James L. Petigru
James L. Petigru | |
---|---|
Robert Young Hayne | |
Succeeded by | Hugh S. Legaré |
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives | |
In office 1830–1830 | |
Personal details | |
Born | James Louis Petigru May 10, 1789 Abbeville, South Carolina, U.S. |
Died | March 9, 1863 Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. | (aged 73)
Political party | Whig |
James Louis Petigru (May 10, 1789 – March 9, 1863) was an American lawyer, politician, and jurist in
Career
Petigru graduated from South Carolina College in 1809. He was admitted to the South Carolina bar in 1812. In 1816, he was elected as the solicitor of Abbeville County, South Carolina. He became the Attorney General of South Carolina in 1822. In 1830, after having lost a bid for a seat in the South Carolina Senate, he was elected to fill a vacant seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives. He was the leader of the anti-nullificationists in that body.[1]
He also acted as lead attorney in the case of
Eventually, a legal case on the validity of the test oath reached the state Court of Appeals in Columbia. Attorney Robert Barnwell Rhett, of Beaufort, argued for the test oath with the support of state Governor Robert Y. Hayne. In opposition, the Unionist Petigru was joined by business attorney Abram Blanding of Columbia, and Thomas Smith Grimké of Charleston. The June 2, 1834 decision from the three judges fell 2 to 1 for the Unionists. "Nullifiers" immediately called for the impeachment of the two jurists. "Nullifier" legislators responded to the decision by calling for a constitutional amendment to legalize the test oath and assert the primacy of allegiance to South Carolina.[2]
Petirgu joined the
See also
- Nullification Crisis of 1832
- South Carolina Court of Appeals
References
- ^ a b c "James L. Petigru", nps.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ Pease, William H. & Pease, Janet (2002). James Louis Petigru: Southern Conservative, Southern Dissenter. University of South Carolina Press, p. 59.
- ^ Tinkler, Robert (July 7, 2016). "Whig Party". South Carolina Encyclopedia. University of South Carolina, Institute for Southern Studies. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
Although most of these planters had supported nullification, not all Whigs were former nullifiers. Some nullification-era Unionists found the Whig economic program appealing. These included merchants and professionals in Charleston, such as the lawyer James L. Petigru.