James McNair Baker (July 20, 1821 – June 20, 1892) was a lawyer, politician, and Senator from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in the Confederate Congress during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Biography

Baker was born in Robeson County, North Carolina, a son of Archibald S. Baker and Catherine McCallum. He graduated from

Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan� ...

Davidson, North Carolina Davidson is a suburban town located in northern Mecklenburg and Iredell counties, North Carolina, United States, on the banks of Lake Norman. It is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 10,944 at the 2010 census, and in ...

, in 1844. His family has long been associated with the college, and the Baker Sports Complex there is named for them. Initially, Baker set up a law practice in

Lumberton, North Carolina Lumberton is a city in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States. As of 2020, its population was 19,025. It is the seat of Robeson County's government. Located in southern North Carolina's Inner Banks region, Lumberton is located on the Lum ...

. But, after a bout with

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

, he determined to move to a warmer

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

and traveled to

on horseback. He re-established his practice of the law for a time at Old Columbia on the

Suwannee River The Suwannee River (also spelled Suwanee River) is a river that runs through south Georgia southward into Florida in the southern United States. It is a wild blackwater river, about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset hig ...

. But, he then moved to the town of Alligator, where he encouraged the residents to change the uninviting name to the modern Lake City. In 1852, Baker was named State Attorney for the Suwannee Circuit, and served as a delegate to the Whig National Convention in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. There, despite the protests of the Florida delegation, the party nominated General

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...

for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

. Scott was extremely unpopular in the state due to his prosecution of the Seminole Wars, and the decision to put him at the top of the party's ticket alienated many voters. So, it was no surprise in 1856 when Baker failed to win election to the U.S. Congress as a

Know Nothing The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

-Whig candidate despite his extensive horseback travels across the state. In 1859, Baker succeeded in winning election as the state judge for the 4th Judicial District, which met in Suwannee. The same year, he married Miss Fanny Gilchrist. During the tumultuous

Election of 1860 The following elections occurred in the year 1860. Most notably, the 1860 United States presidential election was one of the events that precipitated the American Civil War. North America United States * California's at-large congressional distr ...

, Judge Baker supported the failed Constitutional Union ticket of Bell and Everett and opposed Florida's

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

after the election of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. But, once the secession ordinance passed, he loyally supported the decision of his adopted state. Judge Baker was still on the bench in 1861, when the

Florida legislature The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Cons ...

created Baker County in his honor. The following year, the same body selected him to serve as one of the state's two senators in the Confederate Congress. He moved to

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, for the duration of the

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Returning to Florida after the defeat of the South in 1865, Baker was quickly appointed a justice of the

Florida Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven members: the chief justice and six justices. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geographic diversity, and one ...

by Governor David S. Walker. However, ratification of the state's

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

constitution in 1868 forced his resignation and return to private practice. Over the next several years, he gained his greatest professional reputation for litigation associated with the disposition of lands held by the state's Internal Improvement Fund—which had been created in 1855 to attract Northern capital and spur development. By 1876, Baker was an active member of the state's Democratic Executive Committee, and worked hard to bring about an end to the Reconstruction era in Florida. In 1881, he was returned as a judge on the state's 4th Judicial Circuit by Governor William Bloxham. He was re-appointed in 1885 by his successor Governor

Edward A. Perry Edward Aylesworth Perry (March 15, 1831October 15, 1889) was a general under Robert E. Lee during the American Civil War and the 14th Governor of Florida. Early life He was a descendant of Arthur Perry, one of the earliest settlers of New Engl ...

. But, he resigned due to declining health in 1890. Judge Baker retired in Jacksonville, where he became an elder in the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

church. He died at his home in that city one month shy of his seventy-first birthday, and was buried at the nearby Evergreen Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and five children, including two sons who followed in his professional footsteps as prominent Florida attorneys. Members of his family also gained prominence as the founders of Florida Rock Industries .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, James Macnair 1821 births 1892 deaths American Presbyterians Confederate States of America senators 19th-century American politicians Davidson College alumni Florida Constitutional Unionists Florida Democrats Florida lawyers Florida state court judges Justices of the Florida Supreme Court Florida Whigs People from Lake City, Florida People from Robeson County, North Carolina People of Florida in the American Civil War Politicians from Jacksonville, Florida 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers