Biography

David Wilmot was a congressman and judge from Pennsylvania. He served as a Democrat in the House of Representatives from 1845-1851. In 1846, Wilmot proposed an amendment to an appropriations bill that would ban slavery in newly acquired Mexican Territory, which became known as the Wilmot Proviso. The proviso was hotly contested in the Senate, where it was ultimately defeated. It was reintroduced in later years, but never enacted. After his time in the House, Wilmot served as the presiding judge for the thirteenth district from 1851 until 1861. In 1861, Wilmot was elected to the Senate as a Republican and served until 1863. President Abraham Lincoln appointed Wilmot as a justice in the United States Court of Claims in 1863, and he served until his death in 1868. 

The Wilmot Proviso is mentioned by FMS in 18490227FMS_WHS.