James M. Mason
Encyclopedia
James Murray Mason was a United States Representative and United States Senator from Virginia
. He was a grandson of George Mason
and represented the Confederate States of America
as appointed commissioner of the Confederacy to the United Kingdom and France between 1861 and 1865 during the American Civil War
.
) in the District of Columbia, and was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania
(1818), receiving a law degree from the College of William and Mary
in 1820.
In 1847 he was elected to the Senate after the death of Isaac S. Pennybacker
, and was reelected in 1850 and 1856. Mason famously read aloud the dying Senator John C. Calhoun
's final speech to the Senate, on March 4, 1850, which warned of disunion and dire consequences if the North did not guarantee the South permanently equal representation in Congress. Complaining of personal liberty laws
that "Although the loss of property is felt, the loss of honor is felt still more," Mason also drafted the (second) Fugitive Slave Law of 1850
, enacted on September 18, 1850 as a part of the Compromise Measures
of that year. Mason represented the majority view in leading the Senate committee which investigated the John Brown
raid on Harper's Ferry of October 1859. (Thus the document published as the U.S. Congress, Senate Select Commission on the Harper's Ferry Invasion (June 15, 1860) is often referred to as the Mason Report.) Mason was President pro tempore of the Senate
during the Thirty-fourth and Thirty-fifth Congresses but was expelled
from the Senate in 1861 for support of the Confederacy
.
While traveling to his post as Confederate envoy to Britain and France, on the British mail steamer RMS Trent
, the ship was stopped by USS San Jacinto
on November 8, 1861. Mason and John Slidell
were confined in Fort Warren
, Boston Harbor
, precipitating the Trent Affair
that threatened to bring Britain
into open war with the United States of America
. He was released in January 1862 and proceeded to London, where he represented the Confederacy until April 1865.
Until 1868 he lived in Canada
, and then returned to Virginia. He died on 28 April 1871 at Clarens
in Fairfax County
, Virginia at age 72. and was interred in Christ Church Episcopal Cemetery, Alexandria, Virginia
.
, Pennsylvania
. The couple had eight children:
(1725–1792); nephew of George Mason V
(1753–1796); grandnephew of Thomson Mason
(1733–1785); first cousin once removed of Stevens Thomson Mason
(1760–1803) and John Thomson Mason
(1765–1824); son of John Mason (1766–1849) and Anna Maria Murray Mason (1776–1857); first cousin of Thomson Francis Mason
(1785–1838), George Mason VI
(1786–1834), and Richard Barnes Mason
(1797–1850); second cousin of Armistead Thomson Mason
(1787–1819), John Thomson Mason
(1787–1850), and John Thomson Mason, Jr. (1815–1873); second cousin once removed of Stevens Thomson Mason
(1811–1843); and first cousin thrice removed of Charles O'Conor Goolrick
.
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. He was a grandson of George Mason
George Mason
George Mason IV was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention...
and represented the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
as appointed commissioner of the Confederacy to the United Kingdom and France between 1861 and 1865 during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Early life and education
He was born on Analostan Island (now Theodore Roosevelt IslandTheodore Roosevelt Island
Theodore Roosevelt Island is a island and a national memorial located in the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. The island was given to the American people by the Theodore Roosevelt Association in memory of the 26th U.S. president, Theodore Roosevelt....
) in the District of Columbia, and was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
(1818), receiving a law degree from the College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
in 1820.
Political career
He practiced law in Virginia and was a delegate to the Virginia constitutional convention in 1829, and a member of the State house of delegates. A Jackson Democrat, he was elected to the Twenty-fifth United States Congress in 1836.In 1847 he was elected to the Senate after the death of Isaac S. Pennybacker
Isaac S. Pennybacker
Isaac Samuels Pennybacker was an American lawyer, federal judge, and politician from Harrisonburg, Virginia.- Early life and education :Pennybacker was born at Pine Forge, near New Market, Shenandoah County, Virginia....
, and was reelected in 1850 and 1856. Mason famously read aloud the dying Senator John C. Calhoun
John C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun was a leading politician and political theorist from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun eloquently spoke out on every issue of his day, but often changed positions. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent...
's final speech to the Senate, on March 4, 1850, which warned of disunion and dire consequences if the North did not guarantee the South permanently equal representation in Congress. Complaining of personal liberty laws
Personal liberty laws
.....The personal liberty laws were a series of laws passed by several U.S. states in the North in respone to the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850.-Origins:...
that "Although the loss of property is felt, the loss of honor is felt still more," Mason also drafted the (second) Fugitive Slave Law of 1850
Fugitive Slave Law of 1850
The Fugitive Slave Law or Fugitive Slave Act was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern slave holding interests and Northern Free-Soilers. This was one of the most controversial acts of the 1850 compromise and heightened...
, enacted on September 18, 1850 as a part of the Compromise Measures
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five bills, passed in September 1850, which defused a four-year confrontation between the slave states of the South and the free states of the North regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican-American War...
of that year. Mason represented the majority view in leading the Senate committee which investigated the John Brown
John Brown (abolitionist)
John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
raid on Harper's Ferry of October 1859. (Thus the document published as the U.S. Congress, Senate Select Commission on the Harper's Ferry Invasion (June 15, 1860) is often referred to as the Mason Report.) Mason was President pro tempore of the Senate
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
The President pro tempore is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate. The United States Constitution states that the Vice President of the United States is the President of the Senate and the highest-ranking official of the Senate despite not being a member of the body...
during the Thirty-fourth and Thirty-fifth Congresses but was expelled
Expulsion from the United States Congress
Expulsion is the most serious form of disciplinary action that can be taken against a Member of Congress. Article I, Section 5 of the United States Constitution provides that "Each House [of Congress] may determine the Rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with...
from the Senate in 1861 for support of the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
.
While traveling to his post as Confederate envoy to Britain and France, on the British mail steamer RMS Trent
RMS Trent
RMS Trent was a British Royal Mail paddle steamer built in 1841 by William Pitcher of Northfleet for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. She measured 1,856 gross tons and could carry 60 passengers....
, the ship was stopped by USS San Jacinto
USS San Jacinto (1850)
The first USS San Jacinto was an early screw frigate in the United States Navy during the mid-19th century. She was named for the San Jacinto River, site of the Battle of San Jacinto during the Texas Revolution. She is perhaps best known for her role in the Trent Affair of 1861.San Jacinto was laid...
on November 8, 1861. Mason and John Slidell
John Slidell
John Slidell was an American politician, lawyer and businessman. A native of New York, Slidell moved to Louisiana as a young man and became a staunch defender of southern rights as a U.S. Representative and Senator...
were confined in Fort Warren
Fort Warren (Massachusetts)
Fort Warren is a historic fort on the Georges Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor. The fort is pentagonal, made with stone and granite, and was constructed from 1833–1861, completed shortly after the beginning of the American Civil War...
, Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeast.-History:...
, precipitating the Trent Affair
Trent affair
The Trent Affair, also known as the Mason and Slidell Affair, was an international diplomatic incident that occurred during the American Civil War...
that threatened to bring Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
into open war with the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He was released in January 1862 and proceeded to London, where he represented the Confederacy until April 1865.
Until 1868 he lived in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and then returned to Virginia. He died on 28 April 1871 at Clarens
Clarens (Alexandria, Virginia)
Clarens is a 19th-century Federal-style mansion in Alexandria, Virginia. Clarens is best known as the residence of James Murray Mason , a United States Representative and United States Senator from Virginia and grandson of George Mason, a Founding Father of the United States.While it was formerly...
in Fairfax County
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
, Virginia at age 72. and was interred in Christ Church Episcopal Cemetery, Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
.
Marriage and children
Mason married Eliza Margaretta Chew (1798–1874) on 25 July 1822 at Cliveden in GermantownGermantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Germantown is a neighborhood in the northwest section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, about 7–8 miles northwest from the center of the city...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. The couple had eight children:
- Anna Maria Mason Ambler (31 January 1825–17 August 1863)
- Benjamin Chew Mason (1826–1847)
- Catharine Chew Mason Dorsey (24 March 1828–28 April 1893)
- George Mason (16 April 1830–3 February 1895)
- Virginia Mason (12 December 1833–11 October 1920)
- Eliza Ida Oswald Mason (10 August 1836–16 December 1885)
- James Murray Mason, Jr. (24 August 1839–10 January 1923)
- John A. Mason (17 November 1841–6 June 1925)
Relations
James Murray Mason was a grandson of George MasonGeorge Mason
George Mason IV was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention...
(1725–1792); nephew of George Mason V
George Mason V
George Mason V of Lexington was a planter, businessman, and militia leader. Mason was the eldest son of United States patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention, George Mason IV....
(1753–1796); grandnephew of Thomson Mason
Thomson Mason
Thomson Mason was a prominent Virginia lawyer, jurist, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Mason was a younger brother of George Mason IV, United States patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S...
(1733–1785); first cousin once removed of Stevens Thomson Mason
Stevens Thomson Mason (Virginia)
Stevens Thomson Mason was a Colonel in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, a member of the Virginia state legislature and a Republican U.S. Senator from Virginia .-Early life and military career:...
(1760–1803) and John Thomson Mason
John Thomson Mason
John Thomson Mason, Jr. was a U.S. Congressman from Maryland, representing the sixth district from 1841 to 1843.-Early life and education:...
(1765–1824); son of John Mason (1766–1849) and Anna Maria Murray Mason (1776–1857); first cousin of Thomson Francis Mason
Thomson Francis Mason
Thomson Francis Mason was a prominent jurist, lawyer, councilman, judge, and the mayor of Alexandria, District of Columbia between 1827 and 1830.-Early life and education:...
(1785–1838), George Mason VI
George Mason VI
George Mason VI was a prominent Virginia planter. Mason was the eldest son of planter and businessman George Mason V and grandson of United States patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S...
(1786–1834), and Richard Barnes Mason
Richard Barnes Mason
Richard Barnes Mason was a career general officer in the United States Army and the fifth military governor of California before it became a U.S. state.-Early life:...
(1797–1850); second cousin of Armistead Thomson Mason
Armistead Thomson Mason
Armistead Thomson Mason , the son of Stevens Thomson Mason, was a U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1816 to 1817.-Early life and education:...
(1787–1819), John Thomson Mason
John Thomson Mason (1787–1850)
John Thomson Mason was an American lawyer, United States marshal, Secretary of Michigan Territory from 1830 through 1831, land agent, and an important figure in the Texas Revolution.-Early life and education:...
(1787–1850), and John Thomson Mason, Jr. (1815–1873); second cousin once removed of Stevens Thomson Mason
Stevens T. Mason
Stevens Thomson Mason , also known as Stevens T. Mason, Tom Mason, The Boy Governor, and lesser known nicknames Young Hotspur and The Stripling, was the territorial governor of the Michigan Territory, and later the first Governor of the state of Michigan. Mason guided the Michigan Territory into...
(1811–1843); and first cousin thrice removed of Charles O'Conor Goolrick
C. O'Conor Goolrick
C. O'Conor Coolrick was a Virginia lawyer and politician whose legislative accomplishments include the establishment of a school for the training of teachers at Fredericksburg, Virginia that became the University of Mary Washington, and the establishment of modern systems for worker's compensation,...
.
- Sister Sarah Maria was the wife of ConfederateConfederate States of AmericaThe Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
general AdjutantAdjutantAdjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
Samuel Cooper (general)Samuel Cooper (general)Samuel Cooper was a career United States Army officer, serving during the Second Seminole War and the Mexican-American War. Although little-known today, Cooper was also the highest ranking Confederate general during the American Civil War...
. - Sister Anna Maria was the wife of Sidney Smith Lee-son of Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee; they were the parents of ConfederateConfederate States of AmericaThe Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
Major GeneralMajor general (United States)In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
and Virginia GovernorGovernorA governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Fitzhugh LeeFitzhugh LeeFitzhugh Lee , nephew of Robert E. Lee, was a Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, the 40th Governor of Virginia, diplomat, and United States Army general in the Spanish-American War.-Early life:...
. - Brother John T. married Catherine Macomb daughter of Gen. Alexander Macomb, Jr.Alexander Macomb, Jr.Alexander Macomb was the commanding general of the United States Army from May 29, 1828 to June 25, 1841. Macomb was the field commander at the Battle of Plattsburg, and after the stunning victory was lauded with praise and styled "The Hero of Plattsburgh" by some of the American press...
, Commanding General of the army (1828–1841).