- John M. Berrien
John MacPherson Berrien (
August 23 ,1781 –January 1 ,1856 ) of Georgia was a United States Senator andAndrew Jackson 's Attorney General.Born at Rocky Hill,
New Jersey , to a family ofHuguenot ancestry, Berrien moved with his parents toSavannah, Georgia , in 1782; was graduated fromPrinceton College in 1796; studied law in Savannah; was admitted to the bar at the age of 18, and began practice inLouisville, Georgia , in 1799. After he returned to Savannah he was elected solicitor of the eastern judicial circuit of Georgia in 1809; judge of the same circuit from 1810 untilJanuary 30 ,1821 , when he resigned. He served as captain of theGeorgia Hussars , a Savannah volunteer company, in theWar of 1812 .Berrien was a member of the
Georgia Senate from 1822 to 1823. He was elected as aJacksonian Democrat to the United States Senate and served fromMarch 4 ,1825 , untilMarch 9 ,1829 , when resigned to accept the position of Attorney General in the Cabinet of President Andrew Jackson. He held that post fromMarch 9 ,1829 , untilJune 22 ,1831 , when he resigned. After leaving the Cabinet he resumed the practice of law until he was again elected, as a Whig, to the U.S. Senate and served fromMarch 4 ,1841 , until May 1845, when he again resigned to accept an appointment to the supreme court of Georgia; again elected in 1845 to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by his second resignation; reelected in 1846 and served fromNovember 13 ,1845 , untilMay 28 ,1852 , when he resigned for the third time.Berrien's views on sectional issues hardened during his tenure in the Senate and he became aligned with the short-lived
Southern Rights Party formed to oppose theCompromise of 1850 and theWilmot Proviso .He served as the chairman of the
U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary in the 20th, 26th and27th Congress es. He was president of the American Party convention atMilledgeville in 1855; and died in Savannah on January 1, 1856. He is interred inLaurel Grove Cemetery .Berrien County, Georgia , andBerrien County, Michigan (settled when he was attorney general), are named in his honor.References
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