Henry Allen Foster

Henry Allen Foster (May 7, 1800 – May 11, 1889) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician from New York who served in both houses of the United States Congress during the mid-nineteenth century. Over the course of his public career, he held a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1837 to 1839 and later served as a United States senator from New York from 1844 to 1845, participating in the legislative process during a significant period in American history and representing the interests of his constituents.

Foster was born on May 7, 1800, in Hartford, Washington County, New York. He received a basic education in the local schools before turning to the study of law, a common path for ambitious young men of his generation. After reading law and completing the customary period of legal apprenticeship, he was admitted to the bar. He then commenced the practice of law in New York, establishing himself professionally and gaining the experience and local prominence that would support his entry into public life.

As a practicing attorney, Foster developed a reputation that facilitated his involvement in Democratic Party politics in New York. The state was a central arena of national political conflict in the Jacksonian and post-Jacksonian eras, and Foster’s alignment with the Democratic Party placed him within the dominant political current of the time. His legal background and party activity led to his selection as a candidate for national office, reflecting the confidence of local party leaders in his abilities to represent New York’s interests in Washington.

Foster was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives and served one term from 1837 to 1839. His service in the House coincided with the administration of President Martin Van Buren and the economic and political challenges that followed the Panic of 1837. During this period, Foster contributed to the legislative process as a member of the national legislature, participating in debates and votes on issues of finance, economic policy, and the scope of federal authority that were central to the Democratic Party’s agenda and to the concerns of his New York constituents.

After returning to New York following his House term, Foster continued his legal practice and remained active in public affairs and Democratic politics. His ongoing engagement in state and party matters, together with his prior congressional experience, positioned him as a suitable choice when a vacancy arose in New York’s representation in the United States Senate. In keeping with the political customs of the time, when senators were chosen by state legislatures rather than by popular vote, Foster was selected to fill that role.

Foster’s service in the United States Senate extended from 1844 to 1845. Although his tenure was brief, it fell within a momentous period in American history, marked by debates over territorial expansion, party realignment, and the growing sectional tensions that would later culminate in the Civil War. As a Democratic senator from New York, he participated in the democratic process at the highest legislative level, contributing to deliberations on national policy and representing the interests of his state in the upper chamber of Congress.

Following the conclusion of his Senate service in 1845, Foster returned once more to private life in New York. He resumed the practice of law and remained a figure of standing in his community, his career reflecting the pattern of nineteenth-century American public men who alternated between professional pursuits and periods of public office. Henry Allen Foster died on May 11, 1889, closing a long life that had spanned from the early republic through the post–Civil War era and had included notable service in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate.