Henry Middleton (politician, 1770)

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Henry Middleton

Henry Middleton (born September 28, 1770 in London , England , † June 14, 1846 in Charleston , South Carolina ) was an American politician and governor of the state of South Carolina from 1810 to 1812 .

Early years and political advancement

Henry Middleton came from a prominent family in South Carolina. His grandfather of the same name, Henry Middleton , had been the second president of the Continental Congress in October 1774 . His father Arthur Middleton was also a member of the Continental Congress and a signatory to the United States' Declaration of Independence . Young Henry was raised as a private student in England and then on the family plantation in Charleston. In the years from 1787 to 1800 he lived alternately in England and on the plantation. His political career began in 1802, when he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Republican Party . He held this mandate until 1810. In that year he first moved to the State Senate before he was elected governor of South Carolina.

Governor of south carolina

Middleton took up his new post on December 10, 1810, and held it until December 1, 1812. At that time, a law was passed allowing free schools for children from poorer families. The dominant theme at the time was the foreign policy crisis with England, which eventually led to the war of 1812 . During the pre-war debate, South Carolina sent three delegates to Washington , including John C. Calhoun , who at the time, like the other two delegates, was an ardent advocate of the war. Calhoun also wrote the text of the declaration of war. It would play an important role in the history of the American federal government as well as in the history of South Carolina over the next several decades. After the outbreak of the war of 1812, Governor Middleton had to mobilize troops in South Carolina to support the armed forces . In December 1812 he was not allowed to run for direct re-election due to a constitutional clause and therefore had to resign from the office of governor.

Further career

After the end of his tenure, Henry Middleton was a member of the House of Representatives in Washington from 1815 to 1819. President James Monroe appointed him US ambassador to Russia in 1820 . He held this office until 1830. That year he returned to South Carolina, where the crisis of zeroization between the federal government under President Andrew Jackson and radical South Carolina politicians was approaching its climax. In this conflict he became the head of the Union party. At that time Calhoun and other radical forces unsuccessfully demanded South Carolina's exit from the Union. Then Middleton withdrew from politics. He died in June 1846 on his plantation near Charleston. Henry Middleton was married to Mary Helen Hering, with whom he had ten children. His son Williams Middleton (1809-1883) was one of the signatories of the Declaration of Secession from South Carolina in December 1860.

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personal data
SURNAME Middleton, Henry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH September 28, 1770
PLACE OF BIRTH London , England
DATE OF DEATH June 14, 1846
Place of death Charleston , South Carolina