Joseph M. Harper

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Joseph M. Harper

Joseph Morrill Harper (born June 21, 1787 in Limerick , York County , Massachusetts , † January 15, 1865 in Canterbury , New Hampshire ) was an American politician . Between 1831 and 1835 he represented the state of New Hampshire in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Born in present-day Maine , Joseph Harper attended public schools in his homeland and then studied medicine. After his approval as a doctor, he began to work in Sanbornton (New Hampshire) in his new profession from 1810 . In 1811 he moved to Canterbury, where he also practiced as a doctor. During the British-American War of 1812 , Harper was a military doctor in an infantry unit out of New Hampshire.

Politically, Harper became a supporter of the future President Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party founded by him . From 1826 to 1827 he was an MP in the New Hampshire House of Representatives ; from 1829 to 1831 he was a member of the State Senate , of which he was President in 1831. In this capacity, he served as governor of his state between February and June 1831 , after the incumbent Matthew Harvey resigned. From 1826 until his death he was, among other political activities, a justice of the peace in his hometown of Canterbury.

In the congressional elections of 1830, which were held nationwide, Harper was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC for the fourth mandate from New Hampshire . There he took over from Jonathan Harvey on March 4, 1831 . So he was until June of the same year both Congressman and Governor of New Hampshire. This overlap can only be explained by the fact that the Congress did not meet for its constitutive session until later in 1831. After a re-election in 1832, Harper could hold two consecutive terms in Congress until March 3, 1835, which were determined by the discussions about the policies of President Jackson. It was about banking policy and the nullification crisis with the state of South Carolina .

After his tenure in the House of Representatives, Harper returned to practice as a doctor and continued to serve as a judge of the peace in Canterbury. Between 1847 and 1856 he was also President of the Mechanic's Bank of Concord . Joseph Harper died in Canterbury on January 15, 1865.

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