Francis Wilkinson Pickens

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Francis Wilkinson Pickens, drawing from 1860, published in Harper's Weekly

Francis Wilkinson Pickens (born April 7, 1805 in St. Paul's Parish, Colleton County , South Carolina , †  January 25, 1869 in Edgefield , South Carolina) was an American politician and from 1860 to 1862, during the Civil War , Governor of the State of South Carolina.

Early years and political advancement

Francis Pickens was the son of Andrew Pickens , who was governor of South Carolina between 1816 and 1818. Francis studied at both Franklin College , later the University of Georgia , and South Carolina College , later the University of South Carolina . After completing a law degree, he was admitted to the bar in 1828. Subsequently he worked as a lawyer and also as a planter . From 1832 to 1834 he was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives . There he was a supporter of the radical forces who wanted to override federal laws for South Carolina during the nullification crisis and were already considering leaving the Union.

From 1834 to 1843 he was a member of the US House of Representatives in Washington . There he was, among other things, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. He then sat again in the South Carolina Parliament from 1844 to 1846. In 1850 he was a delegate from South Carolina in the South Congress in Nashville ( Tennessee ). There it was about a common attitude of the south in the conflict with the northern states. In 1856 Pickens was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Cincinnati , where James Buchanan was nominated as a presidential candidate. Buchanan also appointed him US ambassador to Russia in 1858 , where he remained until 1860.

Governor of south carolina

At the end of 1860, Pickens was elected new governor by secret ballot by the State House of Representatives. At the time of his inauguration, his predecessor William Henry Gist had already convened a convention to vote on South Carolina's exit from the Union. After the election of Abraham Lincoln as the new US president in November 1860, the radical forces in South Carolina saw their economic interests threatened by Lincoln's stance on the question of slavery . They saw the secession as the only way out. This step was taken on December 20, 1860, and the other southern states followed suit over the next few months. As early as January 9, 1861, there was a first military battle when the governor shot at a Union supply ship that wanted to supply Fort Sumter with supplies. But that did not lead to war. This came in April 1861 when Confederate troops attacked and captured the fort in Charleston Harbor . In the meantime, South Carolina had merged with the other southern states that had left the Union to form a new community of states called the Confederate States of America . Domestically, the governor's power was restricted by a newly formed Executive Council , which was abolished in 1862. The primary role of the South Carolina government at the time was to support the Confederacy's war effort. This included mobilizing and supplying the troops with ammunition and provisions.

Another résumé

Pickens resigned from the governor's office in December 1862. The civil war that he helped to trigger was in full swing at this point and there was no end in sight. Pickens withdrew from politics. He only appeared again in 1865 at the South Carolina Constituent Assembly. By then the war was over and South Carolina was looking for a new political beginning after the defeat. In this situation Pickens advised to work with the new US President Andrew Johnson and his reconstruction policy . Francis Pickens died in January 1869.

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

personal data
SURNAME Pickens, Francis Wilkinson
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH April 7, 1805
PLACE OF BIRTH Colleton County , South Carolina
DATE OF DEATH January 25, 1869
Place of death Edgefield , South Carolina