John MacPherson Berrien

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John Macpherson Berrien

John MacPherson Berrien (born August 23, 1781 in Rocky Hill , New Jersey , † January 1, 1856 in Savannah , Georgia ) was an American lawyer, politician, US senator and attorney general (Attorney General) .

Studies and professional career

Berrien, who was descended from Huguenots , first completed a general education program at Princeton College , which he finished in 1796. He then studied law in Savannah. At the age of 18 he was admitted to the Louisville bar in 1799 .

In 1809 he was appointed non-pleading lawyer (Solicitor) of the judicial district of East Georgia, where he was a judge from 1810 to January 30, 1821. During the British-American War of 1812 , he also served as captain of the volunteer company of Savannah of the Hussars of Georgia (Georgia Hussars).

Between his political offices he worked as a lawyer again.

Political career

Senator in Georgia and Washington

Berrien began his political career from 1822 to 1823 as a member of the Georgia State Senate .

On March 4, 1825, Andrew Jackson's supporter was elected a US Senator for the first time as a member of the Democratic Party . There he represented the interests of the second Senate electoral district of Georgia until March 9, 1829. From March 1827 to March 1829 he was also chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee .

After serving as a lawyer, he was reelected Senator on March 4, 1841 , as a candidate for the Whig Party . As such, he represented the first Senate electoral district of Georgia until May 1845 this time. In addition, he was again from 1841 to 1845 chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice. He resigned in May 1845 after being nominated to the Georgia Supreme Court Justice.

However, he did not become a judge, but was re-elected Senator on November 13, 1845 as a representative of the first Senate electoral district of Georgia. He resigned from this office on May 28, 1852.

During his last term in office, he spoke out against the compromise of 1850 . This consisted of several laws with which the antagonism between the slave-holding southern states of the USA and the northern states should be softened, which had been exacerbated by the acquisitions in the Mexican-American War (1846-48) and through which the Wilmot Proviso became obsolete the extension of slavery to Mexican- acquired territories was prohibited, but never became law.

Attorney General under President Jackson and other offices

On March 9, 1829, President Jackson appointed him Attorney General . He held this office until his resignation on June 22, 1831.

In 1844, he was a Georgia delegate to the convention that nominated Henry Clay as a candidate for the 1844 presidential election. In 1855 he was finally President of the American Party Convention . He was given in honor of Berrien County (Georgia) and Berrien County (Michigan) named. He was also a member of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institute .

Web links and background literature

General biographical information

personal data
SURNAME Berrien, John MacPherson
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Berrien, John M.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician, senator and attorney general
DATE OF BIRTH August 23, 1781
PLACE OF BIRTH Rocky Hill, New Jersey
DATE OF DEATH January 1, 1856
Place of death Savannah (Georgia)