James Henry Hammond
(November 15, 1807 - November 13, 1864) U.S.A.
Politician
Born in Newberry District, S.C., he graduated from the South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina) at Columbia in 1825; taught school and wrote for a newspaper; studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1828 and practiced in Columbia. He was a resident of Beech Island, then part of Edgefield District.
He established a newspaper to support nullification; elected as a Nullifier to the Twenty-fourth Congress in 1834 and served from March 4, 1835, until February 26, 1836, when he resigned because of ill health.
Hammond spent two years in Europe, then returned to South Carolina and engaged in
agricultural pursuits. Governor of South Carolina 1842-1844; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 1857 to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Andrew P. Butler and served from December 7, 1857, to November 11, 1860, and a major defender of Southern slavery.
He was a planter of great culture and wealth, who became Governor at a time when politics was exceedingly warm. The ticket on which he ran held John C. Calhoun for president, George McDuffie for United States Senate and Whitfield Brooks for Congress. As Governor, he led the state in improving and developing agricultural possibilities. He died at "Redcliffe", Beach Island, S.C.
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