James Hamilton Jr. (May 8, 1786 – November 15, 1857) was an American lawyer and politician. He represented South Carolina in the U.S. Congress (1822–1829) and served as its 53rd governor of South Carolina (1830–1832). Prior to that, Hamilton achieved widespread recognition and public approval for his actions as Intendant (mayor) of the city of Charleston, South Carolina in 1822, during the period when plans for a slave rising were revealed. As governor, he led the state during the Nullification Crisis of 1832, at the peak of his power.

Hamilton organized a city militia in June 1822 to arrest suspects, including the purported free black leader Denmark Vesey, supported the City Council in commissioning a Court of Magistrates and Freeholders, and defended their actions, including ordering the execution of Vesey and 34 other blacks, and deporting of tens of others. He helped shape the public perception of the Court proceedings and the reasons for the revolt, as well as gaining legislation in 1822 for more controls on slaves and free people of color. Because of problems with crippling debt after 1839, Hamilton's reputation suffered.

Early life and career

James Hamilton was born on May 8, 1786, in Charleston, South Carolina, to James and Elizabeth (Lynch) Hamilton, both of the Lowcountry planter elite; his mother was the daughter of Congressman Thomas Lynch and sister of Thomas Lynch Jr.

His parents sent him to preparatory schools in New England; he studied in Newport, Rhode Island, and Dedham, Massachusetts, before returning to Charleston. In the city he read law under prominent attorneys Daniel Huger and William Drayton. Hamilton passed the bar and went into practice in Drayton's office; he later was in partnership with James L. Petigru.

Marriage and family

On November 15, 1813, Hamilton married Elizabeth Mathews Heyward, daughter of wealthy low country South Carolina planter Daniel Heyward and Ann SarahTrezevant; her paternal grandfather was Thomas Heyward Jr., a South Carolinian who served in the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence. She brought three plantations and approximately 200 slaves to the marriage. The couple had eleven children, ten males and one female.

Political career

Hamilton entered politics in the state. He was elected in 1818 to the South Carolina state House of Representatives, serving from 1819 until early 1822.

That year Hamilton was elected as Intendant, or mayor, of the city of Charleston. He was serving when plans were revealed in the spring to white officials of a slave "rising," reportedly led by Denmark Vesey, a free black carpenter and former slave, who was a leader of the large AME African-American Church. Hamilton quickly organized a militia to defend the city and round up and arrest slave suspects. Its forces roamed the city and its environs for weeks.

With Hamilton's leadership, the City Council commissioned a Court of Magistrates and Freeholders to review the cases, hear testimony, and determine guilt and punishment. They conducted their proceedings in secret, beginning in the middle of June. Suspects were arrested throughout the city. On July 1, the court published its initial findings related to the first 30 suspects: declaring Denmark Vesey and five slaves guilty of conspiracy and condemning them to death. They were executed on July 2 by hanging. In total, most during the next weeks, the courts examined a total of 131 men, convicted a total of 67 men of conspiracy and hanged 35 (including Vesey and others of the first group), through July 1822. A total of 31 men were transported, 27 reviewed and acquitted, and 38 questioned and released.

The court proceedings were controversial, criticized by United States Supreme Court Justice William Johnson and South Carolina Governor Thomas Bennett Jr. for their secrecy and lack of due process, as defendants were not allowed to confront accusers and witnesses were promised secrecy. But, Hamilton captured the public opinion of the events, publishing a 46-page article in August, taking credit for the city's actions in preventing a huge uprising and bloodbath. He also shaped the Court's official Report of its proceedings, published in October. Historian Lacy K. Ford has said, "the balance of the evidence clearly points to the exaggeration of the plot and the misappropriation of its lessons by Hamilton, the Court, and their allies for their own political advantage." Robert Tinkler, biographer of Hamilton, thinks he was ruthless about pursuing suspects because he believed the plot was real. Hamilton gained increased restrictions on free blacks, with a state law that prohibited them from returning to the state to live if they left for any reason, and controls on slave worship and gatherings.

When South Carolina Congressman William Lowndes resigned from the U.S. Congress in May 1822, Hamilton was well known and had much public support. He was appointed to complete Lowndes' term, starting his congressional career on December 13, 1822, while still serving as mayor. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1824 to a full term, and re-elected in 1826 and 1828, serving until 1829. He had led opposition to the administration of John Quincy Adams and opposed the Tariff Acts of 1824 and 1828. Increasingly at odds with the national government, Hamilton declined to be nominated for another term and returned to his home state to prepare for confrontation.

References

Further reading

  • Johnson, Michael P. “Denmark Vesey and his Co-Conspirators”, William and Mary Quarterly, LVIII, No. 4. (October 2001), 915-976 .
  • Johnson, Michael P., Douglas R. Egerton, Edward A. Pearson, David Robertson, Winthrop Jordan, et al. in "Forum: The Making of a Slave Conspiracy, Part 2", William and Mary Quarterly, LViV, No. 1, (January 2002)
  • Tinkler, Robert, James Hamilton of South Carolina. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2004.
  • SCIway Biography of James Hamilton Jr.
  • NGA Biography of James Hamilton Jr.
  • United States Congress Biography of James Hamilton Jr.
  • Busick, Sean R. "Hamilton, James Jr. South Carolina Encyclopedia.