General Notes

REFN: 632AN
REFN: P632
James Hamilton, 1786-1857
Political Party: Democrat
Born: May 8, 1786 in Charleston, SC
Education:  Studied law in Charleston, SC
Occupations:  Major, United States Army;  Planter; Lawyer; Politician
Died: November 15, 1857 in the Gulf of Mexico
Major Events and Accomplishments - 1830-1832
The US Congress passed the Tariff of 1832 - 1832 Governor Hamilton presid
ed over the convention that passed the Ordinanceof Nullification - 1832
Other Government Positions:  South Carolina House of Representatives - 182
0-1822
US House of Representativ
es - 1822-1829
Governor of South Carolina 1830 - 1832
South Carolina Senate - 1
836
Other Accomplishments, Honors, Distinctions, etc.:
-Hamilton declined an offer from President Andrew Jackson to become U
nited States Secretary of War.
-Hamilton helped found the Southern Quarterly Review.
-The Republic of Texas honored Hamilton with the title "perpetual cit
izen of the Republic of Texas" - 1835
Election Results:
Election - December 9, 1830 Hamilton was elected Governor by the Sou
th Carol ina General Assembly by secret ballot.
Hamilton died in a shipwreck in the Gulf of Mexico - 1857
Source 1: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000110
HAMILTON, James, Jr., a Representative from South Carolina; born in Charle
ston, S.C., May 8, 1786; completed academic studies; studied law; was admi
tted to the bar and commenced practice in Charleston; served in the W
ar of 1812 as major; mayor of Charleston; member of the State house of rep
resentatives, 1819-1823; elected to the Seventeenth Congress to fill the v
acancy caused by the resignation of William Lowndes; reelected to the Eigh
teenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Congresses and served from December 1
3, 1822, to March 3, 1829; chairman, Committee on Military Affairs (Eighte
enth through Twentieth Congresses); Governor of South Carolina 1830-183
2; moved to Texas; appointed diplomatic agent of the Republic of Tex
as to France, Great Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands in 1839; was drow
ned on November 15, 1857, while on his way from New Orleans to Galveston.
Source 2:  http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/hamilton/bio.html
James Hamilton was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on May 8, 1786, t
he son of Major James and Elizabeth Hamilton. Hamilton studied law in Char
leston and was admitted to the bar in 1810. He served as Secretary to Sou
th Carolina Governor Henry Middleton until the War of 1812, when he volunt
eered to fight.
After the War of 1812, Hamilton became increasingly involved in South Caro
lina politics. He served in the lower house of the state legislature fr
om 1819 to 1822. Hamilton first gained national recognition for his ro
le in the suppression of the Denmark Vesey slave revolt in 1822. He repres
ented South Carolina in the U.S. Congress from 1822 to 1829. While in Wash
ington, D.C., Hamilton was very active in affairs of national governmen
t. He became well known as an advocate of state's rights.
Elected governor of South Carolina in 1830, Hamilton organized the moveme
nt that led to the Nullification Ordinance of 1832. After leaving the gove
rnorship, he served in the South Carolina state senate from 1834 to 1836 a
nd served as a diplomatic agent for the Republic of Texas from 1839 to 184
2. Following a series of business reverses, Hamilton went deeply into de
bt and lost much of his public reputation by the 1850s. He drowned in t
he Gulf of Mexico in 1857.
Source 3: http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/HH/fha35.htm
l
HAMILTON, JAMES (1786-1857). James Hamilton, governor of South Carolina a
nd a financial agent of the Republic of Texas, son of James and Elizabe
th (Lynch) Hamilton, was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on May 8, 178
6, and educated in New England. He was a lawyer in Charleston and for seve
ral years served as mayor of that city. He became a member of Congre
ss in 1822 and served until 182