Theodore Frelinghuysen | |
|---|---|
 Frelinghuysen, 1855–1862 | |
| 7thPresident of Rutgers University | |
| In office 1850–1862 | |
| Preceded by | Abraham Bruyn Hasbrouck |
| Succeeded by | William Campbell |
| 2ndChancellor of New York University | |
| In office 1839–1850 | |
| Preceded by | James M. Mathews |
| Succeeded by | Isaac Ferris |
| 2nd Mayor of Newark | |
| In office November 10, 1837 – November 10, 1838 | |
| Preceded by | William Halsey |
| Succeeded by | James Miller |
| United States Senator fromNew Jersey | |
| In office March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1835 | |
| Preceded by | Mahlon Dickerson |
| Succeeded by | Garret D. Wall |
| 12thAttorney General of New Jersey | |
| In office February 6, 1817 – March 4, 1829 | |
| Governor | Isaac Halstead Williamson |
| Preceded by | Aaron Woodruff |
| Succeeded by | Samuel L. Southard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1787-03-28)March 28, 1787 |
| Died | April 12, 1862(1862-04-12) (aged 75) |
| Political party | Federalist (Before 1829) National Republican (1829–1834) Whig (1834–1854) |
| Spouses | |
| Relatives | Frelinghuysen family Frederick Frelinghuysen (Father) |
| Education | Princeton University (BA) |
| Signature |  |
Theodore Frelinghuysen (March 28, 1787 – April 12, 1862) was an American politician who representedNew Jersey in theUnited States Senate. He was theWhig vice presidential nominee in theelection of 1844, running on a ticket withHenry Clay.
Born inSomerset County, New Jersey, Frelinghuysen established a legal practice inNewark, New Jersey, after graduating from theCollege of New Jersey. He was the son of SenatorFrederick Frelinghuysen and the adoptive father ofSecretary of StateFrederick Theodore Frelinghuysen. He served as theNew Jersey Attorney General from 1817 to 1829 and as a United States Senator from 1829 to 1835. In the Senate, Frelinghuysen strongly opposed PresidentAndrew Jackson's policy ofIndian removal. After leaving the Senate, he served as theMayor of Newark from 1837 to 1838.
Frelinghuysen was selected as Clay's running mate at the1844 Whig National Convention. In the 1844 election, the Whig ticket was narrowly defeated by theDemocratic ticket ofJames K. Polk andGeorge M. Dallas. Frelinghuysen served as president ofNew York University from 1839 to 1850, and as president ofRutgers College from 1850 to 1862. Upon its incorporation in 1848,Frelinghuysen Township, New Jersey, was named after him.[1]
Theodore Frelinghuysen was born in 1787 inFranklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, toFrederick Frelinghuysen and Gertrude Schenck.[2] Frelinghuysen's siblings included: Catharine Frelinghuysen;John Frelinghuysen (1776–1833) the General who married Louisa Mercer and after her death married Elizabeth Mercereau Van Vechten; Maria Frelinghuysen (1778–?); and Frederick Frelinghuysen (1788–1820) the lawyer who married Jane Dumont. His great-grandfatherTheodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen was a minister and theologian of theDutch Reformed Church, influential in the founding ofQueen's College, nowRutgers University, and one of four key leaders of theFirst Great Awakening in Colonial America. Theodore was the uncle ofFrederick T. Frelinghuysen and great-great-grandfather ofHenry Cabot Lodge Jr.
Rodney Frelinghuysen, who representedNew Jersey's 11th congressional district, is a descendant.
Frelinghuysen married Charlotte Mercer in 1809, but she died in the same year. They had no children together, but when Theodore's brother, Frederick Frelinghuysen (1788–1820) died, Theodore adopted his son,Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen (1817–1885), who would later becomeSecretary of State. Theodore Frelinghuysen remarried in 1857 to Harriet Pumpelly.
He graduated from the College of New Jersey (nowPrinceton University) in 1804 and studied law under his brother John Frelinghuysen, and later,Richard Stockton. He was admitted to the bar as an attorney in 1808 and as a counselor in 1811, and set up a law practice inNewark during this time period. In theWar of 1812, he was a captain of a company of volunteers.[3]
.jpg)
He becameAttorney General of New Jersey in 1817, turned down an appointment to theNew Jersey Supreme Court and became aUnited States Senator in 1829, serving in that capacity until 1835.
As a Senator, he led the opposition toAndrew Jackson'sIndian Removal Act of 1830.[4] His six-hour speech against the Removal Act was delivered over the course of three days, and warned of the supposed dire consequences of the policy:
Let us beware how, by oppressive encroachments upon the sacred privileges of our Indian neighbors, we minister to the agonies of future remorse.
Jackson supporters chided Frelinghuysen for mixing hisevangelical Christianity with politics, and the Removal Act was passed.1
He wasMayor ofNewark, New Jersey, from 1837 until 1838.
At the1844 Whig National Convention, competing withMillard Fillmore,John Davis andJohn Sergeant, he was selected as theWhigvice-presidential candidate. He took the lead on the first ballot and never lost it, eventually being chosen by acclamation. The Whig presidential candidate,Henry Clay, was not present at the convention and expressed surprise upon hearing the news. Frelinghuysen's rectitude might have been intended to correct for Clay's reputation for moral laxity, but his opposition to Indian removal may have put off those southern voters who had suffered from their raids (William Lloyd Garrison praised his speech opposing removal in the poem "To the Honorable Theodore Freylinghusen, on reading his eloquent speech in defence of Indian Rights"[5]). Frelinghuysen was also unpopular with Catholics because groups of which he was a member, such as the ProtestantAmerican Bible Society, promulgated the idea that Catholics should convert to Protestantism. Clay and Frelinghuysen lost the1844 election.
Frelinghuysen was the second president ofNew York University between 1839 and 1850 and seventh president ofRutgers College between 1850 and 1862. He was president of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (1841 –c. 1857), American Bible Society (1846–1862), and American Tract Society (1842–1846), as well as vice president of the American Sunday School Union (1826–1861), andAmerican Colonization Society (ACS). In his public advocacy forcolonization, or the deportation offree people of color from the United States, Frelinguysen described black people as “licentious, ignorant, and irritated” and therefore not suited for full citizenship within their present country.[6] His moniker was the "Christian Statesman."
He died inNew Brunswick, New Jersey, on April 12, 1862, and he was buried there at theFirst Reformed Church Cemetery.[7]
Hon. Theodore Frelinghuysen died at 2 o'clock to-day, at his residence, in New-Brunswick, New-Jersey.
Media related toTheodore Frelinghuysen (1787-1862) at Wikimedia Commons| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Attorney General of New Jersey 1817–1829 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 2) from New Jersey 1829–1835 Served alongside:Mahlon Dickerson,Samuel L. Southard | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Mayor of Newark 1837–1838 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chancellor of New York University 1839–1850 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of Rutgers University 1850–1862 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Whig nominee forVice President of the United States 1844 | Succeeded by |
 | ||
| Class 1 |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Class 2 | ||
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
