Matthew H. Carpenter  Matthew Hale Carpenter (born Decatur Merritt Hammond Carpenter; December 22, 1824 – February 24, 1881) was an American attorney and U.S. Senator representing the state of Wisconsin. He served in the Senate from 1869 to 1875 and again from 1879 to 1881. Recognized as an authority on constitutional law, he made some of the most important legal arguments of 19th-century America. Carpenter presented cases before the U. S. Supreme Court involving such matters as states' rights and regulation of corporations. Originally a Democrat, he evolved into a Republican during the Civil War, and helped perpetuate the party's political machinery in Wisconsin. His sustained support for President Ulysses S. Grant's administration despite allegations of corruption lost him the backing of reformers, and his legal arguments in favor of Democratic candidate Samuel J. Tilden in the disputed presidential election of 1876 outraged many Republicans. A gifted orator, he was dubbed "the Webster of the West." Carpenter was born in Moretown, Vermont in the Mad River Valley of the Green Mountain range. His pioneering forebears were English, and came to America soon after the Pilgrims. His grandfather Cephas Carpenter (1770–1860) helped establish Moretown, owned a store, served as a colonel in the militia and took part in the War of 1812. Cephas Carpenter served in local office including justice of the peace, and though not a member of the bar, possessed wisdom and eloquence that led to a career as an advocate in the local courts. His son Ira Carpenter (1798–1862) was chiefly a farmer, but he also gained prominence through positions such as justice of the peace, postmaster and state legislator. Grandson Merritt displayed intelligence and oratorical talents at an early age, impressing people with his abilities to recite Cicero and "exhort" at religious revivals. He also displayed an aversion to physical work. After an explosive argument with a schoolmaster, the 13-year-old Carpenter was expelled from school. He was dissatisfied with the limits of Moretown, and left home to live and study law under the tutelage of family friend (and future Vermont governor) Paul Dillingham in nearby Waterbury. For four years Carpenter attended the local grade school while absorbing Dillingham's law library. Having received an appointment to the United States Military Academy through Vermont Congressman John Mattocks, Carpenter continued his studies, but he disliked military life and resigned in August 1845, citing poor health.