Arnoldus Vanderhorst

Arnoldus Vanderhorst [ vænˈdrɑːs ] (born March 21, 1748 in Christ Church Parish, Province of South Carolina , †  January 29, 1815 in Charleston , South Carolina ) was an American politician and governor of the state of South Carolina.

Ascent

Arnoldus Vanderhorst grew up on a cotton plantation. He took part in the War of Independence as an officer . Politically, he belonged to the federalist party . He was Mayor of Charleston in 1785 and 1791. Between 1776 and 1780 he was a member of the House of Representatives from South Carolina ; from 1780 to 1786 he was a member of the State Senate .

Governor of south carolina

In 1794, Vanderhorst was elected governor of South Carolina. His tenure began on December 1 of that year and ended two years later on December 1, 1796. As governor, he liberalized the drastic criminal law in South Carolina. The reason for this was that due to the harshness of the law, the jury often found an acquittal even though the accused were guilty. The prescribed penalties were simply deemed inappropriate. The governor also advocated reform of the prison system. The dominant theme of the day was but one of John Jay closed treaty with Great Britain , which was highly controversial in South Carolina because it is not sufficient saw its economic interests represented in the contract. The main concern was the shipping of cotton to England, a point of vital importance to the South Carolina economy. The discussion about this treaty led to a loss of prestige for the Federalist Party and its politicians. In addition, there was a contrast within the country between the rich planters in the east and the disadvantaged population in the west of South Carolina. The supporters of Thomas Jefferson , to whom Charles Pinckney now also professed , and who was then elected Vanderhorst's successor in 1796, could benefit from this situation . At the federal level, the federalists continued to lose power, leading to the election of Jefferson as US president in 1800.

Another résumé

After the end of his tenure, Vanderhorst retired to his cotton plantation. He died in January 1815. He was married to Elizabeth Raver, with whom he had four children.

literature

• Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978. Volume 4. Meckler Books, Westport, CT, 1978. 4 volumes.
• The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. 12. James T. White & Company, New York

Web links

• Arnoldus Vanderhorst in the National Governors Association (English)
• South Carolina Information Highway (English)
• Arnoldus Vander Horst in the database of Find a Grave (English)