James H. Hammond

James H. Hammond
United States Senator
from South Carolina
In office
December 7, 1857 – November 11, 1860
Preceded byAndrew Butler
Succeeded byFrederick A. Sawyer (1868)
60th Governor of South Carolina
In office
December 8, 1842 – December 7, 1844
LieutenantIssac Witherspoon
Preceded byJohn Peter Richardson II
Succeeded byWilliam Aiken Jr.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Carolina's 4th district
In office
March 4, 1835 – February 26, 1836
Preceded byJohn Felder
Succeeded byFranklin H. Elmore
Personal details
Born
James Henry Hammond

(1807-11-15)November 15, 1807
Newberry County, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedNovember 13, 1864(1864-11-13) (aged 56)
Beech Island, South Carolina, C.S.
Political partyNullifier (before 1839)
Democratic (1842–1864)
SpouseCatherine Fitzsimmons
EducationUniversity of South Carolina, Columbia (BA)

James Henry Hammond (November 15, 1807 – November 13, 1864) was an American attorney, politician, and planter. He served as a United States representative from 1835 to 1836, the 60th Governor of South Carolina from 1842 to 1844, and a United States senator from 1857 to 1860. A slave owner, he is considered one of the strongest supporters of slavery in the years before the American Civil War.

Acquiring property through marriage, Hammond ultimately owned 22 square miles, several plantations and houses, and more than 300 slaves.[1][2] Through his wife's family, he was a brother-in-law of Wade Hampton II and uncle to his children, including Wade Hampton III. When the senior Hampton learned that Hammond had raped his four Hampton nieces as teenagers, he made the scandal public. The publicizing of his crimes was initially thought to have derailed Hammond's career but he later was elected to the United States Senate.[1]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference brown was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Weil, Julie Zauzmer (10 January 2022). "More than 1,800 congressmen once enslaved Black people. This is who they were, and how they shaped the nation". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 May 2024. Database at "Congress slaveowners", The Washington Post, 2022-01-13, retrieved 2024-04-29

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