John Lawrence Manning

John Lawrence Manning

John Lawrence Manning (born January 29, 1816 in Clarendon County , South Carolina , † October 24, 1889 in Camden , South Carolina) was an American politician and Governor of South Carolina from 1852 to 1854 .

Early years and political advancement

John Manning came from a prominent political family in South Carolina. He was related to four other South Carolina governors, all of whom were named either Manning or Richardson. His father Richard Irvine Manning was governor between 1824 and 1826. The young John graduated from Princeton University and South Carolina College, the later University of South Carolina , which he successfully graduated in 1836. Later he was also a member of the board of trustees of this university. Manning was a member of the South Carolina Parliament from 1842 to 1846, and served in the Senate of his country from 1846 to 1852. As a member of the Democratic Party , he was elected the new governor of his country in a secret ballot in 1852.

Governor of south carolina

Manning's two-year tenure began on December 1, 1852 and ended on December 1, 1854. During this period, the contrast between the northern and southern states of the United States overshadowed all other events in the United States. After the US Congress had repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 with the so-called Kansas-Nebraska Act and thus allowed the expansion of slavery into these two territories, the dispute between the two camps escalated again. The atmosphere between the north and the south became increasingly toxic. In the north, slavery as an institution has been questioned. There the abolitionists campaigned for the release of slaves and the end of slavery. In the south, especially South Carolina, there was no wrong in slavery. The entire economy was based on this facility. An abolition of slavery was unthinkable for the south. Governor Manning supported his compatriots in this matter. During this time there was again increasing discussion in South Carolina about leaving the Union. This question finally led to the outbreak of civil war in 1861. The matter also had a constitutional background. The question was whether a US state that had voluntarily entered the Union could leave the Union just as voluntarily or whether it was inseparably linked to it as part of the nation as a whole. The South was of the opinion that any state was free to leave the Union. The North, especially the newly formed Republican Party, saw it differently. The decision in favor of the north was finally made in the Civil War .

Another résumé

The South Carolina constitution did not allow contiguous terms for governors. Therefore Manning could not be re-elected directly in 1854. As a result, he turned down an offer from President James Buchanan , who wanted to make him American ambassador to Russia. After the election of Abraham Lincoln as the new US President in November 1860, a special convention was convened in South Carolina, to which Manning also belonged. The only task of this assembly was to seal the withdrawal of South Carolina from the Union. Manning co-signed the Ordinance of Secession, the declaration of resignation. Manning remained faithful to politics during the war years. He served in the South Carolina Senate from 1861 to 1865 and then in the House of Representatives until 1867.

After the end of the war he was elected to the US Senate. Like most MPs and senators from the former Confederation, he was refused his seat there. John Manning then retired from politics. He died in 1889 and was buried in Columbia. Manning was married twice and had a total of five children.

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.

Web links

• John Manning in the National Governor Association (English)
• South Carolina Information Highway (English)