John Macpherson Berrien | |
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| United States Senator fromGeorgia | |
| In office November 13, 1845 – May 28, 1852 | |
| Preceded by | Vacant |
| Succeeded by | Robert M. Charlton |
| In office March 4, 1841 – May 1845 | |
| Preceded by | Wilson Lumpkin |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| In office March 4, 1825 – March 9, 1829 | |
| Preceded by | John Elliott |
| Succeeded by | John Forsyth |
| 10thUnited States Attorney General | |
| In office March 9, 1829 – June 22, 1831 | |
| President | Andrew Jackson |
| Preceded by | William Wirt |
| Succeeded by | Roger B. Taney |
| Member of theGeorgia Senate fromChatham County | |
| In office 1822–1823 | |
| Preceded by | Edward Harden |
| Succeeded by | William Davies |
| Judge of the Eastern Judicial Circuit of Georgia | |
| In office 1810 – January 30, 1821 | |
| Solicitor of the Eastern Judicial Circuit of Georgia | |
| In office 1809–1810 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Macpherson Berrien (1781-08-23)August 23, 1781 Rocky Hill, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | January 1, 1856(1856-01-01) (aged 74) Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Laurel Grove Cemetery |
| Political party | Federalist (before 1824) Democratic (1824–1834) Whig (1834–1855) Know Nothing (1855–1856) |
| Other political affiliations | Southern Rights |
| Spouse(s) | Eliza Richardson Anciaux Eliza Cecil Hunter |
| Education | Princeton University (BA) |
| Military service | |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | Georgia Hussars |
| Battles/wars | War of 1812 |
John Macpherson Berrien (August 23, 1781 – January 1, 1856) was aUnited States senator fromGeorgia andAttorney General of the United States during the presidency ofAndrew Jackson.
Berrien was born on August 23, 1781, atRockingham, his parents' home inRocky Hill,New Jersey. His father was MajorJohn Berrien and grandfather was JudgeJohn Berrien, and his mother was Margaret Macpherson.[1] The next year his parents moved with him toSavannah, Georgia, in 1782. His mother died three years later.[2]
Berrien graduated fromPrinceton College in 1796, studied law (read the law) in Savannah, and was admitted to the bar at the age of 18.[3] He moved toLouisville, Georgia, where he started a practice in 1799.
He returned to Savannah, where he was elected solicitor of the eastern judicial circuit of Georgia in 1809.[4] He was elected as judge of the same circuit in 1810, serving until January 30, 1821, when he resigned.[4]
He served as captain of theGeorgia Hussars, a Savannah volunteer company, in theWar of 1812. He later was a colonel in the 1st Georgia Cavalry.
A leader among Georgia'sFederalists, Berrien supportedRufus King in the1816 United States presidential election and later served a member of theGeorgia Senate from 1822 to 1823.[4] He was elected as aJacksonian Democrat to the United States Senate in 1824 and served from March 4, 1825, succeeding his fellow FederalistJohn Elliott.[4] InThe Antelope case of 1824,[5] he argued against the freedom of slaves captured at sea noting slavery "lay at the foundation of the Constitution" and that slaves "constitute the very foundation of your union".[6]
On March 9, 1829, he resigned from the Senate to accept the position of Attorney General in the Cabinet of President Andrew Jackson.[4] His first assignment was to prosecute formerTreasury Fourth AuditorTobias Watkins for embezzlement of public funds. Berrien secured a conviction at a high profile trial that same year.[7] Later Berrien supported states' rights in theNullification Crisis. In the case of the Negro Seamen Acts, he considered the acts to be appropriate exercises of the states' police powers, and beyond the reach of the federal government.[8] He resigned from the office of Attorney General on June 22, 1831, a result of thePetticoat affair, along withSecretary of StateMartin Van Buren (resigned on May 23),Secretary of the TreasurySamuel D. Ingham (June 20), andSecretary of the NavyJohn Branch (May 12).[4]
After leaving the Cabinet he resumed the practice of law until he was again elected, as aWhig, to the U.S. Senate and served from March 4, 1841, until May 1845.[4] He resigned to accept a seat on the Georgia State Supreme Court, but the Whig party re-elected him again elected in 1845 to the Senate to fill the vacancy caused by his second resignation.[4] He never took his seat on the court.[4] He was then reelected in 1846 and served from November 13, 1845, until May 28, 1852, when he resigned for the third time.[4]
Berrien's views on sectional issues hardened during his tenure in the Senate and he became aligned with the short-livedSouthern Rights Party formed to oppose theCompromise of 1850 and theWilmot Proviso.
During the 1820s, Berrien was a member of the prestigious society,Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences, which counted among its members presidentsAndrew Jackson andJohn Quincy Adams and many prominent men of the day, including well-known representatives of the military, government service, medical and other professions.[9]
He served as the chairman of theU.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary in the20th,26th and27th Congresses. He was president of theAmerican Party convention atMilledgeville in 1855.
Berrien was a slaveholder,[10] and owned 90 according to the 1830 U.S. census.[11] In 1840, he owned eight slaves at his house in Savannah, Georgia,[12] and an additional 140 slaves in surrounding Chatham County.[13] In 1850, he owned 143 slaves.[14]
Berrien died at his home, now known as theJohn Berrien House (named for his father),[2] in Savannah on January 1, 1856. He is interred inLaurel Grove Cemetery.Berrien County, Georgia, andBerrien County, Michigan (one of Michigan'sCabinet Counties, organized during his term as attorney general), are named after him.[15]
Berrien was one of theGeorgia Historical Society's founders in 1839 and served as the organization's first president. The Georgia Historical Society holds a substantial collection ofBerrien papers (including important material relating to thePetticoat affair). The Society also annually presents theJohn Macpherson Berrien Award, a lifetime achievement award recognizing outstanding contributions to Georgia history.
| U.S. Senate | ||
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| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Georgia 1825–1829 Served alongside:Thomas W. Cobb,Oliver H. Prince,George Troup | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Judiciary Committee 1828–1829 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Georgia 1841–1845 Served alongside:Alfred Cuthbert,Walter T. Colquitt | Succeeded by Himself |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Judiciary Committee 1841–1845 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Himself | U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Georgia 1845–1852 Served alongside:Walter T. Colquitt,Herschel Johnson,William Dawson | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | United States Attorney General 1829–1831 | Succeeded by |
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