Wilmot, David (1814–1868)

US politician. He drew up an amendment that would prohibit slavery in any territory acquired by federal funds, known as the Wilmot Proviso. Born in Bethany, Pennsylvania, the son of a prosperous merchant, he was a lawyer and became a Democrat congressman for Pennsylvania (1845–51). His anti-slavery amendment was made to an 1846 bill to appropriate money for settling the war with Mexico. This amendment was continually defeated over the years and led to his losing the 1850 election. He served as a judge (1851–61) and helped to found the Republican Party in 1854. Appointed a senator (1861–63), he lost in the 1862 election – although that was the year the Wilmot Proviso was finally passed – and President Abraham Lincoln appointed him to the court of claims.