HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jonathan Russell (February 27, 1771 – February 17, 1832) was a
United States 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 ...
from
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
and diplomat. He served the 11th congressional district from 1821 to 1823 and was the first chair of the
House Committee on Foreign Affairs The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs o ...
.


Early life

Jonathan Russell was born in
Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
on February 27, 1771, the son of Jonathan and Abigail (Russell) Russell. He attended the local schools and graduated from Rhode Island College (now
Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
) with a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in 1791 and a
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in 1794. He studied law and was
admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...
, but did not practice. He engaged in the mercantile business in partnership with Otis Ammidon, importing goods from Europe for sale in America. In 1801 he was appointed U.S. Collector of Customs for the Port of
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
.


Diplomatic career

In 1811, Russell was appointed by President
James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
as
Chargé d'Affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...
and in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and he acted as Minister to France following the departure of
John Armstrong Jr. John Armstrong Jr. (November 25, 1758April 1, 1843) was an American soldier, diplomat and statesman who was a delegate to the Continental Congress, U.S. Senator from New York, and United States Secretary of War under President James Madison. A me ...
and prior to the arrival of Armstrong's successor,
Joel Barlow Joel Barlow (March 24, 1754 – December 26, 1812) was an American poet, and diplomat, and politician. In politics, he supported the French Revolution and was an ardent Jeffersonian republican. He worked as an agent for American speculator Wil ...
. He soon transferred to
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, where he was
Chargé d'Affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...
and acting Minister when war was declared by the United States in 1812. He was Minister to Sweden and
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
from January 18, 1814 to October 16, 1818. Russell was one of the five commissioners who negotiated the
Treaty of Ghent The Treaty of Ghent () was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. It took effect in February 1815. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands (now in ...
with Great Britain in 1814, which ended the War of 1812. In 1817, Russell received the
honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
of
LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...
from Brown University. He returned to the United States in 1818 and settled in
Mendon, Massachusetts Mendon is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,228 at the 2020 census. Mendon is part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, an early center of the industrial revolution in the United ...
. He became a member of the
Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...
in 1820, and also served as a delegate to that year's state constitutional convention.


Member of Congress

In November 1820, Russell was elected to the
United States House of Representatives 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
. He served in the
Seventeenth Congress The 17th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. While its term was officially March 4, 1821, t ...
(March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1823), and was chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the first individual to hold this position.


Feud with John Quincy Adams

In 1822, Russell authored a pamphlet accusing
John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...
, one of Russell's fellow negotiators at Ghent in 1814, of having favored British interests in those treaty talks. Russell intended the pamphlet to further Henry Clay's presidential candidacy against Adams in the 1824 election. Adams's responsive pamphlets were so devastating in impugning Russell's veracity that they engendered the phrase "to Jonathan Russell" someone, meaning to refute an attacker's falsehoods so effectively that it destroys the attacker's reputation. When the
Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...
visited the United States in 1824 and 1825, his itinerary while in Massachusetts included an August 23, 1824 visit to Russell's home in Mendon. Russell had known Lafayette since 1811, and decorated his home for a lavish celebration with the anticipation of renewing their friendship. As
United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
and a longtime friend of Lafayette, Adams was part of Lafayette's traveling party. On the day of the planned visit, Adams humiliated Russell again by having the schedule changed without informing Russell, so that Lafayette bypassed Mendon and traveled directly to Providence.


Later life

Russell died in
Milton, Massachusetts Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and an affluent suburb of Boston. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and architect Buckminster Fuller. ...
on February 17, 1832. He was interred in the family plot on his estate in Milton.


Family

In 1796, Russell married Sylvia Ammidon (1773–1811) of Mendon. In 1817, he married Lydia Smith (1786–1859). He was the father of eight children, four with each wife: *Amelia *George *Caroline *Anna *Ida *Geraldine *Rosalie *Jonathan


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Jonathan 1771 births 1832 deaths Brown University alumni Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Ambassadors of the United States to Sweden Politicians from Milton, Massachusetts 19th-century American diplomats 19th-century American legislators Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts