In 1842, Hutchins moved to Portsmouth, Ohio, where he served as a member of the State house of representatives in 1852 and 1853.

Hutchins called the proclamation Lincoln issued on September 15, 1863 under the authority of the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act of 1863 "necessary" in order to defeat the rebellion.

[3] He was one of only 16 Democrats in the House of Representatives who joined with the Republicans and voted to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution on January 31, 1865.

[4] By doing so, he became one of a group who had "defied their party discipline, and had deliberately and with unfaltering faith marched to their political death",[5] according to abolitionist Congressman James Mitchell Ashley.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress