James De Wolf

James DeWolf

James DeWolf (born March 18, 1764 in Bristol , Colony of Rhode Island , † December 21, 1837 in New York City , New York ) was an American politician . Between 1821 and 1825 he represented the state of Rhode Island in the US Senate .

Career

James DeWolf was the son of a slave trader. During the final stages of the American Revolutionary War , he was a seaman on a privately equipped American ship. Despite his youth, he was appointed captain and has since been taken prisoner by the British. After the war he was involved in numerous trading companies. One of its most important industries was the slave trade. He was also involved in sugar and coffee plantations in Cuba . In addition, he got into the cotton business. At his death he was the richest man in Rhode Island and one of the richest Americans. In 1791 he was charged with the murder of a slave girl, but acquitted under the law of the time. He also took part in the British-American War of 1812 .

Politically, DeWolf was a member of the Democratic Republican Party . Between 1797 and 1837 he was a member of the House of Representatives from Rhode Island , whose speaker he was between 1819 and 1821. In the 1820s he supported William Harris Crawford , who ran unsuccessfully for the office of US President in 1824. In 1820 he was elected to the US Senate, where he succeeded William Hunter on March 4, 1821 . He held this mandate until his resignation on October 31, 1825. He died on December 21, 1837 in New York City.

James DeWolf was the son-in-law of US Senator William Bradford (1729-1808).

Web links

• James De Wolf in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• James De Wolf in the database of Find a Grave (English)