= John J. Hardin = '''John J. Hardin''' was a [[UnitedStates/WhigParty|Whig]] politician and [[UnitedStates/HouseOfRepresentatives|congressman]]. <> ---- == History == Hardin served in the Illinois militia during the [[UnitedStates/Makataimeshekiakiak|Black Hawk War]]. He later led the militia in the '''Illinois Mormon War''' as a brigadier general. In 1842, he ran for and won the [[UnitedStates/HouseOfRepresentatives|IL-7 seat]]. Notably he had beat out [[UnitedStates/AbrahamLincoln|Lincoln]] for the Whig nomination that year, but he was not even a candidate for the subsequent election in 1844. He served in the [[WorldHistory/MexicanAmericanWar|Mexican-American War]] as a colonel, and was killed in 1847 at the '''Battle of Buena Vista'''. ---- == Policies == Hardin supported expansionism, which (at the time) was largely a platform for the [[UnitedStates/DemocraticParty|Democrats]] and [[UnitedStates/JamesKPolk|Polk]] in particular, despite being a lifelong [[UnitedStates/WhigParty|Whig]]. ---- CategoryRicottone