Daniel W. Voorhees was born on September 26, 1827 Butler County, Ohio. When he was young, his family moved to Fountain County, Indiana. Voorhees graduated from Indiana Asbury University (now DePauw University) in 1849.
In 1857 Voorhees moved to Terre Haute. In 1858 he was elected US. district-attorney for the state of Indiana. In 1861 he was a Democratic Representative in Congress, and in 1877 he was an active member of the US. Senate. Voorhees used his influences to establish the library of the Congress.
Kenneth M. Stampp, an outstanding proffesor and lecturer that received the American Historical Association Award for Scholarly Distinction in 1989, described the unique spirit of Voorhees: "There was an earthy quality in Voorhees, "the tall sycamore of the Wabash." On the stump his hot temper, passionate partisanship, and stirring eloquence made an irresistible appeal to the western Democracy. His bitter cries against protective tariffs and national banks, his intense race prejudice, his suspicion of the eastern Yankee, his devotion to personal liberty, his defense of the Constitution and state rights faithfully reflected the views of his constituents. Like other Jacksonian agrarians he resented the political and economic revolution then in progress. Voorhees idealized a way of life which he thought was being destroyed by the current rulers of his country. His bold protests against these dangerous trends made him the idol of the Democracy of the Wabash Valley". [Stampp, p. 211]
Voorhees had a successful career, and his accomplishments will always be part of Terre Haute's history.
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