John Randolph of Roanoke

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Portrait of John Randolph in the National Portrait Gallery

John Randolph of Roanoke (also simply: John Randolph ; born June 2, 1773 in Cawsons, today: Hopewell , Virginia ; † May 24, 1833 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) was an American politician and planter .

family

John Randolph claimed the Pocahontas descendants . He was the son of John and Frances Randolph, a wealthy family of tobacco growers from Virginia. He fell ill with tuberculosis early, but survived and eventually studied law in Philadelphia. Many of his ancestors had been politically active, so it was only logical for him when he became a self-elected representative in the House of Representatives of the United States in 1799 with 26 self-elected representatives .

John Randolph was neither married nor had children. After his death, his remains were first interred at the Roanoke manor in Charlotte County ; later it was transferred to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond .

politics

John Randolph was a conservative politician who spoke out in favor of strong individual states in the federal structure of the USA and who advocated a strong constitutional commitment. After he was initially a supporter of Thomas Jefferson 's Democratic Republican Party, he split off with a few others as "Old Republicans" because they saw the values ​​in danger.

John Randolph opposed the British-American War of 1812 and opposed the Missouri Compromise on Slavery. He was one of the initiators for the resettlement of former slaves in Africa ( Liberia ) and released all of his slaves in his will.

John Randolph served as Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means during his second through fourth terms in the House of Representatives . His terms of office were:

  • from 1799 to 1803: 7th district
  • from 1803 to 1813: 15th district
  • from 1815 to 1817: 16th district
  • from 1819 to 1821: 16th district
  • from 1823 to 1825: 21st district
  • from 1827 to 1829: 21st district
  • 1833: 21st district

From 1825 to 1827, John Randolph was the US Senator for the state of Virginia. Between May and September 1830 he filled the position of US envoy to Russia as the successor to Henry Middleton .

Honors

Randolph County , which was founded in Alabama in 1832, is named after him.

literature

  • David Johnson: John Randolph of Roanoke. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge 2012, ISBN 978-0-8071-4397-1 .

Web links

Commons : John Randolph of Roanoke  - collection of images, videos and audio files