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George McDuffie | |
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| United States Senator fromSouth Carolina | |
| In office December 23, 1842 – August 17, 1846 | |
| Preceded by | William C. Preston |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Butler |
| 55th Governor of South Carolina | |
| In office December 9, 1834 – December 10, 1836 | |
| Lieutenant | Whitemarsh B. Seabrook |
| Preceded by | Robert Y. Hayne |
| Succeeded by | Pierce Mason Butler |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's5th district | |
| In office March 4, 1823 – 1834 | |
| Preceded by | Starling Tucker |
| Succeeded by | Francis W. Pickens |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's6th district | |
| In office March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1823 | |
| Preceded by | Eldred Simkins |
| Succeeded by | John Wilson |
| Member of theSouth Carolina House of Representatives from theEdgefield District | |
| In office November 23, 1818 – November 27, 1820 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1790-08-10)August 10, 1790 |
| Died | March 11, 1851(1851-03-11) (aged 60) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Other political affiliations | Jacksonian,Nullifier |
| Spouse | Mary Rebecca Singleton |
| Profession | Politician,lawyer |
| Signature | .png) |
George McDuffie (August 10, 1790 – March 11, 1851) was the 55thGovernor of South Carolina and a member of theUnited States Senate. Though he began his political career as a partisan of Andrew Jackson, he became one of South Carolina's most outspoken advocates ofnullification.
Born of modest means inMcDuffie County, Georgia, McDuffie's extraordinary intellect was noticed while clerking at a store inAugusta, Georgia. TheCalhoun family sponsored his education atMoses Waddel's famousWillington Academy, where he established an outstanding reputation.[citation needed] Graduating fromSouth Carolina College in 1813, he was admitted to the bar in 1814, and went into partnership with Eldred Simkins atEdgefield. Rising rapidly, he served in theSouth Carolina General Assembly in 1818–1821, and in theUnited States House of Representatives in 1821–1834. In 1834 he became a major general of the South Carolina Militia.[1]
In 1821 he published a pamphlet in which strictstates' rights were strongly denounced; yet in 1832 he became one of the greaternullifiers. The change seems to have been gradual, and to have been determined in part by the influence ofJohn C. Calhoun. When, after 1824, the oldDemocratic-Republican party split into factions, he followedAndrew Jackson andMartin Van Buren in opposing thePanama Congress and the policy of making Federal appropriations forinternal improvements. He did not hesitate, however, to differ from Jackson on the two chief issues of his administration: the Bank and nullification.[1]
In 1832 he was a prominent member of theSouth Carolina Nullification Convention, and drafted its address to the people of the United States. He served as governor in 1834–1836, during which time he helped to reorganizeSouth Carolina College. From December 23, 1842 until August 17, 1846 he was a member of the United States Senate. The leading Democratic measures of those years all received his hearty support. McDuffie, like Calhoun, became an eloquent champion of state sovereignty; but while Calhoun emphasized state action as the only means of redressing a grievance, McDuffie paid more attention to the grievance itself. Influenced in large measure byThomas Cooper, he made it his special work to convince the people of the South that the downfall of protection was essential to their material progress.[1] In opposing the 1828Tariff of Abominations he used the illustration that forty bales of every one hundred went to pay tariffs and therefore Northern interests.[citation needed] His argument that it is the producer who really pays the duty of imports has been called the economic basis of nullification.[1]
In 1822, McDuffie fought a series ofduels with ColonelWilliam Cumming, suffering wounds that afflicted him for the rest of his life and darkened his already asocial personality:
McDuffie was in youth, manhood and old age, a remarkable man for his taciturnity and reserve. He literally seemed to commune with himself; yet there were occasions, when he met with old friends and companions, in which he seemed to enjoy life with as much zest as any man.[2]
Benjamin Perley Poore wrote that McDuffie was a "spare, grim-looking man, who was an admirer ofMilton, and who was never known to jest or smile."[3] His oratorical style, too, was "nervous and impassioned, and at times fiercely vehement," on one occasion even driving the famously combativeJohn Randolph from the floor with "vituperation witheringly pungent".[4]
While serving in the United States House of Representatives, McDuffie was appointed animpeachment manager to prosecute thearticles of impeachment in theimpeachment trial of JudgeJames H. Peck.[5]
George McDuffie died at his estate "Cherry Hill" inSumter County, South Carolina, on March 11, 1851.McDuffie County, Georgia, is named after him.[6]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "McDuffie, George".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 214.| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's 6th congressional district 1821–1823 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's 5th congressional district 1823–1834 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of South Carolina 1834–1836 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 3) from South Carolina December 23, 1842 – August 17, 1846 Served alongside:John C. Calhoun,Daniel Elliott Huger and John C. Calhoun | Succeeded by |
| Class 2 |  | |
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| Class 3 | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
