George Edmund Badger (April 17, 1795May 11, 1866) was a slave owner and Whig U.S. senator from the state of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

Early life

Badger was born on April 17, 1795, in New Bern, North Carolina. He attended

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

(where he was a member of

Brothers in Unity Brothers in Unity (formally, the Society of Brothers in Unity) is an undergraduate society at Yale University. Founded in 1768 as a literary and debating society that encompassed nearly half the student body at its 19th-century peak, the group di ...

) and received a partial college education that was terminated due to lack of funds; afterwards, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1814.

Career

Badger practiced law in

, was active in state politics, and served as a state superior court judge. A supporter of

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

from the 1820s, he separated with him in the mid-1830s, became a leader of the Whig party and helped carry the Whigs to victory in the 1840 Presidential election. Upon taking office, President

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

appointed Badger as his

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

, and he continued in that post for a few months (until September 1841, when he resigned to resume private practice) when

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president in 1841. He was elected vice president on the 1840 Whig tick ...

succeeded to the Presidency upon Harrison's death (April 1841). Badger's brief term as Secretary was marked by efforts to strengthen the Navy in the face of tension with Great Britain, the establishment of the U.S.

Home Squadron The Home Squadron was part of the United States Navy in the mid-19th century. Organized as early as 1838, ships were assigned to protect coastal commerce, aid ships in distress, suppress piracy and the Atlantic slave trade, make coastal surveys, ...

, and growing interest in steamships. Badger resigned in September 1841, during a general cabinet shakeup. The resignation of several cabinet members, including Badger, resulted from Tyler's vetoing of two bills to create a new national bank, which the Whig party, led by Henry Clay, supported. Badger was elected to the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in 1846 to fill the unexpired term of William Henry Haywood, Jr. and remained in office until 1855, after choosing not to run for re-election. While in the Senate, he supported the

Compromise of 1850 The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850 that defused a political confrontation between slave and free states on the status of territories acquired in the Mexican–Am ...

. He was nominated by President

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

as an

Associate justice of the Supreme Court An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is any member of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1 ...

on January 3, 1853, to succeed

John McKinley John McKinley (May 1, 1780 – July 19, 1852) was a United States Senator from the state of Alabama and an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Early life McKinley was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, on May 1, ...

. On February 11, 1853, the Senate voted to table a nomination, and the president withdrew it three days later. Badger's wealth grew throughout his political career; by 1860, he was worth an estimated $145,000. He was a slave owner, enslaving twenty people. He was a Unionist during the secession crisis but thereafter supported the

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

war effort.

Death and legacy

Badger died in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...

, in 1866. Two Navy ships have been named in honor of Senator Badger: USS ''George E. Badger'' (DD-196), and USS ''Badger'' (FF-1071). A

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...

, the '' SS George E. Badger'', also was named in his honor. Badger was a cousin of naval officers Oscar C. Badger, Charles J. Badger and

Oscar C. Badger II Oscar Charles Badger II (June 26, 1890 – November 30, 1958) was an admiral of the United States Navy who served in both World Wars, and, as a junior officer, received the Medal of Honor. Early life and family The grandson of Commodore Oscar C. ...

References

* *

External links

George Edmund Badger entry
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...

*
George E. Badger
at

Naval Historical Center The Naval History and Heritage Command, formerly the Naval Historical Center, is an Echelon II command responsible for the preservation, analysis, and dissemination of U.S. naval history and heritage located at the historic Washington Navy Yard. ...

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Badger, George E. 1795 births 1866 deaths Politicians from New Bern, North Carolina American people of English descent United States Secretaries of the Navy William Henry Harrison administration cabinet members Tyler administration cabinet members Whig Party United States senators from North Carolina North Carolina Whigs Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Unsuccessful nominees to the United States Supreme Court North Carolina state court judges North Carolina lawyers Yale College alumni