James Campbell

The title of this article is ambiguous. For more meanings, see James Campbell (disambiguation) .

James Campbell

James Campbell (born September 1, 1812 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , † January 27, 1893 ) was an American politician from the state of Pennsylvania and Secretary of the United States during the term of office of President Franklin Pierce .

Career

James Campbell, son of Anthony Campbell, was born in Philadelphia in 1812. His grandfather, George Campbell, was originally from Fintona , County Tyrone , Ireland . James attended a private school in Geraldus Stockdale, studied law with Robert D. Ingraham and was admitted to the bar on September 14, 1833. The next day he was named Southwark County Commissioner and served in that capacity until his appointment to the Board of Education . On April 16, 1840, he passed the resolution establishing the Philadelphia Girls' High School.

He served on the Education Committee until 1840 when Governor David Rittenhouse Porter appointed him Judge on the Court of Common Pleas , Orphans's Court and the Court of Oyer and Terminer , a position he held until January 1, 1851, when the judicial offices in Pennsylvania became optional.

Nominated for the post of Supreme Court judge at a time when know-nothingism and anti-Catholic sentiments were widespread, he was beaten even though his four Democratic colleagues were elected. Governor William Bigler then appointed him Attorney General of Pennsylvania, an office he held until March 4, 1853, when US President Pierce took him to his cabinet as Postmaster General , where he remained until March 4, 1857. Campbell's stint in the cabinet must be seen as a concession to the wing of the Democrats that supported James Buchanan's presidential nomination in 1852 . Also, the nomination of Campbell, who was a Catholic, helped Pierce make up ground with the Irish.

Campbell ran against Charles R. Buckalew for the post in the US Senate in 1861 , but was defeated by a one-vote majority in the Pennsylvania legislature, which at the time elected the Senators. In 1873 he was elected to the Constitutional Convention of Pennsylvania, but declined the post with thanks because of his poor health.

He served as President of the Board of Trustees of Jefferson Medical College and Vice President of Saint Joseph's Orphan Asylum (the oldest established Roman Catholic home in the United States, leased in 1807) for 25 years.

On September 3, 1869, he was appointed by the Philadelphia County justices to serve on the Board of City Trusts , which had 42 City Trusts under his care, including Girard College and Wills' Eye Hospital . He served in this position until his death.

Judge Campbell viewed his duties, whether as a civil servant or as a trustee, as a task of a higher order and of greater benefit to society. He was a straight and strong judge who considered himself too wise and faithful until the chores were done. Even with all the worries that surrounded him, he always responded to the slightest calls for shelter from the poor and the sick. He visited St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum, Girard College , as well as the hospital daily , examined the conditions in detail and considered them to be safe if they referred to his own life or to his own household.

Campbell died on January 27, 1893 in Philadelphia. Before his death, he was the last living member of Pierce's cabinet.

Web links

• The Political Graveyard
• James Campbell at the Miller Center of Public Affairs of the University of Virginia (English)