Joseph Alston

Joseph Alston (born around 1779 in All Saints Parish , South Carolina , † September 19, 1816 in Charleston , South Carolina) was an American politician and governor of South Carolina from 1812 to 1814 .

Early years

The exact date of birth of Joseph Alston is unknown. However, the sources assume that 1779 was the year of his birth. Until 1796 he attended the College of New Jersey, later Princeton University , where he did not graduate. He then studied law with Edward Rutledge and was admitted to the bar in 1799. Besides politics, his main focus was the management of his plantation.

Political career

His political career began in 1802 with his election to the South Carolina House of Representatives . He initially retained this mandate until 1803. Between 1805 and 1812 he was a member of this body without interruption, most recently as speaker of the house. Alston was a member of the Democratic Republican Party, led by Thomas Jefferson . This party nominated him in 1812 for the office of governor and the House of Representatives, which was dominated by his party, subsequently elected him to this office.

Governor of south carolina

His tenure lasted exactly two years and began on December 1, 1812. Right at the beginning of his term on December 19, 1812 the Bank of South Carolina was founded. His government was overshadowed by the war against England . This led to a conflict between the National Guard (militia) and the governor. Some members of the force refused to submit to the orders of the governor and the regular army. When no solution to the crisis appeared, Alston disbanded the force completely. But now there was growing concern in South Carolina that they would now be defenseless against possible British attacks. So they gave in to the governor. He received the supreme command of the revived force. The whole affair, however, had caused him a huge loss of prestige.

Another fate

Even before the end of his tenure on December 1, 1814, Alston suffered a few blows of fate. His son died on June 30, 1812 and his wife Theodosia disappeared around the turn of the year 1812/13 in an unexplained manner together with the ship "Patriot", which probably went down. He had not recovered from these two strokes of fate. He died in September 1816. It is also worth noting that his wife Theodosia was the daughter of Aaron Burr , who had been Vice President of the United States from 1801 to 1805 under Jefferson.

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

personal data
SURNAME	Alston, Joseph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American politician, governor of South Carolina
DATE OF BIRTH	around 1779
PLACE OF BIRTH	All Saints Parish , South Carolina
DATE OF DEATH	September 19, 1816
Place of death	Charleston , South Carolina