John Rutledge Junior

John Rutledge, Jr. (* 1766 in Charleston , Province of South Carolina , †  September 1, 1819 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) was an American politician . Between 1797 and 1803 he represented the state of South Carolina in the US House of Representatives .

Career

John Rutledge came from a well-known family of politicians. His father of the same name, John Rutledge (1739-1800) was a member of the Continental Congress and in 1795 Chief Justice of the United States . The younger John Rutledge was also a nephew of Edward Rutledge (1749–1800), who served as governor of South Carolina from 1798 until his death .

John Rutledge Jr. received a private education before attending public schools in Charleston and Philadelphia. After a subsequent law degree from his father and his admission as a lawyer in 1787, he began to practice in Charleston in his new profession. He also started working as a planter . Politically, Rutledge became a member of the Federalist Party founded by Alexander Hamilton . Between 1788 and 1794 and again in 1811 he was a member of the House of Representatives from South Carolina . In 1794 he ran unsuccessfully for Congress .

In the congressional election of 1796 he was then elected to the US House of Representatives in the second constituency of South Carolina. There he took over from Wade Hampton on March 4, 1797 . After two re-elections, he was able to complete three consecutive terms in Congress by March 3, 1803. During this time, the new capital Washington, DC was moved. In the 1802 elections, Rutledge lost to William Butler of the Democratic Republican Party .

Since 1799, Rutledge was also active in the South Carolina militia. Over the years he rose to regimental commander. As such, he also took part in the British-American War of 1812 . He remained in the militia until his death. Since 1792 Rutledge was married to Sara Motte Smith, with whom he had seven children. In 1804 there was a scandal when his wife had an affair with a Dr. Horace Senter had. Rutledge killed Senter in a duel. He was later divorced from his wife. He died in Philadelphia on September 1, 1819.

Web links

• John Rutledge in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• John Rutledge junior in the database of Find a Grave (English)