Andrew Gordon Magrath (February 8, 1813 – April 9, 1893) was the last
Governor of South Carolina under the
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
, a
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
of the
and a Confederate District Judge for the District of South Carolina.
Education and career
Born on February 8, 1813, in
Charleston,
South Carolina
)'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
,
Magrath received an
Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1831 from South Carolina College (now the
University of South Carolina), attended
Harvard Law School and
read law with
James L. Petigru in 1835.
He entered private practice in Charleston from 1835 to 1839, in 1841, and from 1843 to 1856.
He was a member of the
South Carolina House of Representatives
The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections.
Unlike many legislatures, seati ...
in 1840, and 1842.
Magrath was a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
.
[
]
Federal judicial service
Magrath was nominated by President Franklin Pierce on May 9, 1856, to a seat on the vacated by Judge Robert Budd Gilchrist. He was confirmed by the United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
on May 12, 1856, and received his commission the same day.
Magrath's service was notable for his strongly proslavery decisions. In the trial of William C. Corrie for his ownership of the slave vessel ''Wanderer'' in 1858, Magrath rewrote the law from the bench by announcing that bringing enslaved people from Africa was not a crime if they had been enslaved prior to their purchase.
His service terminated on November 7, 1860, due to his resignation.
Resignation address
:In the political history of the United States, an event has happened of ominous import to fifteen slaveholding States. The State of which we are citizens has been always understood to have to have deliberately fixed its purpose whenever that event should happen. Feeling an assurance of what will be the action of the State, I consider it my duty, without delay, to prepare to obey its wishes. That preparation is made by the resignation of the office I have held. For the last time, I have, as a Judge of the United States, administered the laws of the United States, within the limits of the State of South Carolina. While thus acting in obedience to a sense of duty, I cannot be indifferent to the emotions it must produce. That department of Government which. I believe, has best maintained its integrity and preserved its purity, has been suspended. So far as I am concerned, the Temple of Justice, raised under the Constitution of the United States, is now closed. If it shall be never again opened, I thank God that its doors have been closed before its altar has been desecrated with sacrifices to tyranny.
Confederate service
Magrath was a member of South Carolina's succession convention in 1860, and was the first speaker at the signing ceremony. He was the Secretary of State of South Carolina
The secretary of state of South Carolina is an elected position that is responsible to maintain clear records of statewide corporations, supply to the public with customer service, and administrate the Solicitation of Charitable Funds Act.
Since ...
from 1860 to 1861. He was a Judge of the Confederate District Court for the District of South Carolina from 1861 to 1864. He was elected on December 18, 1864, as the last Governor of South Carolina under the Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
, serving from December 20, 1864, to May 25, 1865, when he was deposed by the Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
and imprisoned at Fort Pulaski
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
. Magrath was the final governor to be elected by a secret ballot of the State Legislature, with gubernatorial selection being changed to popular election. He served a partial term until he was overthrown and imprisoned by the Union Army.
Later career and death
After his release from prison in December 1865, Magrath resumed private practice in Charleston from 1865 to 1893. He died on April 9, 1893, in Charleston. He was interred at Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Magrath, Andrew Gordon
1813 births
1893 deaths
University of South Carolina alumni
Harvard Law School alumni
South Carolina lawyers
Democratic Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives
Judges of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina
United States federal judges appointed by Franklin Pierce
19th-century American judges
People of South Carolina in the American Civil War
Democratic Party governors of South Carolina
Judges of the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America state governors
19th-century American politicians
United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law
Burials at Magnolia Cemetery (Charleston, South Carolina)