Philip Pendleton Barbour

(b. Orange County, Va., 25 May 1783; d. Washington, D.C., 25 Feb. 1841; interred Frascati, Orange County), associate justice, 1836–1841. The son of a politically active Virginia planter, Thomas Barbour, and the socially well‐connected Mary Pendleton Thomas, Barbour enjoyed a prominent political and judicial career by adhering to strict construction of the Constitution, states' rights, and southern particularism. (See State Sovereignty and States' Rights.)

Barbour was locally educated and apprenticed to a Virginia lawyer. After less than a year as a law clerk, Barbour embarked in 1800 on a legal career in Kentucky. He returned to Virginia in 1801 and attended the College of William and Mary before beginning to practice law in Orange County. Noted for his intelligence, family connections, and a fluid, powerful oratorical style, Barbour flourished in the county and state courts. In 1804 he married Frances Johnson, a local planter's daughter.

Inspired by the political careers of his father and older brother James, Barbour in 1812 successfully sought a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. The Barbour brothers, both states' rights Republicans, bounded upon the national stage in 1814, when James was elected to the U.S. Senate and Philip won a seat in the House of Representatives.

Barbour was a bulwark for the strict constructionist Democrats throughout his eight terms in Congress (1814–1825 and 1827–1830). His staunch defense of Andrew Jackson in 1819 and his efforts in 1827 to strip the Bank of the United States of every vestige of government agency earned him the confirmed support of President Jackson and an 1830 appointment to the District Court for Eastern Virginia. He endangered his relationship with Jackson by opposing Martin Van Buren for the 1832 vice‐presidential nomination but then rescued his career and probably guaranteed his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court by withdrawing as the southern rights candidate in favor of Van Buren, the regular party nominee.

Barbour's nomination to the Supreme Court had been feared by constitutional nationalists since Jackson's first term, but their attention was diverted in 1836 by the simultaneous nomination of Roger Taney as chief justice. The March 1836 confirmation of Barbour, “the pride of the Democracy of Virginia” (Thomas Ritchie, Richmond Enquirer, 24 March 1836), was welcomed by Democrats, who were eagerly awaiting a philosophically narrow Court. National Republicans and Whigs, however, were shocked at Barbour's appointment.

During his short tenure on the Supreme Court, Barbour strongly supported state sovereignty and the extension of state legislative powers in critical cases such as New York v. Miln (1837), Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge (1837), Briscoe v. Bank of Kentucky (1837), and Holmes v. Jennison (1840).

Barbour wrote a dozen opinions, but his only important majority opinion was New York v. Miln. This case presented the Court with a clear choice between the application of a state's police powers, the federal government's power to regulate commerce, and individuals' rights to pursue their own pecuniary interests. (See Federalism.) In the Miln decision, Barbour wrote, “That a state has the same undeniable and unlimited jurisdiction over all persons and things, within its territorial limits as any foreign nation; where that jurisdiction is not surrendered or restrained by the constitution of the United States. That, by virtue of this, it is not only the right, but the bourden and solemn duty of a state, to advance the safety, happiness and prosperity of its people, and to provide for the general welfare, by any and every act of legislation, which it may deem to be conducive to these ends” (p. 139).

In a notable concurring opinion in Holmes v. Jennison, Barbour extended his argument that the relations of states to foreign countries are not defined by the constitution and added that in the absence of legislation the state governor has absolute authority.

Daniel Webster, no friend of Barbour's judicial and political philosophies, presented a reasonable and balanced view of the judge in an 1837 letter: “Barbour, I really think is honest & conscientious; & he is certainly intelligent; but his fear, or hatred, of the powers of this government is so great, his devotion to State rights so absolute, that perhaps [a case] could hardly arise, in which he would be willing to exercise the power of declaring a state law void” (C. M. Wiltse et al, eds., The Papers of Daniel Webster, vol. 4, 1980, p. 192).

Barbour's sudden death on 25 February 1841 cut short a potentially influential tenure on the Court.

Bibliography

• P. P. Cynn, Philip Pendleton Barbour, in John P. Branch Historical Papers of Randolph‐Macon College, vol. 4 (1913), pp. 67–77.
• Charles D. Lowery, James Barbour, A Jeffersonian Republican (1984)

— Gerard W. Gawalt

• Born: May 25, 1783, Orange County, Va.
• Education: read law on his own; attended one term, College of William and Mary, 1801
• Previous government service: Virginia House of Delegates, 1812–14; U.S. representative from Virginia,1814–25, 1827–30; Speaker of the House of Representatives, 1821–23; state judge, Virginia, 1825–27; president, Virginia Constitutional Convention, 1829–30; U.S. district judge, Court of Eastern Virginia, 1830–36
• Appointed by President Andrew Jackson Feb. 28, 1836; replaced Gabriel Duvall, who resigned
• Supreme Court term: confirmed by the Senate Mar. 15, 1836, by a 30–11 vote; served until Feb. 25, 1841
• Died: Feb. 25, 1841, Washington, D.C.

Philip Pendleton Barbour belonged to a prominent family of Virginia landowners. He followed the family tradition to become a wealthy plantation owner and a leader in the state and federal governments. Barbour became an active supporter of Andrew Jackson's Democratic party and backed Jackson's successful campaign for the Presidency in 1828. Two years later, Jackson rewarded him with an appointment to the U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia. In 1835, Jackson appointed Barbour to the U.S. Supreme Court.

During his brief period on the Court, Justice Barbour strongly supported states' rights and powers and strict limitations on the constitutional powers of the federal government. As a result, proponents of a strong federal government and those who believed in a loose interpretation of the Constitution opposed Justice Barbour. Daniel Webster, for example, wrote in 1837, “His fear, or hatred, of the powers of this [federal] government is so great, his devotion to states' rights so absolute, that perhaps [a case] could hardly arise, in which he would be willing to exercise the power of declaring a state law void.”

Philip Pendleton Barbour, an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, was a strong advocate of states' rights and the strict construction of the Constitution.

The son of a wealthy planter from one of Virginia's oldest families, Barbour was born May 25, 1783, in Orange County, Virginia. He was educated locally and excelled in languages and classical literature. At seventeen, he became an apprentice to an Orange County lawyer. After less than a year clerking and studying law, Barbour left Virginia for Kentucky, where he practiced law for a short time. In 1801, he returned to Virginia to attend the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg, where he briefly studied law. A year later, he established a law practice in Orange County, and quickly gained a reputation for his outstanding oratorical abilities in the courtroom. In 1804, he married Frances Johnson, the daughter of a local planter, with whom he had seven children.

Barbour's family was both socially prominent and politically active. His father, Thomas Barbour, was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses for many years, and his older brother became a Virginia governor, U.S. senator, and secretary of war under President John Quincy Adams, whose administration Barbour would eventually oppose. Encouraged by his father's and brother's successes, in 1812 Barbour ran for and won a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. Two years later, he won a seat in the U.S. Congress and aligned himself with a group of older Republicans who favored strict construction of the Constitution and a limited federal government. Barbour served as Speaker of the House from 1821 until 1823, when he was defeated by Henry Clay. In 1824, Barbour chose not to run for reelection to Congress, and returned to Virginia to resume his law practice.

During his career as a practicing attorney, Barbour was involved in a number of important cases. He argued the state's position before the U.S. Supreme Court in Cohen v. Virginia, 19 U.S. 264, 6 Wheat. 264, 5 L. Ed. 257 (1821), a landmark suit that helped to clarify the role of the federal courts in reviewing state court decisions. In Cohen the Court held that the federal judiciary could review cases arising in the state courts that involved constitutional issues. Though Barbour lost the case, his vigorous representation helped to further establish his reputation as a strong defender of the states against what he often saw as the growing encroachment of the federal government.

In 1825, after considering and then declining an offer from Thomas Jefferson to join the law faculty at the University of Virginia, Barbour was appointed to the General Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, a state trial court, where he served for almost two years. In 1827, at the urging of his constituents, Barbour ran unopposed for Congress, though he lost the Speaker's race to fellow Virginian Andrew Stevenson. During his second stint in Congress, Barbour was a vocal opponent of President Adams, even though Barbour's brother James Barbour was a member of the Adams cabinet. Barbour objected to the administration's spending policies and to the imposition of a tariff in 1828. He also continued his relentless advocacy of states' rights and the narrow construction of the Constitution, introducing an unsuccessful bill in 1829 requiring that five of the seven justices on the U.S. Supreme Court concur in any decision involving a constitutional question.

In the late 1820s, Barbour became a strong supporter of Andrew Jackson, who defeated the incumbent Adams in 1828. Barbour was considered for a position in the Jackson cabinet but was not appointed. In 1829, Barbour was chosen president of the Virginia Constitutional Convention, replacing the ailing James Monroe. During the sometimes tumultuous convention, Barbour argued for apportionment of representation based on both white population and property ownership, and argued that the latter should be a qualification for the right to vote. Barbour also sided with the conservative slaveholders in the eastern part of the state against citizens in the western part of the state who, opposed to slavery, eventually formed a separate state, West Virginia.

Barbour's unwavering support of Jackson and his policies earned him an appointment as a federal judge for eastern Virginia in 1830. In 1832, he was briefly a candidate for vice president against Martin Van Buren, even though Van Buren was Jackson's choice in his reelection bid. Barbour soon withdrew his candidacy to preserve party unity, and threw his support to Van Buren.

As early as 1831, Barbour was rumored to be next in line for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court as soon as Jackson, now in his second term, had an opportunity to make an appointment. Nationalists, who disagreed with Barbour's states' rights and strict constructionist views, opposed Barbour as a possible candidate for the Court. In 1836 Barbour was nominated to succeed retiring justice Gabriel Duval, at the same time that Roger B. Taney was nominated as chief justice and confirmed to succeed John Marshall, also retiring. As expected, Barbour's nomination drew criticism, but he was nevertheless confirmed by a vote of 30-11.

Barbour wrote only a dozen opinions for the Court. His most important majority opinion was in City of New York v. Miln, 36 U.S. 102, 11 Pet. 102, 9 L. Ed. 648 (1837). At issue in Miln was a New York state law requiring captains of vessels arriving at ports to provide harbor authorities with the names, ages, birthplaces, and occupations of arriving passengers. The Court considered whether the law was an unconstitutional invasion of the exclusive federal right to regulate interstate and international trade. The Court ruled that the law was a legitimate exercise of the state's "police power" to protect the health and welfare of its citizens. The decision provided the perfect opportunity for Barbour to expound upon his states' rights views. He wrote that the state not only had the right to impose such laws but also the "solemn duty … to advance the safety, happiness and prosperity of its people, and to provide for the general welfare, by any and every act of legislation, which it may deem to be conducive to these ends." The decision marked a significant departure from the philosophy of the previous Court, headed by Marshall, which had emphasized the importance of federal authority in matters that even indirectly involved interstate and international commerce. Though influential, Miln was criticized and limited by subsequent decisions of the Court.

In February 1841, at age fifty-eight, Barbour died suddenly of a heart attack. He thus served only five years on the Court, completing one of the shortest terms in its history.

Philip Pendleton Barbour
12th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office December 4, 1821 – March 4, 1823
President	James Monroe
Preceded by	John W. Taylor
Succeeded by	Henry Clay
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 11th district
In office September 19, 1814 – March 3, 1825 March 4, 1827 – October 15, 1830
Preceded by	John Dawson Robert Taylor
Succeeded by	Robert Taylor John M. Patton
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
In office May 12, 1836 – February 25, 1841
Preceded by	Gabriel Duval
Succeeded by	Peter V. Daniel
Born	May 25, 1783 (1783-05-25) Orange County, Virginia
Died	February 25, 1841 (1841-02-26) (aged 57) Washington, D.C.
Political party	Democratic-Republican Democratic
Alma mater	The College of William & Mary
Profession	Law
Religion	Episcopalian

Philip Pendleton Barbour (May 25, 1783 – February 25, 1841) was a U.S. Congressman from Virginia and an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was also the brother of Virginia governor and U.S. Secretary of War James Barbour as well as the first cousin of John S. Barbour and first cousin, once removed of John S. Barbour, Jr..

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Federal judicial service 2 Places named for Philip Barbour 3 References 4 External links

Biography

Barbour was born near Gordonsville, Orange County, Virginia. He attended common and private schools and graduated from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1799. A year later he was admitted to the bar, and began practicing law in Bardstown, Kentucky. In 1801, he moved his law practice to Gordonsville in Orange County, Virginia.

Barbour started his public life as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1812 to 1814. When U.S. Representative John Dawson died, Barbour won the special election to fill the seat, and served as a Democratic-Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives from September 19, 1814 to March 4, 1825, reaching the office of Speaker from 1821 to 1823.

He declined to run for re-election in 1824 and turned down an offer to become the professor of law in the University of Virginia in 1825. Instead, he was appointed a judge of the general court of Virginia and served for two years, resigning in 1827 to return to his seat in the House of Representatives as a Jacksonian. For the first two years of his second stint in the House, he was chair of the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary. In 1829 he was president of the Virginia constitutional convention.while remaining a Representative.

Federal judicial service

Barbour turned down offers of a chancellorship and the post of U.S. Attorney General before finally resigning October 15, 1830 to accept President Jackson's appointment to be judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Jackson appointed Barbour by recess appointment on October 8, 1830, to a seat on that court vacated by George Hay. Barbour was formally nominated on December 14, 1830, and two days later he was confirmed by the Senate, and received his commission., where he served until March 17, 1836. ^[1]

Barbour continued to receive offers: he refused nominations for judge of the court of appeals, for Governor, and for United States Senator. Finally, he was offered appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. Nominated by Jackson on December 28, 1835, to a seat vacated by Gabriel Duvall, Barbour was confirmed, and received his commission, on March 15, 1836. Barbour served until his death in Washington, D.C., on February 25, 1841.

He built a large and graceful brick home in Orange County, Virginia called "Frascati". Historians often say that he was born at "Frascati", but it did not exist at his birth. His brother, James Barbour, also build a beautiful plantation house. His was designed by Thomas Jefferson. One can see the Jeffersonian influence in Frascati as it is very much like Barboursville and was erected by the same workmen who built the University of Virginia and Barboursville. Unfortunately, the homes of both Barbours were destroyed by fire.

Philip Pendleton Barbour was buried in the Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.

Places named for Philip Barbour

• Barbour County, West Virginia
• Philippi, West Virginia
• Philip Barbour High School in Philippi, West Virginia

References

1. ^ Federal Judicial Center - Biographical Directory of Federal Judges

External links

• Philip Pendleton Barbour at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

• Philip Pendleton Barbour at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Philip Pendleton Barbour at Find A Grave

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by John Dawson	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 11th congressional district September 19, 1814 – March 3, 1825	Succeeded by Robert Taylor
Preceded by Robert Taylor	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 11th congressional district March 4, 1827 – October 15, 1830	Succeeded by John M. Patton
Political offices
Preceded by John W. Taylor	Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives December 4, 1821 – March 4, 1823	Succeeded by Henry Clay
Legal offices
Preceded by George Hay	Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia October 8, 1830 – March 17, 1836	Succeeded by Peter Vivian Daniel
Preceded by Gabriel Duval	Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States May 12, 1836 – February 25, 1841	Succeeded by Peter Vivian Daniel

v • d • e Speakers of the United States House of Representatives Muhlenberg · Trumbull · Muhlenberg · Dayton · Sedgwick · Macon · Varnum · Clay · Cheves · Clay · Taylor · Barbour · Clay · Taylor · Stevenson · Bell · Polk · Hunter · White · Jones · Davis · Winthrop · Cobb · Boyd · Banks · Orr · Pennington · Grow · Colfax · Pomeroy · Blaine · Kerr · Randall · Keifer · Carlisle · Reed · Crisp · Reed · Henderson · Cannon · Clark · Gillett · Longworth · Garner · Rainey · Byrns · Bankhead · Rayburn · Martin · Rayburn · Martin · Rayburn · McCormack · Albert · O'Neill · Wright · Foley · Gingrich · Hastert · Pelosi

Supreme Court of the United States
The Taney Court Chief Justice: Roger Brooke Taney (1836–1864) 1836–1837: J. Story | S. Thompson | J. McLean | H. Baldwin | J.M. Wayne | P.P. Barbour 1837–1838: J. Story | S. Thompson | J. McLean | H. Baldwin | J.M. Wayne | P.P. Barbour | J. Catron 1838–1841: J. Story | S. Thompson | J. McLean | H. Baldwin | J.M. Wayne | P.P. Barbour | J. Catron | J. McKinley

v • d • e The Barbour family First generation James Barbour I Second generation James Barbour II Third generation James Barbour III • Thomas Barbour Fourth generation James Barbour (1775–1842) • Philip Pendleton Barbour Fifth generation John Strode Barbour (1790–1855) • Sextus Barbour Sixth generation John Strode Barbour, Jr. (1820–1892) • James Barbour (1828–1895) • Alfred Madison Barbour Seventh generation John Strode Barbour (1866–1952) Barbour family residences: Barbour House • Barboursville • Beauregard • Catalpa • Clover Hill • Frascati

Persondata
NAME	Barbour, Philip Pendleton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	U.S. Congressman from Virginia and an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court
DATE OF BIRTH	May 25, 1783
PLACE OF BIRTH	"Frascati"
DATE OF DEATH	February 25, 1841
PLACE OF DEATH

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)