Joseph Bradley Varnum
Encyclopedia
Joseph Bradley Varnum was a U.S.
politician of the Democratic-Republican Party from Massachusetts
.
, Middlesex County, January 29, 1750 or 1751, a farmer with little formal education.
After serving in the Massachusetts militia
during the American Revolutionary War
, Varnum helped to destroy the Shays insurrection before he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1780–1785) and then the Massachusetts State Senate (1786–1795). He also served as a Justice of the Massachusetts Court of Common Pleas and as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Court of General Sessions.
In 1794, Varnum was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
, where he served from March 4, 1795 until his resignation on June 29, 1811. During his last four years in the House, he served as its Speaker
.
Varnum was elected to the U.S. Senate
in 1811 to fill the vacancy in the term. June 29, 1811, to March 4, 1817; served as President pro tempore of the Senate during the Thirteenth Congress; chairman, Committee on Militia (Fourteenth Congress); after returning to Massachusetts in 1817, he again served in the Massachusetts State Senate, until his death September 21, 1821.
Varnum died in Dracut, and his body is interred in Varnum Cemetery. His brother was James Mitchell Varnum
.
Section 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.
In other words, the government could not ban the importation of slaves for 20 years after the adoption of the Constitution. And as the designated year 1808 approached, those opposed to slavery began making plans for legislation that would outlaw the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
On March 3, 1805, Congressman Joseph Bradley Varnum [1751-1821], Dracut, MA [now Lowell] submitted the follow Massachusetts Proposition to amend the Constitution and Abolish the Slave Trade. This proposition was table until 1807, when under Joseph Bradley Varnum leadership the amendment moved through Congress and passed both houses on March 2, 1807. Slave owner and President Thomas Jefferson signed it into law on March 3, 1807. Due to the restriction imposed by Article I, Section of the Constitution, the law did not become effective until January 1, 1808.
JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OF THE UNITED STATES, 1804-1807
SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 1805
Congressman Joseph Bradley Varnum, one of the members for the State of Massachusetts, presented to the House a letter from the Governor of the said State, enclosing an attested copy of two concurrent resolutions of the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Massachusetts, passed the fifteenth of February, in the present year, "instructing the Senators, and requesting the Representatives in Congress, from the said State, to take all legal and necessary steps, to use their utmost exertions, as soon as the same is practicable, to obtain an amendment to the Federal Constitution, so as to authorize and empower the Congress of the United States to pass a law, whenever they may deem it expedient, to prevent the further importation of slaves from any of the West India Islands, from the coast of Africa, or elsewhere, into the United States, or any part thereof:" Whereupon,
A motion was made and seconded that the House do come to the following resolution:
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, That the following article be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by three-fourths of the said Legislatures, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as a part of the said Constitution, to wit:
"That the Congress of the United States shall have power to prevent the further importation of slaves into the United States and the Territories thereof."
The said proposed resolution was read, and ordered to lie on the table.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician of the Democratic-Republican Party from 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...
.
Biography
Joseph Bradley Varnum was born in Dracut, MassachusettsDracut, Massachusetts
Dracut is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 29,457. Dracut is primarily a suburban community, belonging to Greater Lowell and bordering southern New Hampshire...
, Middlesex County, January 29, 1750 or 1751, a farmer with little formal education.
After serving in the Massachusetts militia
Massachusetts militia
Militia of the Colony and later Commonwealth of Massachusetts.-List of Massachusetts militia units of the American Revolution:*Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts *Cogswell's Regiment of Militia...
during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, Varnum helped to destroy the Shays insurrection before he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1780–1785) and then the Massachusetts State Senate (1786–1795). He also served as a Justice of the Massachusetts Court of Common Pleas and as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Court of General Sessions.
In 1794, Varnum was elected to the U.S. 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...
, where he served from March 4, 1795 until his resignation on June 29, 1811. During his last four years in the House, he served as its Speaker
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
.
Varnum was elected to the U.S. 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 1811 to fill the vacancy in the term. June 29, 1811, to March 4, 1817; served as President pro tempore of the Senate during the Thirteenth Congress; chairman, Committee on Militia (Fourteenth Congress); after returning to Massachusetts in 1817, he again served in the Massachusetts State Senate, until his death September 21, 1821.
Varnum died in Dracut, and his body is interred in Varnum Cemetery. His brother was James Mitchell Varnum
James Mitchell Varnum
James Mitchell Varnum was an American legislator, lawyer and a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.-Early life:James Mitchell Varnum was born in Dracut, Massachusetts...
.
Slave Trade
In the 1786 US Constitution there was a provision in Article I – the part of the document dealing with the duties of the legislative branch:Section 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.
In other words, the government could not ban the importation of slaves for 20 years after the adoption of the Constitution. And as the designated year 1808 approached, those opposed to slavery began making plans for legislation that would outlaw the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
On March 3, 1805, Congressman Joseph Bradley Varnum [1751-1821], Dracut, MA [now Lowell] submitted the follow Massachusetts Proposition to amend the Constitution and Abolish the Slave Trade. This proposition was table until 1807, when under Joseph Bradley Varnum leadership the amendment moved through Congress and passed both houses on March 2, 1807. Slave owner and President Thomas Jefferson signed it into law on March 3, 1807. Due to the restriction imposed by Article I, Section of the Constitution, the law did not become effective until January 1, 1808.
JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OF THE UNITED STATES, 1804-1807
SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 1805
Congressman Joseph Bradley Varnum, one of the members for the State of Massachusetts, presented to the House a letter from the Governor of the said State, enclosing an attested copy of two concurrent resolutions of the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Massachusetts, passed the fifteenth of February, in the present year, "instructing the Senators, and requesting the Representatives in Congress, from the said State, to take all legal and necessary steps, to use their utmost exertions, as soon as the same is practicable, to obtain an amendment to the Federal Constitution, so as to authorize and empower the Congress of the United States to pass a law, whenever they may deem it expedient, to prevent the further importation of slaves from any of the West India Islands, from the coast of Africa, or elsewhere, into the United States, or any part thereof:" Whereupon,
A motion was made and seconded that the House do come to the following resolution:
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, That the following article be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by three-fourths of the said Legislatures, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as a part of the said Constitution, to wit:
"That the Congress of the United States shall have power to prevent the further importation of slaves into the United States and the Territories thereof."
The said proposed resolution was read, and ordered to lie on the table.