Robert Allen (politician, 1794)

Robert Allen (born July 30, 1794 in Woodstock , Virginia , †  December 30, 1859 in Bedford County , Virginia) was an American politician . Between 1827 and 1833 he represented the state of Virginia in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Robert Allen, brother of Congressman John James Allen (1797-1871), attended public schools in his home country and then until 1812 Dickinson College in Carlisle ( Pennsylvania ). This was followed by studies at Washington College in Lexington until 1815 , later Washington and Lee University . He then worked in agriculture in Shenandoah County . After studying law and admission to the bar, he began working in this profession in Woodstock. He also served as the Shenandoah County District Attorney for a period. In the 1820s he joined the movement around the future President Andrew Jackson and became a member of the Democratic Party founded by this in 1828 . Between 1821 and 1826 he was a member of the Virginia Senate .

In the 1826 congressional election , Allen was elected to the 17th  constituency of Virginia in the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , where he succeeded Alfred H. Powell on March 4, 1827 . After two re-elections, he was able to complete three legislative terms in Congress by March 3, 1833 . Since President Jackson took office in 1829, there has been heated debate inside and outside of Congress about its policies. It was about the controversial enforcement of the Indian Removal Act , the conflict with the state of South Carolina , which culminated in the nullification crisis , and the banking policy of the president. Allen chaired the Committee on Accounts from 1831 to 1833 .

After his tenure in the US House of Representatives, Robert Allen moved to Bedford County, where he returned to farming. He died there on December 30, 1859.

Web links

• Robert Allen in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Robert Allen in the database of Find a Grave (English)