Thomas Irwin

Thomas Irwin (born February 22, 1785 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , †  May 14, 1870 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania) was an American lawyer and politician . Between 1829 and 1831 he represented the state of Pennsylvania in the US House of Representatives ; later he became a federal judge .

Career

Thomas Irwin attended public schools in his home country and then Franklin College in Lancaster . In 1804 he published the Philadelphia Repository newspaper . After studying law and being admitted to the bar in 1808, he began to work in Uniontown in this profession. Between 1809 and 1811 he was an Indian agent in Natchitoches in what would later become the state of Louisiana . There he also worked as a lawyer. In 1811 he returned to Uniontown, where he also practiced as a lawyer again. Between 1812 and 1819 he was also the assistant district attorney in Fayette County . In the 1820s he joined the movement around the future President Andrew Jackson and became a member of the Democratic Party founded by this in 1828 . Between 1824 and 1828 he was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives .

In the congressional election of 1828 Irwin was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , in the 14th  constituency of Pennsylvania , where he succeeded Andrew Stewart on March 4, 1829 . Since he renounced another candidacy in 1830, he could only complete one legislative period in Congress until March 3, 1831 . Since President Jackson took office in 1829, there has been heated debate inside and outside of Congress about its policies. It was about the controversial enforcement of the Indian Removal Act , the conflict with the state of South Carolina , which culminated in the nullification crisis , and the banking policy of the president.

Between 1831 and 1859, Thomas Irwin was a federal district court judge for the western district of Pennsylvania. After that, he retired. He died on May 14, 1870 in Pittsburgh, where he was also buried.

Web links

• Thomas Irwin in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Thomas Irwin in the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges

• Thomas Irwin in the database of Find a Grave (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Andrew Stewart	United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania (14th constituency) March 4, 1829 - March 3, 1831	Andrew Stewart
William Wilkins	Judge at the Federal District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania April 14, 1831 - January 4, 1859	Wilson McCandless