Hansen was originally from Albany,New York where he graduated from Union College before moving to Illinois.[3] He served as a probate judge in Pike County from 1821 to 1822 and as a colonel of the Seventeenth Regiment Illinois Militia in 1821 and commissioned as brigadier-general in 1824.[3]
His election was contested by his opponent John Shaw but the committee on elections reported unanimously in his favor and he was seated.[3] At the time,a special committee was established to consider the holding of a Constitutional Convention to put the question of slavery before the people of the state.[3] The matter required a 2/3rd vote in the State House and Senate to proceed.[3] The propenents of the resolution had the necessary votes in both the Senate and the House although when the vote was called,Hansen voted in the negative.[3] The following day,fellow representative Alexander Pope Field,after a long speech,moved to reconsider the vote declaring Shaw entitled to his seat.[3] A vote was held,Hansen was ousted,and his former opponent,John Shaw,was seated in the House as Hansen's replacement.[3]
Hansen ran again for the same seat in 1824 and was duly elected.[1]
After his stint in the state legislature,he again served as a probate judge in 1826.[3] In 1829,Hansen returned to New York where he lived until his death in 1872 at age 91.[3]
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