George Edmund Badger

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George Edmund Badger

George Edmund Badger (born April 17, 1795 in New Bern , North Carolina , †  May 11, 1866 in Raleigh , North Carolina) was an American politician ( Whig Party ) who served as Minister of the Navy in the US Cabinet .

After graduating from Yale University , Badger studied law and was inducted into the bar in 1814. He then worked as a lawyer in his hometown of New Bern.

Badger took his first public office in 1816 as a member of the House of Representatives from North Carolina . From 1820 to 1825 he was a judge on the state's Supreme Court. At that time he was still a supporter of Andrew Jackson , with whom he fell out in the 1830s; he then rose to the top of the Whig Party and helped it win the presidential election in 1840 .

Election winner William Henry Harrison appointed him to his cabinet as Secretary of the Navy . When Harrison died a month after taking office on April 4, 1841, Badger initially remained in government under his successor John Tyler , but then resigned on September 11, 1841 to return to work as a lawyer. During his brief tenure, he sought to strengthen the Navy in the face of ongoing tension with Britain and the establishment of the Home Squadron .

In 1846 George Edmund Badger returned to politics when he was elected to the Whigs in the US Senate , where he succeeded the resigned William H. Haywood . After his re-election in 1849, he held office from November 25, 1846 to March 3, 1855. He was not nominated for re-election in 1854.

US President Millard Fillmore appointed Badger to the US Supreme Court in 1853 , but the Senate refused to give his approval; in his place came John Archibald Campbell . Badger returned to North Carolina, where he worked as a lawyer again. In the initial phase of the secession of the southern states , he was initially loyal to the Union; later he supported the Confederate war effort .

In memory of the former Minister of the Navy, who died in 1866, two Navy ships were named after him: the USS George E. Badger (DD-196) and the USS Badger (FF-1071). The Liberty freighter SS George E. Badger also bore his name.

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personal data
SURNAME Badger, George Edmund
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH April 17, 1795
PLACE OF BIRTH New Bern , North Carolina
DATE OF DEATH May 11, 1866
Place of death Raleigh , North Carolina