James Augustus Black (1793 – April 3, 1848) was a slave owner, manufacturer, cotton broker, and

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

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 = ...

Early life and military service

Black was born on his father's plantation in the Ninety-Six District, near Abbeville, South Carolina. He attended the common schools on his father's plantation. Black served in the army during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. He was appointed a second lieutenant in the Eighth Infantry on March 12, 1812. He was promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

on December 2, 1813. After the war, Black was

honorably discharged A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and th ...

(June 15, 1815).

Early career and a taste for politics

Soon after returning to civilian life, Black co-founded the Kings Mountain Iron Works, which was involved in the mining of iron ore in areas near present-day Cherokee Falls, South Carolina. Black eventually moved to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, settling in Savannah, where he engaged in the buying and selling of cotton. Black served as

tax collector A tax collector (also called a taxman) is a person who collects unpaid taxes from other people or corporations. The term could also be applied to those who audit tax returns. Tax collectors are often portrayed as being evil, and in the modern wo ...

of Chatham County, Georgia for a time, before he returned to South Carolina.

Political career

This time, Black settled in Columbia, where he worked for a time as a cashier of the State Bank branch. He ran for, and twice won, a seat in 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 ...

, serving from 1826 to 1828; and again, 1832–1835. Beginning in 1843, Black, 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 ...

, was elected to three consecutive terms (the Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth, and Thirtieth) United States Congresses. Black was chairman of the Committee on the Militia during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

Death

Black served in Congress from March 4, 1843, until his death April 3, 1848 in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

while still in office. He is interred in the graveyard of the First Presbyterian Church,

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...

. A

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

in his honor was erected at the

Congressional Cemetery The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street, SE, in Washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American "cemetery of national m ...

References

Sources

External links

James Augustus Black entry
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...

* an
cenotaph at the Congressional Cemetery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, James Augustus Date of birth unknown 1793 births 1848 deaths United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 Burials in South Carolina Democratic Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives People from Abbeville, South Carolina Tax collectors United States Army officers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina 19th-century American politicians