Andrew Butler
Encyclopedia
Andrew Pickens Butler (November 18, 1796 May 25, 1857) was an United States Senator and one of the authors of the Kansas-Nebraska Act
.
. His early education was at Moses Waddel's Willington Academy
. He graduated from South Carolina College, now the University of South Carolina
. He was admitted to the South Carolina bar
in 1818.
Butler was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives
as a young man, and in 1824 was elected to the South Carolina Senate
. He served two terms and part of a third in the Senate before being appointed judge of the session court in 1833.
In 1835, Butler was appointed judge of the South Carolina Court of Common Pleas. He was appointed to the United States Senate
in 1846 as a States' Rights Democrat
. He was re-elected by the South Carolina legislature to a full term in 1848 and he served in the Senate for the remainder of his life. He was the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee during much of that time.
Butler was an ardent advocate of slavery. He was co-author with Stephen A. Douglas
of the Kansas-Nebraska Act
of 1854. This act provided for westward expansion, but in order to gain Southern support, it undermined the Compromise of 1820
by allowing residents of new states the right to choose on allowing slavery.
Butler's senator career is noted for an event at which he was not present. Senator Charles Sumner
of Massachusetts
, during of his "Crime Against Kansas" speech in May 1856, denigrated South Carolina and abused Butler personally in terms considered to exceed parliamentary propriety. Sumner likened Butler to Don Quixote and said Butler: "has chosen a mistress to whom he has made his vows, and who, though ugly to others, is always lovely to him; though polluted in the sight of the world, is chaste in his sight. I mean the harlot, Slavery." He attacked Butler ad hominem
("The senator touches nothing which he does not disfigure") and mocked an aged infirmity ("With incoherent phrases discharged the loose expectoration of his speech").
South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks
, a relative of Butler, considered this an attack on his family honor. Two days after the speech, Brooks brutally beat Sumner on the Senate floor with a gutta-percha
cane while an accomplice, Laurence Keitt, brandished a pistol to prevent other senators from intervening, even as Sumner lay defenseless on the floor and Brooks continued to beat him. Butler later remarked that if present during the speech, he would have called Sumner to order, hoping to prevent further offense.
is named for him. His brother William Butler (1790-1850)
and his nephew Matthew Calbraith Butler also served in the United States Congress.
at Congressional Cemetery here
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opening new lands for settlement, and had the effect of repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by allowing settlers in those territories to determine through Popular Sovereignty if they would allow slavery within...
.
Biography
Butler was a son of William Butler (1759–1821) and Behethland Butler (1764-1853), and was born in Edgefield County, South CarolinaSouth Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. His early education was at Moses Waddel's Willington Academy
Moses Waddel
Moses Waddel was an American educator and minister in antebellum Georgia and South Carolina. Famous as a teacher during his life, Moses Waddel was author of the bestselling book Memoirs of the Life of Miss Caroline Elizabeth Smelt.- Life and work:Born in 1770 in Rowan County, North Carolina,...
. He graduated from South Carolina College, now the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
. He was admitted to the South Carolina bar
Admission to the bar in the United States
In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...
in 1818.
Butler was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives
South Carolina House of Representatives
The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the upper house being the South Carolina Senate. It consists of 124 Representatives elected to two year terms at the same time as US Congressional elections...
as a young man, and in 1824 was elected to the South Carolina Senate
South Carolina Senate
The South Carolina Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives...
. He served two terms and part of a third in the Senate before being appointed judge of the session court in 1833.
In 1835, Butler was appointed judge of the South Carolina Court of Common Pleas. He was appointed to the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 1846 as a States' Rights Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. He was re-elected by the South Carolina legislature to a full term in 1848 and he served in the Senate for the remainder of his life. He was the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee during much of that time.
Butler was an ardent advocate of slavery. He was co-author with Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...
of the Kansas-Nebraska Act
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opening new lands for settlement, and had the effect of repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by allowing settlers in those territories to determine through Popular Sovereignty if they would allow slavery within...
of 1854. This act provided for westward expansion, but in order to gain Southern support, it undermined the Compromise of 1820
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was an agreement passed in 1820 between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States Congress, involving primarily the regulation of slavery in the western territories. It prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30'...
by allowing residents of new states the right to choose on allowing slavery.
Butler's senator career is noted for an event at which he was not present. Senator Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner was an American politician and senator from Massachusetts. An academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces in Massachusetts and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate during the American Civil War and Reconstruction,...
of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, during of his "Crime Against Kansas" speech in May 1856, denigrated South Carolina and abused Butler personally in terms considered to exceed parliamentary propriety. Sumner likened Butler to Don Quixote and said Butler: "has chosen a mistress to whom he has made his vows, and who, though ugly to others, is always lovely to him; though polluted in the sight of the world, is chaste in his sight. I mean the harlot, Slavery." He attacked Butler ad hominem
Ad hominem
An ad hominem , short for argumentum ad hominem, is an attempt to negate the truth of a claim by pointing out a negative characteristic or belief of the person supporting it...
("The senator touches nothing which he does not disfigure") and mocked an aged infirmity ("With incoherent phrases discharged the loose expectoration of his speech").
South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks
Preston Brooks
Preston Smith Brooks was a Democratic Congressman from South Carolina. Brooks is primarily remembered for his severe beating of Senator Charles Sumner on the floor of the United States Senate with a gutta-percha cane, delivered in response to an anti-slavery speech in which Sumner compared Brooks'...
, a relative of Butler, considered this an attack on his family honor. Two days after the speech, Brooks brutally beat Sumner on the Senate floor with a gutta-percha
Gutta-percha
Gutta-percha is a genus of tropical trees native to Southeast Asia and northern Australasia, from Taiwan south to the Malay Peninsula and east to the Solomon Islands. The same term is used to refer to an inelastic natural latex produced from the sap of these trees, particularly from the species...
cane while an accomplice, Laurence Keitt, brandished a pistol to prevent other senators from intervening, even as Sumner lay defenseless on the floor and Brooks continued to beat him. Butler later remarked that if present during the speech, he would have called Sumner to order, hoping to prevent further offense.
Evaluation
U. R. Brooks noted that biographical material to write from was scanty, and that Butler's power lay in his own presence with "grand gifts of eloquence, action, pathos, and convincing argument." Ellet wrote "Senator Andrew Pickens Butler was conceded to be the most unique and original intellect in the Senate. His face, though not handsome, was sturdily expressive, with massive features and 'troubled, streaming, silvery hair, that looked as though it had been contending with the blasts of winter'.... His power as a speaker stood acknowledged in the admiration of both Houses.... Like all men of impetuous impulse, he was very restless; one moment pacing to and fro the space behind the Speaker's desk, another giving the grasp of his hand to some younger Senator, the next taking active part in the debates of the day.... The moment a question was submitted to him, his mind instinctively applied all the great principles."Legacy
Butler County, KansasButler County, Kansas
Butler County is a county located in South Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 65,880. Its county seat and most populous city is El Dorado. The county is a part of the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area.-19th century:It was named in...
is named for him. His brother William Butler (1790-1850)
William Butler (1790-1850)
William Butler was a United States Representative from South Carolina. He was a son of William Butler , brother of Andrew Butler, and father of Matthew Butler, all of whom served in the United States Congress...
and his nephew Matthew Calbraith Butler also served in the United States Congress.
External links
with cenotaphCenotaph
A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...
at Congressional Cemetery here