John Randolph Tucker (1823–1897)
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John Randolph Tucker (December 24, 1823 – February 13, 1897) was an American lawyer, author, and politician from
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. From a distinguished family, he was elected Virginia's attorney general in 1857 and after re-election served during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
( James S. Wheat served as attorney general in Union-held portions of the state). After a pardon and
Congressional Reconstruction The Reconstruction era was a period in US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the abolition of slavery and reintegration of the former Confederate Sta ...
, Tucker was elected as U.S. Congressman (1875-1887), and later served as the first dean of the Washington and Lee University Law School.


Early life and family

Tucker was born in
Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the northwesternmost Administrative divisions of Virginia#Independent cities, independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Frederick County, Virginia, Frederi ...
on Christmas Eve in 1823, the son of Anna Evalina Hunter Tucker (1789-1855) and her husband Judge Henry St. George Tucker (1780-1848). A grandson of St. George Tucker, J.R. Tucker would become proud of his heritage among the
First Families of Virginia The First Families of Virginia, or FFV, are a group of early settler families who became a socially and politically dominant group in the British Colony of Virginia and later the Commonwealth of Virginia. They descend from European colonists who ...
. His father and many relatives owned plantations and enslaved persons. Nonetheless, several of his siblings never reached adulthood. His brothers Dr. Alfred Bland Tucker (1830-1862) and Lt.Col. St. George Hunter Tucker (1828-1863) would die of consumption while in the
Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...
; his brother Dr. David Hunter Tucker (1815-1871) became a professor at three medical schools including the
Medical College of Virginia The VCU Medical Center (VCU Health), formerly known as the Medical College of Virginia (MCV), is the medical campus of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), located in downtown Richmond, Virginia, United States. As MCV, VCU Medical Center merged ...
and survived his Confederate service. His brother Nathaniel Beverley Tucker (1820-1890) would become a Confederate diplomat and later a journalist. John Randolph Tucker attended a private school near his Winchester home, then entered the Richmond Academy. He finished his studies at the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
, graduating with a legal degree in 1844. He married Laura Powell in 1848. They had one son who survived to adulthood,
Henry St. George Tucker, III Henry St. George Tucker III (April 5, 1853 – July 23, 1932) was a representative from the Commonwealth of Virginia to the United States House of Representatives, professor of law, and president of the American Bar Association. Early and fam ...
(who later became a U.S. Congressman). Their daughters who married well and survived their parents included: Anne Holmes Tucker McGuire (1850 - 1914), Gertrude Tucker Logan (1856 - 1925), and Laura Randolph Tucker Pendleton (1860 - 1946).


Early legal and political career

John Randolph Tucker was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1845, and began a private legal practice in
Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
. In 1854 he delivered a major speech to the literary societies at
College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest instit ...
which argued that slavery was consistent with republicanism. He also became active in politics and was a presidential elector on the Democratic ticket in 1852 and 1856.


American Civil War

Voters elected Tucker
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
of the
Commonwealth of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
in 1857, and he served during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, until the Commonwealth surrendered to Union forces in 1865. His siblings also actively supported the
Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
cause, two as Confederate doctors, Nathaniel Beverley Tucker as a Confederate diplomat, and his lawyer brother St. George Hunter Tucker recruited the Ashland Grays (part of the 15th Virginia Infantry) and served at Lt. Col., winning plaudits for his conduct at the
Battle of Malvern Hill The Battle of Malvern Hill, also known as the Battle of Poindexter's Farm, was fought on July 1, 1862, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, led by Gen. Robert E. Lee, and the Union Army of the Potomac under Maj. Gen. George B. ...
before resigning his commission and dying of consumption in Charlottesville in 1863.


Postwar legal and political career

Tucker received a pardon and resumed his private legal practice. Elected to the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
as a Democrat in 1875, he served until 1887. He was chairman of the
House Committee on Ways and Means The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other program ...
in the 46th Congress and chairman of the
House Committee on the Judiciary The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, f ...
in the 48th and 49th Congresses. He took an active part in the debates on the
tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...
, in opposition to the protective policy. His speeches on other questions include those on the
Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
bill, the constitutional doctrine as to the presidential count, the Hawaiian treaty in 1876, the use of the army at the polls, in 1879, and Chinese emigration, in 1883. He introduced legislation broadening the power of the federal Court of Claims to hear Constitutional claims in 1886, which became known as the
Tucker Act The Tucker Act (March 3, 1887, ch. 359, , ) is a federal statute of the United States by which the United States government has waived its sovereign immunity with respect to certain lawsuits. The Tucker Act may be divided into the "Big" Tucker A ...
. He declined to be renominated to the House in 1886. He was co-sponsor of the 1887
Edmunds–Tucker Act The Edmunds–Tucker Act of 1887 was an Act of Congress that restricted some practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and disincorporated the LDS Church. An amendment to the earlier Edmunds Act, it was passed in ...
. Tucker was an exemplar of the racist views of his day. Speaking on the House floor, he asserted that “We did not ordain and establish this Constitution for the Chinaman and for all the other races of the earth. . . . I hold that this Constitution was ordained and established by our fathers for their posterity of the Caucasian people of America.” Not surprisingly, he was also not supportive of the post-Civil War push to grant rights to African Americans, declaring that “. . . there is not a philosophical statesman in this land who to-day does not say either that the citizenship and the voting power of the African race in the South is a failure--either that or that it is an unsolved problem of our future. We have that one disease in the body-politic, which God grant we may recover from.”


Electoral history

*1874 — Tucker was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 65.23% of the vote, defeating Republican J. Foote Johnson. *1876 — Tucker was re-elected with 59.61% of the vote, defeating Republican George H. Burch. *1878 — Tucker was re-elected with 63.42% of the vote, defeating Independent Democrat Camm Patterson and Independent Lewis W. Cabell. *1880 — Tucker was re-elected with 59.56% of the vote, defeating Readjuster
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and Republican David J. Woodfin. *1882 — Tucker was re-elected with 54.95% of the vote, defeating Readjuster Henry J. Rives and Republican Woodfin. *1884 — Tucker was re-elected, but to
Virginia's 10th congressional district Virginia's 10th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Situated in the suburbs and exurbs of Northern Virginia, the district includes the entireties of Loudoun, Fauquier, and Rappahannock c ...
Tucker made an unsuccessful but legally influential argument on behalf of August Spies and the other Haymarket Riot defendants during their appeal to the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
. Elected
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of
Constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...
at
Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...
in 1888, Tucker was Dean of the
School of Law A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for bec ...
from 1893 to 1897. Tucker served as president of The
Virginia Bar Association The Virginia Bar Association (VBA) is a voluntary organization of lawyers, judges and law school faculty and students in Virginia, with offices in Richmond, Virginia. Key elements are advocacy, professionalism, service and collegiality. It pro ...
in 1891–1892, and president of the
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...
in 1894. He was elected to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
in 1895.


Death and legacy

Tucker died in 1897 in
Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, Virg ...
and is buried in the family plot at Mount Hebron Cemetery in Winchester. His widow died in 1916. Tucker's two volume treatise, ''The Constitution of the United States'', appeared posthumously in 1899. One of his sons, Henry St. George Tucker, also became dean of the Washington and Lee Law School, and later a U.S. Congressman representing Winchester. His Lexington home, Blandome, was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 2002.


Works


Race Progress in the United States, by J. R. Tucker, ''The North American review''. / Volume 138, Issue 327 (February, 1884) pp. 163-178The History of the Federal Convention of 1787, and of its work, by J. Randolph Tucker, ''New Englander and Yale review'' / Volume 47, Issue 209 (August, 1887) pp. 97-147.Virginia in the Supreme Court, by J. Randolph Tucker, ''The North American review'' / Volume 146, Issue 379 (June, 1888) pp. 674-681.
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Notes


References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, John Randolph 1823 births 1897 deaths Virginia attorneys general People from Winchester, Virginia Presidents of the American Bar Association Politicians from Winchester, Virginia University of Virginia School of Law alumni John Randolph Tucker (1823-1897) American people of English descent American people of Bermudian descent Washington and Lee University School of Law faculty Virginia lawyers People from Lexington, Virginia People of Virginia in the American Civil War Writers from Virginia American legal writers American legal historians Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia Burials at Mount Hebron Cemetery (Winchester, Virginia) Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves Members of the American Philosophical Society 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives