John Pettit | |
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| United States Senator fromIndiana | |
| In office January 18, 1853 – March 3, 1855 | |
| Preceded by | Charles W. Cathcart |
| Succeeded by | Graham N. Fitch |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIndiana's8th district | |
| In office March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1849 | |
| Preceded by | District created |
| Succeeded by | Joseph E. McDonald |
| 6th United States Attorney for the District of Indiana | |
| In office 1839–1841 | |
| President | Martin Van Buren |
| Preceded by | Tilghman Howard |
| Succeeded by | Courtland Cushing |
| Member of theIndiana House of Representatives | |
| In office 1838-1839 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1807-06-24)June 24, 1807 |
| Died | January 17, 1877(1877-01-17) (aged 69) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Signature | .png) |
John Pettit (June 24, 1807 – January 17, 1877) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician. AUnited States Representative andSenator fromIndiana, he also served in the court systems of Indiana and Kansas.
Born inSackets Harbor, New York, he completed preparatory studies and admitted to thebar in 1831. He moved toLafayette, Indiana, where he commenced practice in 1838; he was a member of theIndiana House of Representatives in 1838-1839 and wasUnited States district attorney from 1839 to 1843.
Pettit was elected as aDemocrat to the Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth, and Thirtieth Congresses (March 4, 1843 - March 3, 1849); he was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1848. In 1850 he was a delegate to the Indiana stateconstitutional convention and apresidential elector on the Democratic ticket in 1852. He was appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death ofJames Whitcomb and served from January 18, 1853, to March 4, 1855; he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1854.
During his tenure in Congress Pettit was known for annually objecting to the appointment of congressional chaplains on constitutional grounds, arguing that as Congress had no power to legislate in matters of religion, it could not pay for its preaching. Instead, he proposed that chaplains be hired and paid for by voluntary contributions from the members. His objections were routinely overridden.[1]
While in the Senate he was chairman of the Committee on Private Land Claims (Thirty-third Congress). During the Senate debate on theKansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, Pettit argued in favor of expanding slavery to Kansas, and famously said thatJefferson's idea (in theUnited States Declaration of Independence) that "all men are created equal" was not a "self-evident truth" but instead "is nothing more to me than a self-evident lie."[2] The debate over Pettit's inflammatory words is credited[by whom?] with reviving Abraham Lincoln's interest in national politics.
After his time in Congress, Pettit waschief justice of theUnited States courts in theTerritory of Kansas from 1859 to 1861, and was a judge of theIndiana Supreme Court from 1870 to 1877.
He died inLafayette, Indiana, aged 69, and was interred in Greenbush Cemetery.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by New district | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIndiana's 8th congressional district March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1849 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 3) from Indiana 1853–1855 Served alongside:Jesse D. Bright | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
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| Class 3 | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
