Robert James Turnbull (January 1775 - June 15, 1833) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

planter Planter or Planters may refer to: Common meanings * A flowerpot or box for plants ** ''Jardiniere'', one such type of pot, mostly indoor types ** Cachepot, another term for the same ** Flower box, another type of planter, mostly for outdoors ** ...

, writer and politician from

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

who also published under the name Brutus. His essays in the ''

Charleston Mercury The ''Charleston Mercury'' was a secessionist newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina, founded by Henry L. Pinckney in 1819. He was its sole editor for fifteen years. It ceased publication with the Union Army occupation of Charleston in Febru ...

'' advocating nullification were published as a pamphlet under the title ''The Crisis: Or, Essays on the Usurpations of the Federal Government'', which has been described as "the handbook for nullification and resistance."

Background

Turnbull's father was Andrew Turnbull, a British physician who married a

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wife (a native of

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

, where he had worked for British interests). Dr. Turnbull was given a grant by the

British Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

in 1772 to establish a colony in Florida, which was settled by about 15,000

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

and other immigrants from the

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, with the largest number coming from the island of Menorca. The colony was not a large success, and Dr. Turnbull lost his grants. The Turnbull family settled in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, when the British Army occupied the city during the American Revolution. Robert James Turnbull, who was born in New Smyrna, Florida in January 1775, was still an infant when his family moved to Charleston. After the war ended, Dr. Turnbull, Robert's father, refused to take up American citizenship. Robert was sent to school in England after the war, during which time his ''Visit to the "Philadelphia Penitentiary"'' (which discussed the

penitentiary A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state, usually ...

concept and argued against

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

) was published in London (1797). It was translated into

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in 1800, and gained him some notice in the United States as well as in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. He returned to the United States, and studied law in Charleston and

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He took up

legal practice Legal practice is sometimes used to distinguish the body of judicial or administrative precedents, rules, policies, customs, and doctrines from legislative enactments such as statutes and constitutions which might be called "laws" in the strict ...

in Charleston until 1810, when he moved to a large

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

in the rural part of the state.

Denmark Vesey

In July 1822, Turnbull served on the seven-man court that tried

Denmark Vesey Denmark Vesey (also Telemaque) (July 2, 1822) was a Free Negro, free Black man and community leader in Charleston, South Carolina, who was accused and convicted of planning a major Slave rebellion, slave revolt in 1822. Although the alleged pl ...

and a number of his co-conspirators, who had planned a

slave rebellion A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by slaves, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of slaves have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freedom and the dream o ...

. It sentenced 34 of them to death (including Vesey and his closest lieutenants, Peter Poyas and

Gullah Jack Gullah Jack (died July 12, 1822), also known as Couter Jack and sometimes referred to as "Gullah" Jack Pritchard, was an African Methodist and Hoodoo conjurer whom Paul Pritchard enslaved in Charleston, South Carolina. Background Little is k ...

) and 37 others to

penal transportation Penal transportation (or simply transportation) was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies bec ...

outside the state.Snowden, Yates & Harry Gardner Cutler, eds. ''History of South Carolina'' Volume 1. Chicago & New York: Lewis Publishing Company, 1920; p. 556.

Political leadership

Turnbull wrote a series of articles on nullification and

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

in 1827 for the ''Charleston Mercury'' which were afterward issued as ''The Crisis'' and helped cement his place as a leader in the nullification faction in South Carolina politics. He was a member of the 1831 free trade convention in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

and a similar one in Charleston in 1832; he wrote the report of the 1831 convention. In November 1832, Turnbull served as a delegate to the South Carolina convention that passed the

Ordinance of Nullification The Ordinance of Nullification declared the Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 null and void within the borders of the U.S. state of South Carolina, beginning on February 1, 1833. It began the Nullification Crisis. Passed by a state convention on Novem ...

, which declared that the

tariffs A tariff or import tax is a duty imposed by a national government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods or raw materials and is ...

of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and unenforceable within the state after February 1, 1833. He also prepared the report of the convention. He died in Charleston on June 15, 1833, during the late stages of the Nullification Crisis which he had played such a role in precipitating.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turnbull, Robert James 1775 births 1833 deaths American essayists American planters American pamphleteers American male non-fiction writers Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina South Carolina lawyers Writers from Charleston, South Carolina Lawyers from Charleston, South Carolina American slave owners 19th-century American lawyers