June 1871. After turning down an invitation to teach at his alma mater, he returned to Minas Gerais, where he began to work as a lawyer, at first practicing law in his hometown and later in Barbacena. There he became known for advocating in defense of slaves and even for helping them escape, for which he came close to being denounced on the court in Rio de Janeiro by a local military officer. Despite this, he was concerned with the economic effects the immediate abolition of slavery could cause; for this reason, he was in favor of compensating slave owners after abolition and also supported immigration as a way to replace slave labor. This brought him closer to other politicians of his time, especially the conservatives, who, according to Cláudia Viscardi, were "responsible for the progressive delay of the end of slavery in Brazil". Marriage and family Pena married on 23 January 1875. The couple went on their honeymoon to Rio de Janeiro, where they met emperor Pedro II. Guilhermina was the daughter of , the Viscount of Carandaí, and the niece of Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, the Marquis of Paraná, one of the most prominent politicians of the Empire of Brazil. They had nine children, including , who was later Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs to president Artur Bernardes and a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters; and , an engineer who carried out several public works in Rio de Janeiro, including the landfill that gave rise to the Urca neighborhood. Political career Parliamentarian and Minister of State (1874–1892) Afonso Pena joined the Liberal Party in 1874, beginning his political career that same year after being elected provincial deputy in Minas Gerais. He remained in this office until 1878, after being succesively reelected in 1876 and 1878, when he was elected general deputy, beginning his term in the Chamber of Deputies. His political career was initially sponsored by Martinho Campos and Afonso Celso, two prominent politicians who helped him in his rise in the Liberal Party. His term in the Chamber of Deputies lasted until 1884, being elected again in 1886 and ramaining there until 1889. During this period, he defended the increase in the number of citizens eligible to vote, based on the reduction of the requirements to do so; even conflicting with his own party. Thus, he defended the adoption of the direct and district