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James Alfred Pearce (December 14, 1805December 20, 1862) was an American politician. He was a member of the
U.S. House of Representatives, representing the
second district of Maryland from 1835 to 1839 and 1841 to 1843. He later served as a
U.S. Senator from
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
from 1843 until his death in 1862.
Biography
Early life
Pearce was in born
Alexandria, DC, the son of Gideon Pearce and Julia Dick, and the grandson of
Elisha C. Dick. When he turned four years old, his mother died; his father moved to
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
to become a sugar planter, leaving his son in Alexandria to the care of grandparents.
[Rodney P. Carlisle]
Pearce, James Alfred
''American National Biography Online'', February 2000. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
Pearce attended a private academy in Alexandria and entered the College of New Jersey (now
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
) in 1819. He graduated in 1822 at the age of seventeen with honors and started studying law in Baltimore under Judge John Glenn and attorney David Hoffman (1784–1854), an American legal ethics pioneer and author of ''Fifty Resolutions in Regard to Professional Deportment'' (1836). There was a requirement for aspiring jurists set by the Maryland legislature for at least three years of legal studies under the guidance of practicing lawyers (in 1831 it was lowered to two years). Ahead of time, in 1824, Pearce passed exams and was admitted to the Maryland Bar, commencing practice in
Cambridge, Maryland
Cambridge is a city in Dorchester County, Maryland, United States. The population was 13,096 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Dorchester County and the county's largest municipality. Cambridge is the fourth most populous city in Mary ...
for a year. In 1825, Pearce moved with his father in
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, and briefly engaged in sugar planting business, then he returned to
Kent County, Maryland
Kent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 19,198, making it the least populous county in Maryland. Its county seat is Chestertown. The county was named for the county of Kent in E ...
, in 1828, where he started the practice of law in
Chestertown.
Family life
In 1829, Pearce married Martha J. Laird; they were raising 3 children in
Chestertown, Maryland
Chestertown is a town in Kent County, Maryland, United States. The population was 5,252 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Kent County.
History
Founded in 1706, Chestertown rose in stature when it was named one of the English col ...
until 1845, when Martha died. In 1847, Pearce remarried, his new wife became Matilda Cox Ringgold; they had one child. His son,
James Alfred Pearce Jr., became a judge for the
Maryland Court of Appeals
The Supreme Court of Maryland is the highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. Its name was changed on December 14, 2022, from the Maryland Court of Appeals, after a voter-approved change to the state constitution. The court, which is compose ...
.
Political career
From 1831 until 1835, Pearce was a member of the
Maryland House of Delegates
The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...
. He was elected as a
Whig to the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1835 until March 3, 1839, but was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1838 to the Twenty-sixth Congress, losing to
Philip Thomas. He was again elected to Congress in 1840, and served one term from March 4, 1841, until March 3, 1843.
Pearce was again elected as a Whig to the United States Senate in 1843, and was re-elected in 1849, 1855, and 1861, the last time as a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
, and served from March 4, 1843, until his death in 1862. In the Senate, Pearce served for nineteen years as chairman of the
Committee on the Library (Twenty-ninth through Thirty-seventh Congresses). He also served in 1861 for two months as chairman of the
Committee on Finance. In 1847–1862, he served as a member of the
Executive Committee of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. He was involved with the
United States Coast Survey
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
, which was among the oldest
United States Government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...
scientific organizations, and the
United States Botanic Garden
The United States Botanic Garden (USBG) is a botanical garden on the grounds of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., near Garfield Circle.
The Botanic Garden is supervised by the Congress through the Architect of the Capitol, who ...
.
In the U.S. Senate, Pearce became known as an erudite and pragmatist. In 1850, he developed the so-called ''Pearce Plan'', a part of
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850 that defused a political confrontation between slave and free states on the status of territories acquired in the Mexican–Am ...
. The Pearce Plan provided a solution for the boundary dispute between Texas and the Federal government. Pearce wrote a bill that granted Texas $10 million in compensation for agreeing with the state borders charted by the government. After being approved by Congress, the bill was signed by President
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...
.
In 1850, President Fillmore offered Pearce, first, to become a judge of the
United States District Court for the District of Maryland
The United States District Court for the District of Maryland (in case citations, D. Md.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Maryland. Appeals from the District of Maryland are taken to the United States Court ...
, and then, —
Secretary of the Interior. Pearce chose to stay in the Senate.
Political polarization caused by the issues of
nativism, prohibition, and anti-slavery fragmented in 1852 the
Whig Party, and in 1856, Pearce joined 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 ...
, and supported
James Buchanan's nomination for presidency. During the sectional crisis Pearce stood against the dissolution of the Union. However, he was hesitant to discuss the slavery issue being a slaveholder himself. After the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
broke out, he did not resign. In March 1862, he appeared in the Senate for the last time.
Pearce died in
Chestertown on December 20, 1862, and is interred in New Chester Cemetery. His deathbed from the
Hynson-Ringgold House was preserved and now exhibited in the historic Geddes-Piper House (c. 1770) in
Chestertown, Maryland
Chestertown is a town in Kent County, Maryland, United States. The population was 5,252 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Kent County.
History
Founded in 1706, Chestertown rose in stature when it was named one of the English col ...
.
[Daniels, D S]
''Ghosts of Chestertown and Kent County.''
Charleston, S.C.: History Press, 2015.
See also
*
List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899)
References
Further reading
* Steiner, Bernard. James Alfred Pearce. ''Maryland Historical Magazine'', Volume 16 (December 1921), p. 319-39; Volume 17 (March 1922), p. 33-47; (June 1922), p. 177-90; (September 1922), p. 269-83; (December 1922), p. 348-63; Volume 18 (March 1923), p. 38-52; (June 1923), 134–50; (September 1923), 257–73; (December 1923), 341–57; Volume 19 (March 1924), p. 13-29; (June 1924), p. 162-79.
* Some Letters from Correspondence of James Alfred Pearce. ''Maryland Historical Magazine'', Volume 16 (June 1921), p. 150-78.
U.S. Congress. Addresses on the Death of Hon. James A. Pearce: Delivered in the Senate and House of Representatives, on Tuesday, January 13, 1863.Washington: Govt. Print. Off., 1863.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, James
1805 births
1862 deaths
People of Maryland in the American Civil War
Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates
Politicians from Alexandria, Virginia
Princeton University alumni
Union (American Civil War) political leaders
Whig Party United States senators
Democratic Party United States senators from Maryland
Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland
19th-century American politicians
People from Kent County, Maryland