Early Years
Barbour was born on June 10, 1775, in Orange County, the second of four sons and second of eight children of Thomas Barbour and Mary Pendleton Thomas Barbour. His parents both came from prominent landed families, and his father served in the House of Burgesses before the American Revolution (1775–1783) and was a justice of the peace for fifty-seven consecutive years. Despite family financial reverses that prevented Barbour from attending college, for his time he still enjoyed considerable privileges. After preparatory study in rhetoric and classical languages at James Waddel's local academy, Barbour read law in Richmond and in 1793, when he was still only eighteen years old, was admitted to the bar and began practicing law in Orange and the neighboring counties.
State Government
Politically ambitious, Barbour used his law practice and family connections, including close ties to James Madison, to win election to the House of Delegates in 1798. He played a leading role in obtaining passage of Madison's Virginia Resolutions against the Alien and Sedition Acts with speeches extolling state sovereignty, strict construction of the Constitution, and limited government. He won reelection in 1799 and served until 1803, sat for another term in 1804, and returned to the House from 1807 through 1812. From December 1809 to January 1812 he served as Speaker of the House of Delegates.
Barbour's experiences as governor wrought a major change in his political philosophy. The restrictive political dogma that he and other Republicans had fashioned when they were out of power during the 1790s no longer seemed adequate to him. The nation's society and economy had become much more complex, and he came to value centralized banking and massed capital that could pay for roads and canals to facilitate the movement of people and goods and allow for the support of a strong military establishment to protect the nation from potential enemies. After three years as one of the best governors the Jeffersonians gave Virginia, Barbour was ineligible for reelection. A coalition of Republicans and Federalists in the General Assembly elected Barbour to the U.S. Senate on November 14, 1814, by a vote of 107 to 80 over the reluctant candidate of the traditional Republicans, William Wirt.
U.S. Senate
Adams Administration
In May 1828 Adams appointed Barbour minister plenipotentiary to Great Britain. On August 1 he sailed for England, but his career as a diplomat lasted only a year before Adams's successor, Andrew Jackson, recalled and replace him in May 1829. Before he began his return voyage on October 1, 1829, Barbour received a doctor of civil law degree from Oxford University and visited the Marquis de Lafayette in France.
Later Years
Time Line
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June 10, 1775 - James Barbour is born in Orange County.
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1793 - James Barbour is admitted to the bar of Virginia at the age of eighteen.
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October 20, 1795 - Cousins James Barbour and Lucy Maria Johnson marry.
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1798–1804 - James Barbour serves in the House of Delegates.
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1807–1812 - James Barbour serves in the House of Delegates.
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December 1809–January 1812 - James Barbour serves as Speaker of the House of Delegates.
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December 5, 1811 - The General Assembly elects George William Smith governor 100 to 97 over James Barbour.
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December 26, 1811 - George William Smith, just elected governor of Virginia, dies in the Richmond Theatre fire.
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January 3, 1812 - The General Assembly elects James Barbour governor of Virginia.
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January 4, 1812–December 11, 1814 - James Barbour serves three terms as governor of Virginia.
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November 14, 1814 - The General Assembly elects James Barbour to the U.S. Senate 107 to 80 over William Wirt.
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1816 - James Barbour becomes chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
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1817 - James Barbour begins construction on an Orange County plantation house based on a design prepared by Thomas Jefferson.
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1819 - James Barbour is elected president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate.
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March 1825 - President John Quincy Adams appoints James Barbour secretary of war.
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May 1828–May 1829 - James Barbour serves as minister plenipotentiary to Great Britain.
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December 1830 - James Barbour is elected to the House of Delegates but resigns after two months when his opponent contests the election.
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1831 - James Barbour serves as chairman of the convention of the National Republican Party that nominates Henry Clay for president.
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December 1839 - James Barbour chairs the national Whig Party convention that nominates William Henry Harrison for president.
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June 7, 1842 - James Barbour dies of prostate cancer at his home, Barboursville, in Orange County.
References
Further Reading
Cite This Entry
- APA Citation:
Lowery, C. D., & the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. James Barbour (1775–1842). (2017, February 2). In Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved from http://www.EncyclopediaVirginia.org/Barbour_James_1775-1842.
- MLA Citation:
Lowery, Charles D. and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "James Barbour (1775–1842)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, 2 Feb. 2017. Web. READ_DATE.
First published: January 11, 2017 | Last modified: February 2, 2017