James HAMILTON, Jr., Congress, SC (1786-1857)

HAMILTON, James, Jr., a Representative from South Carolina; born in Charleston, S.C., May 8, 1786; completed academic studies; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Charleston; served in the War of 1812 as major; mayor of Charleston; member of the State house of representatives, 1819-1823; elected as a Republican to the Seventeenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William Lowndes; elected as a Jackson Republican to the Eighteenth Congress, and reelected as a Jacksonian to the Nineteenth, and Twentieth Congresses, and served from December 13, 1822, to March 3, 1829; chairman, Committee on Military Affairs (Eighteenth through Twentieth Congresses); Governor of South Carolina 1830-1832; moved to Texas; appointed diplomatic agent of the Republic of Texas to France, Great Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands in 1839; was drowned on November 15, 1857, while on his way from New Orleans to Galveston.

Bibliography

Kell, Carl Lewis. “A Rhetorical History of James Hamilton, Jr.: The Nullification Era in South Carolina, 1816-1834.” Ph.D. diss., University of Kansas, 1971; Tinkler, Robert. James Hamilton of South Carolina. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2004.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present