Amos T. Akerman

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Amos T. Akerman

Amos Tappan Akerman (born February 23, 1821 in Portsmouth , New Hampshire , † December 21, 1880 in Cartersville , Georgia ) was an American lawyer and politician ( Republican Party ) who served in the cabinet of US President Ulysses S. Grant as Justice Minister belonged.

Studies and professional career

Akerman first completed a general education course at Dartmouth College , which he finished in 1842 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) . After working for several years as a teacher and studying law , he established himself as a lawyer in Elberton (Georgia) in 1850 .

Although he opposed the secessionist movement in the South was, he went after the outbreak of civil war in the army of the Confederate States , where he mainly in the Quartermaster served, but also took part in several battles.

Attorney General under President Grant and political career

Akerman, who developed into an opponent of slavery , played an extremely important role as a member of the Constituent Assembly of Georgia in 1868 in the so-called Reconstruction , the reintegration of the southern states into the Union after the Civil War from 1861 to 1865. In 1866 he became a federal attorney appointed for the District of Georgia.

Mississippi Ku Klux members arrested in September 1871

On June 23, 1870, US President Ulysses S. Grant appointed him as Attorney General in his cabinet , where he succeeded Ebenezer R. Hoar . In this function, he was responsible in particular for proceedings relating to the Crédit Mobilier scandal, in which the Union Pacific Railroad was involved, which therefore had to file for bankruptcy.

Furthermore, he drafted the Ku Klux Acts , which should contain the terrorist acts in the south after their adoption . After a failed attempt by the US government to bring the Ku Klux Klan members to reason through the "great sorcerer" Nathan Bedford Forrest , the latter officially dissolved the Klan in 1871. But when it was dissolved, it became clear how little the actual power of the “Great Warlock” was: only in Arkansas and Tennessee was his order obeyed, especially in Alabama , Georgia, Mississippi and North and South Carolina , however, the extent of violent crimes actually increased on.

Akerman was also the first Attorney General to head the newly created Department of Justice . In protest against the burgeoning corruption in the government of President Grant, he resigned as Attorney General on December 13, 1871. On the other hand, because of his negative attitude towards the KKK, there was also pressure on the President to replace him as Minister of Justice.

After his resignation, he withdrew completely from political life and worked as a lawyer until his death. His son Alexander was also a Georgia District Attorney and a judge in a federal district court .

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personal data
SURNAME Akerman, Amos T.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Akerman, Amos Tappan (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer and politician (Republican Party)
DATE OF BIRTH February 23, 1821
PLACE OF BIRTH Portsmouth , New Hampshire
DATE OF DEATH December 21, 1880
Place of death Cartersville , Georgia