Nathaniel Macon (December 17, 1757June 29, 1837) was an American politician who represented

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

in both houses of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. He was the fifth

speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hunger ...

, serving from 1801 to 1807. He was a member of 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from 1791 to 1815 and a member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

from 1815 to 1828. He opposed ratification of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...

and the

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

economic policies of

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charle ...

. From 1826 to 1827, he served as

President pro tempore of the United States Senate The president pro tempore of the United States Senate (often shortened to president pro tem) is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate, after the vice president. According to Article One, Section Three of the United S ...

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

dubbed him "''Ultimas Romanorum''"—"the last of the Romans", like Flavius Aetius. During his political career he was spokesman for the Old Republican faction of the

Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the earl ...

that wanted to strictly limit the United States federal government. Along with fellow Old Republicans John Randolph and John Taylor, Macon frequently opposed various domestic policy proposals, and generally opposed the internal improvements promoted by

Henry Clay Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seven ...

and

John C. Calhoun John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist from South Carolina who held many important positions including being the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. He ...

. An earnest defender of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, Macon voted against the

Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise was a federal legislation of the United States that balanced desires of northern states to prevent expansion of slavery in the country with those of southern states to expand it. It admitted Missouri as a Slave states an ...

in 1820. In the 1824 presidential election, he received several electoral votes for vice president, despite declining to run, as the stand-in running-mate for

William Harris Crawford William Harris Crawford (February 24, 1772 – September 15, 1834) was an American politician and judge during the early 19th century. He served as US Secretary of War and US Secretary of the Treasury before he ran for US president in the 1824 ...

. He also served as president of the 1835 North Carolina constitutional convention. After leaving public office, he served as a trustee for the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

and protested President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

's threat to use force during the Nullification Crisis.

Early life

Nathaniel Macon was born near

Warrenton, North Carolina Warrenton is a town in, and the county seat of, Warren County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 862 at the 2010 census. Warrenton, now served by U.S. routes 158 and 401, was founded in 1779. It became one of the wealthiest towns ...

, the son of Maj. Gideon Macon, a Virginia native, and North Carolina-born Priscilla Jones, and through his great-grandfather, Col. Gideon Macon, allegedly a French Huguenot, Nathaniel was second cousin of First Lady Martha Dandridge Washington. Maj. Gideon Macon had built "Macon Manor" and became a prosperous

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

planter, where Nathaniel was born as the sixth child of Gideon and Priscilla, and he was only two when his father died in 1761. Upon his death, Gideon possessed of land and 25–30 slaves. Nathaniel was bequeathed two parcels of land and all of his father's

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

ing tools. Gideon also left his son three slaves: George, Robb, and Lucy. NC-Congress-BenjaminHawkins

Education

In 1766, Priscilla (Jones) Macon, now the wife of James Ransom,Dodd (1903), p. 3 arranged for the education of two of her sons, Nathaniel and John, along with the two sons of her neighbor Philemon Hawkins II. For this purpose, they engaged Mr. Charles Pettigrew, who later became the principal of the Academy of Edenton in 1733. The two brothers and their neighbors, Joseph and

Benjamin Hawkins Benjamin Hawkins (August 15, 1754June 6, 1816) was an American planter, statesman and a U.S. Indian agent He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a United States Senator from North Carolina, having grown up among the planter eli ...

, later a senator and U. S. Indian agent, were instructed by him from 1766 to 1773. Three of the four boys (Nathaniel and Benjamin among them) continued on to further their education at the " College of New Jersey" at

Princeton 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 nin ...

as part of the class of 1777. Neither Nathaniel or Benjamin would graduate.

American Revolution

Macon performed a short term of military duty during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. He returned to North Carolina in the fall of 1776, and studied law for three years. He rejoined the Revolution as a private in 1780, and was likely present at the

Battle of Camden The Battle of Camden (August 16, 1780), also known as the Battle of Camden Court House, was a major victory for the British in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War. On August 16, 1780, British forces under Lieutenant General ...

Marriage and family

Macon met Hannah Plummer in 1782 in Warrenton, North Carolina. Her parents William Plummer and Mary Hayes were Virginians like Macon's, and they were "well connected". Macon was a tall man, over , and considered attractive, but he was not the only man who was pursuing Miss Plummer. However, after a number of months of courtship, Hannah and Nathaniel decided to marry. One story often told of her courtship involves Macon challenging an unnamed potential suitor to a card game, with Hannah Plummer as the prize. The offer was accepted, and Macon lost the card game. Upon losing, he turned to Hannah and exclaimed "notwithstanding I have lost you fairly—love is superior to honesty—I cannot give you up." This won her favor, and they were married soon afterwards. Their wedding took place on October 9, 1783, and their marriage was an affectionate one.

In laws

Her brother was the lawyer Kemp Plummer, the grandfather of

Kemp Plummer Battle Kemp Plummer Battle (December 19, 1831 – February 4, 1919) was an American lawyer, railroad president, university president, educator, and historian. He served as North Carolina State Treasurer and as president of the University of North Caro ...

. Kemp Plummer and Nathaniel Macon were both part of the "Warren Junto" which also included James Turner, Weldon Edwards, William Hawkins, and William Miller, all of whom dominated North Carolina political life at that time. Kemp Plummer was the second owner of the oldest house in Warrenton. The original owner was Marmaduke Johnson, who married Macon's half-sister Hixie Ransom. Another Plummer brother was William Plummer II, who married Macon's half-sister Betsy Ransom.

Children, death, and burial

According to Bible records, the Macons had three children: * Betsy Kemp Macon (September 12, 1784 – November 10, 1829) married William John Martin (March 6, 1781 – December 11, 1828) * Plummer Macon (April 14, 1786 – July 26, 1792) * Seignora Macon (November 15, 1787 – August 16, 1825) married William Eaton Macon's wife, Hannah, died on July 11, 1790, when she was just 29 years old. Although Nathaniel was only 32 at the time of her death, he never remarried. It is said that he was devoted to his wife, and his long unmarried life following her early death would suggest that he was faithful to her memory. Her remains were buried not far from their home on the borders of their yard. Their only son died just over a year after Hannah and was buried beside her. When Nathaniel died July 29, 1837, at age 79, he was laid to rest next to his wife and son. As he requested, the site of their graves was covered with a great heap of flint stones so that the land would be left uncultivated; Macon believed that no one would go to the trouble of removing all of the flint in order to use the land, thereby preserving the burial site.

Buck Spring Plantation

Macon and his wife made their home on Hubquarter Creek on their plantation known as " Buck Spring Plantation". Macon's father Gideon's will bequeathed to him lands on Shocco Creek and "Five hundred acres of Land lying and being on both sides of Hubquarter Creek".Will of Gideon Macon, Granville County Wills: Unrecorded Wills, 1746-1771, Archives Section, Department of Cultural Resources, Raleigh, North Carolina It was about north of Warrenton, near Roanoke Rapids. His plantation grew to 1,945 acres, served by 70 slaves, with whom he often worked together in the fields, as well as serving as

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...

and a trustee of the Warrenton Academy. He raised thoroughbred race horses and had a pack of fox hounds, in 1819 hosting President Monroe for a hunt.

Political life

He served in the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

for Warren County in 1781, 1782, and 1784. Macon opposed the Constitution and spent his four decades in Congress making sure the national government would remain weak. He was for 37 years the most prominent nay-sayer in Congress—a "negative radical". It was said of him that during the entire term of his service no other members cast so many negative votes. "Negation was his word and arm." He was rural and local-minded, and economy was the passion of his public career. "His economy of the public money was the severest, sharpest, most stringent and constant refusal of almost any grant that could be proposed." With him, "not only was ... parsimony the best subsidy—but ... the only one". He supported all of the foreign policies of Jefferson and

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

from 1801 to 1817. Macon detested

and the

program.

1791 to 1799

He was especially hostile to a navy, fearing the expense would create a financial interest. He bitterly opposed the Jay Treaty in 1795, the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, and the movement for war with France in 1798–99. Macon supported the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions.

1800 to 1809

Macon served as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hunger ...

from 1801 to 1807. He was the fifth person, and first Southerner to serve in the office. He supported the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or ap ...

in 1803, and tried to get Jefferson to purchase

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 ...

as well. Jefferson offered the post of

postmaster general A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsib ...

to Macon at least twice, but he declined. John Wesley Jarvis - John Randolph - Google Art Project

During his second term as speaker, Macon broke with Jefferson, believing that the president had strayed from the fundamental principles of

Republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. ...

strict constitutional construction and state sovereignty, and began collaborating more with John Randolph and John Taylor as part of the splinter '' Quids'' faction of the

. Even so, he still narrowly won a third term. He did not seek a fourth term as speaker when the 10th Congress convened in 1807. Instead he chaired the Foreign Relations Committee.

1810 to 1819

Macon Bill No. 1 attacked British shipping, but was defeated. In May 1810, Macon's Bill No. 2 was passed, giving the president power to suspend trade with either Great Britain or

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

if the other should cease to interfere with United States commerce. Macon supported Madison in declaring the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

; he opposed conscription to build the army and opposed higher taxes. He did favor some road construction by the federal government, but generally opposed the policy of internal improvements promoted by

and

. He opposed the recharter of the United States Bank in 1811 and in 1816, uniformly voted against any form of protective

tariff A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and p ...

1820 to 1828

He was always an earnest defender of

. In the Missouri debate of 1820 he voted against the compromise brokered by Clay. Macon was also considered a potential candidate for the presidency in 1824 but declined. Macon won 24 electoral votes for vice president as the stand-in running-mate for

. Macon was asked to run for the vice presidency again in 1828 but declined.

After retirement

Among his other public acts in retirement were writing a letter in 1832 to President Jackson protesting the threatened use of military action to quell the South Carolina nullifiers. He wrote to Samuel P. Carson that he believed in the right of secession: "A government of opinion established by sovereign States for special purposes can not be maintained by force." He served as President of the 1835 convention to amend and reform the

Constitution of North Carolina The Constitution of the State of North Carolina governs the structure and function of the state government of North Carolina, one of the United States; it is the highest legal document for the state and subjugates North Carolina law. All U.S. st ...

. The resulting amendments to the state constitution mostly related to political reform and greater democracy. He was largely opposed to the amendments that were adopted. He also served as a trustee of the

, and supported Martin Van Buren in the election of 1836.Dodd (1902) p. 664

Places named after Nathaniel Macon

* Macon County, Alabama * Macon County, Illinois * Macon County, Missouri * Macon, Missouri * Macon County, North Carolina *

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of G ...

Macon, Illinois Macon is a town in Macon County, Illinois, United States whose population was 1,138 at the 2010 census, and 1,120 at a 2018 estimate. It is included in the Decatur, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area and lies 11 miles South of Decatur. Histor ...

* Macon, Mississippi * Macon County, Georgia * Macon, North Carolina *

Macon County, Tennessee Macon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,216. Its county seat is Lafayette. Macon County is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Metropolitan ...

* Randolph-Macon College * Fort Macon

References

;Specific ;General * Cotten, Edward R
Life of the Hon. Nathaniel Macon
Baltimore: Printed by Lucas & Deaver, 1840. * , pp. 1–4; 41–44. * * Hamilton, J. G. de Roulhac. "Macon, Nathaniel" in ''Dictionary of American Biography'', Volume 6 (1933) *

External links

Buck Spring infoWarren Record: Noted historians, author help celebrate Macon's 250th birthday
(2008) , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Macon, Nathaniel 1757 births 1837 deaths People from Warren County, North Carolina People of colonial North Carolina People of colonial New Jersey American people of French descent Anti-Administration Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina Speakers of the United States House of Representatives Deans of the United States House of Representatives Democratic-Republican Party United States senators from North Carolina Jacksonian United States senators from North Carolina Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 1824 United States vice-presidential candidates North Carolina Jacksonians North Carolina state senators American justices of the peace Activists from North Carolina American proslavery activists American slave owners American planters Princeton University alumni New Jersey militiamen in the American Revolution North Carolina militiamen in the American Revolution United States senators who owned slaves