James Graham (politician, 1793)

James Graham

James Graham (born January 7, 1793 in Lincoln County , North Carolina , †  September 25, 1851 in Rutherford County , North Carolina) was an American politician . Between 1833 and 1847 he represented the state of North Carolina in the US House of Representatives several times .

Career

James Graham was the younger brother of William Alexander Graham (1804–1875), who was the governor of North Carolina and the US senator for that state. After a good elementary school education he studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill until 1814 . After a subsequent law degree and his license to practice law in 1818, he began to work in Rutherford County in this profession. At the same time he embarked on a political career. He was an opponent of the future US President Andrew Jackson . Between 1822 and 1829 he sat several times as a member of the House of Representatives from North Carolina .

In the congressional election of 1832 , Graham was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC , in the twelfth constituency of North Carolina , where he succeeded Samuel Price Carson on March 4, 1833 . After four re-elections, he was able to complete five legislative terms in Congress by March 3, 1843 . In 1836 he had to give up his office for a few months because by-elections were due after an election challenge, which he also won. In the 1830s, Graham became a member of the Whig Party . At the beginning of his time as a member of Congress there was heated discussion of President Jackson's policies. This included the controversial implementation of the Indian Removal Act , the nullification crisis with the state of South Carolina and the president's banking policy. From 1841 to 1843 Graham was chairman of the committee for the management of public buildings. In 1842 it was not confirmed.

Two years later he was re-elected to Congress in the second district of his state as the successor to Thomas Lanier Clingman , where he could spend another legislative period between March 4, 1845 and March 3, 1847. This was shaped by the events of the Mexican-American War . In 1846 James Graham renounced another candidacy. In the following years he worked in the agricultural sector in Rutherford County. He died on September 25, 1851.

Web links

• James Graham in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• James Graham in the database of Find a Grave (English)