont
In office
1836–1842
Preceded byReuben R. Thrall
Succeeded byWilliam C. Kittredge
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Rutland
In office
1847–1849
Preceded byJoel M. Mead
Succeeded byEdwin L. Griswold
In office
1836–1839
Preceded byAmbrose L. Brown
Succeeded byGeorge Tisdale Hodges
In office
1833–1834
Preceded byRodncy C. Royce
Succeeded byAmbrose L. Brown
Personal details
Born(1802-11-19)November 19, 1802
Cornwall, Vermont, US
DiedMarch 28, 1866(1866-03-28) (aged 63)
Washington, D.C., US
Resting placeEvergreen Cemetery, Rutland, Vermont
Political partyWhig (before 1854)
Republican (from 1854)
Spouse(s)Emily Fay Foot
Anna Dora Hodges Foot
ChildrenHelen Eliza Foot
Alma materMiddlebury College
ProfessionTeacher
Lawyer
Signature

Solomon Foot (November 19, 1802 – March 28, 1866) was an American politician and attorney. He held numerous offices during his career, including Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives, State's Attorney for Rutland County, member of the United States House of Representatives, and United States Senator.

A native of Cornwall, Vermont, Foot began working on local farms at age nine, helping support his family after the death of his father. After graduating from Middlebury College, Foot worked as a teacher, school principal, and college professor while studying law. After attaining admission to the bar in 1831, he opened a practice in Rutland.

Entering politics as a Whig, Foot served in several offices, including member of the Vermont House of Representatives, delegate to the state constitutional conventions of 1833 and 1836, and Rutland County State's Attorney. He was Vermont's Speaker of the House from 1837 to 1839. Foot served in the United States House of Representatives from 1843 to 1847 and was noted for his opposition to the Mexican–American War and the extension of slavery. He did not run for reelection in 1846; returned to the Vermont House, he served as Speaker from 1847 to 1848.

In 1850 Foot was elected to the United States Senate; he became a Republican when the party was founded, and won reelection in 1856 and 1862. Foot served as President pro tempore of the United States Senate during the American Civil War, and was a strong advocate for the Union. He headed the Joint Congressional Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds beginning in 1861, and which included supervising completion of the United States Capitol's construction.

Foot died in Washington, D.C., in 1866; he was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Rutland.