James Tallmadge, Jr. was an American lawyer and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

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Biography

His father, Colonel James Tallmadge (1744 to 1821), led a company of volunteers at the capture of General John Burgoyne

John Burgoyne

General John Burgoyne was a British army officer, politician and dramatist. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several battles, mostly notably during the Portugal Campaign of 1762....

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He graduated from Brown University

Brown University

Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...

, Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

 in 1798, and was secretary to Governor George Clinton

George Clinton (vice president)

George Clinton was an American soldier and politician, considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was the first Governor of New York, and then the fourth Vice President of the United States , serving under Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. He and John C...

 from 1798 to 1800. He studied law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 and was admitted to the bar in 1802, after which he practiced in Poughkeepsie

Poughkeepsie (city), New York

Poughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...

 and in New York City. He was Surrogate of Dutchess County from 1804 to 1810.

He served in the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

 and commanded a company of home guards in defense of New York.

He was by-elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Fifteenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of representative-elect Henry B. Lee on February 18, 1817, and served from June 6, 1817, to March 3, 1819. In the House he defended General Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...

's course in the Seminole War, and introduced an amendment to the bill authorizing the people of Missouri to draft a constitution and form a state government:

"And provided, That the further introduction of slavery or involuntary servitude be prohibited, except for the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been fully convicted; and that all children born within the said State, after the admission thereof into the Union, shall be free at the age of twenty-five years."

In support of this amendment, he delivered a powerful speech on February 16, 1819, in opposition to the extension of slavery. This was widely circulated, and was translated into German.

He was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Conventions in 1821 and 1846 and was a member of the New York State Assembly

New York State Assembly

The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...

 in 1824. He served as Lieutenant Governor of New York

Lieutenant Governor of New York

The Lieutenant Governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the government of New York State. It is the second highest ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket with the governor for a four year term...

 from 1825 to 1826.

In 1836 he visited Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, and aided in introducing into that country several American mechanical inventions, especially cotton-spinning machinery.

He was president of New York University

New York University

New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

 from 1830 to 1846 which conferred a LL.D. on him in 1838, and of the American Institute

American Institute

The American Institute of the City of New York was an organization to promote, by means of exhibitions and fairs, the interests of agriculture, commerce, manufactures, and arts in New York State and the United States.-History:...

 of which he was one of the founders, from 1831 to 1850.

His only daughter was one of the most beautiful women in the country, and after her return from Russia, to which court she accompanied her father, married Philip S. Van Rensselaer, the third son of Stephen Van Rensselaer

Stephen Van Rensselaer III

Stephen Van Rensselaer III was Lieutenant Governor of New York as well as a statesman, soldier, and land-owner, the heir to one of the largest estates in the New York region at the time, which made him the tenth richest American of all time, based on the ratio of his fortune to contemporary GDP...

. Their only surviving son, James Tallmadge Van Rensselaer, was a well-known lawyer in New York City.

He is buried at the New York Marble Cemetery

New York Marble Cemetery

The New York Marble Cemetery is an historic cemetery founded in 1830, and located in the interior of the block bounded by East Second and 3rd Streets, Second Avenue, and The Bowery, in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is entered through an alleyway with an iron gate at...

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