Alfred Iverson Sr. (December 3, 1798March 4, 1873) was a United States representative and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from Georgia.

Early life

Born in Liberty County, he attended private schools and graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1820. He studied law, was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1822 and commenced practice in Clinton, a community in Jones County, Georgia.

Political life

He was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1827 to 1830, and moved to

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

in 1830 and continued the practice of law. He was judge of the State

superior court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

from 1835 to 1837, a member of the Georgia Senate in 1843–1844, and a presidential elector on the Democratic ticket in 1844. Iverson was elected as a Democrat to the Thirtieth Congress (March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849). From 1850 to 1854 he again served as judge of the State superior court, and was elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1855, to January 28, 1861, when he withdrew. While in the Senate he was chairman of the Committee on Claims (Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth Congresses). While a senator, he repudiated popular sovereignty. Iverson left the Senate shortly after Georgia passed an

ordinance of secession An Ordinance of Secession was the name given to multiple resolutions drafted and ratified in 1860 and 1861, at or near the beginning of the Civil War, by which each seceding Southern state or territory formally declared secession from the United ...

from the United States and after making a defiant farewell speech, stating that Southerners would never return to the Union "short of a full and explicit recognition of the guarantee of the safety of their institution of

domestic slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

." (text of farewell speech)

Death and legacy

After leaving the Senate, he resumed the practice of law in Columbus until 1868, when he purchased a plantation in East Macon and engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death there in 1873; interment was in Linwood Cemetery. His son Alfred Iverson Jr. was a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

general in the American Civil War.

References

Other sources

External links

Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
Emory University
Iverson family papers, 1821-1928
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iverson, Alfred Sr. 1798 births 1873 deaths People from Liberty County, Georgia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Democratic Party United States senators from Georgia (U.S. state) 1844 United States presidential electors Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives Democratic Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges American slave owners Princeton University alumni 19th-century American judges United States senators who owned slaves