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Philip Pendleton Barbour in Jacksonian America: An Old Republican in King Andrew’s Court
William S. Belko’s Phillip Pendleton Barbour in Jacksonian America provides the first comprehensive biography of a pivotal yet nearly forgotten statesman who made numerous key contributions to a transformative period of early American history.
Barbour, a Virginia lawyer, participated in America’s transition from a mostly republican government to a truer majority democracy, notably while serving as the twelfth Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and later as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court. After being elected to the US Congress during the War of 1812, Barbour also emerged as one of the foremost champions of states’ rights, consistently and energetically fighting against expansions of federal powers. He, along with other Jeffersonian Old Republicans, opposed federal plans for a national tariff and internal improvements. Later, Barbour became one of the first Jeffersonian politicians to join the Jacksonian Democrats in Jackson’s war against a national bank.
Barbour continued to make crucial strides in support of states’ rights after taking his seat on the United States Supreme Court in 1836 under Chief Justice Roger Taney. He contributed to the Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge and Briscoe v. Bank of Kentucky decisions, which bolstered states’ rights. He also delivered the opinion of the court in New York v. Miln, which provided the basis for the State Police Powers Doctrine.
Expertly interweaving biography, history, political science, and jurisprudence, Phillip Pendleton Barbour in Jacksonian America remembers the man whose personal life and career were emblematic of the decades in which the United States moved from the Age of Jefferson to the Age of Jackson, contributing to developments that continue to animate American politics today.
Barbour, a Virginia lawyer, participated in America’s transition from a mostly republican government to a truer majority democracy, notably while serving as the twelfth Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and later as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court. After being elected to the US Congress during the War of 1812, Barbour also emerged as one of the foremost champions of states’ rights, consistently and energetically fighting against expansions of federal powers. He, along with other Jeffersonian Old Republicans, opposed federal plans for a national tariff and internal improvements. Later, Barbour became one of the first Jeffersonian politicians to join the Jacksonian Democrats in Jackson’s war against a national bank.
Barbour continued to make crucial strides in support of states’ rights after taking his seat on the United States Supreme Court in 1836 under Chief Justice Roger Taney. He contributed to the Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge and Briscoe v. Bank of Kentucky decisions, which bolstered states’ rights. He also delivered the opinion of the court in New York v. Miln, which provided the basis for the State Police Powers Doctrine.
Expertly interweaving biography, history, political science, and jurisprudence, Phillip Pendleton Barbour in Jacksonian America remembers the man whose personal life and career were emblematic of the decades in which the United States moved from the Age of Jefferson to the Age of Jackson, contributing to developments that continue to animate American politics today.
280 pages, Hardcover
Published April 28, 2016
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August 3, 2016
Philip Pendelton Barbour is hardly a household name today, but he was a leading figure in the politics of antebellum America. A successful lawyer, he won election to the House of Representatives in 1814 and rose to become its Speaker in less than a decade. Though much of his limited government agenda was out of step with the postwar embrace of James Madison's "American System," his positions became dominant in American politics with the rise of Andrew Jackson to the presidency. For his support of the Jacksonian program, he was rewarded with appointment to the federal bench, then nomination and confirmation as a Supreme Court justice in 1835, a position he enjoyed for only six years before dying at the age of 56 in 1841.
For all of Barbour's importance in the politics of his era, there has been until now no full-length biography of him. William Belko endeavors to fill the void with this book, which provides an overview of his life and political career. Belko's focus is on Barbour's ideology and the historical context of his life, as he charts Barbour's ideological evolution from the staunch defender of the "Principles of '98" articulated in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions to the preeminent exponent of Jacksonian democracy. This is the strongest part of the book, and rewards reading by itself. Close behind it in value is Belko's description of Barbour's national political career, as he makes a good case for arguing that Barbour's importance has often been overlooked by scholars.
Yet considerable flaws balance against these accomplishments. In contrast to his extensive (and, too frequently, laudatory) coverage of Barbour's political beliefs Belko's discussion of Barbour's family life is virtually nonexistent and his analysis of Barbour's legal career even less so. This is especially disappointing given Barbour's subsequent career on the bench, and even there Belko provides next to nothing about his handling of his job or the major cases over which he presided. Belko's penultimate chapter, which covers Barbour tenure on the Court, rectifies this somewhat by detailing the major cases before the Court and Barbour's role in the decisions, yet even here his coverage is not as extensive as I would have hoped. Because of these flaws the book is not quite the full biography that Barbour needs and deserves, yet is likely to remain the final word on him for some time to come thanks in no small measure to the quality of Belko's analysis of Barbour's politics.
For all of Barbour's importance in the politics of his era, there has been until now no full-length biography of him. William Belko endeavors to fill the void with this book, which provides an overview of his life and political career. Belko's focus is on Barbour's ideology and the historical context of his life, as he charts Barbour's ideological evolution from the staunch defender of the "Principles of '98" articulated in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions to the preeminent exponent of Jacksonian democracy. This is the strongest part of the book, and rewards reading by itself. Close behind it in value is Belko's description of Barbour's national political career, as he makes a good case for arguing that Barbour's importance has often been overlooked by scholars.
Yet considerable flaws balance against these accomplishments. In contrast to his extensive (and, too frequently, laudatory) coverage of Barbour's political beliefs Belko's discussion of Barbour's family life is virtually nonexistent and his analysis of Barbour's legal career even less so. This is especially disappointing given Barbour's subsequent career on the bench, and even there Belko provides next to nothing about his handling of his job or the major cases over which he presided. Belko's penultimate chapter, which covers Barbour tenure on the Court, rectifies this somewhat by detailing the major cases before the Court and Barbour's role in the decisions, yet even here his coverage is not as extensive as I would have hoped. Because of these flaws the book is not quite the full biography that Barbour needs and deserves, yet is likely to remain the final word on him for some time to come thanks in no small measure to the quality of Belko's analysis of Barbour's politics.
Displaying 1 of 1 review