Alfred Iverson Sr. (December 3, 1798March 4, 1873) was a
United States representative and
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
from
Georgia.
Early life
Born in
Liberty County, he attended private schools and graduated from the College of New Jersey (now
Princeton University) in 1820. He studied law, was admitted to the
bar in 1822 and commenced practice in Clinton, a community in
Jones County, Georgia.
Political life
He was a member of the
Georgia House of Representatives from 1827 to 1830, and moved to
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
in 1830 and continued the practice of law. He was judge of the State
superior court
In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...
from 1835 to 1837, a member of the
Georgia Senate in 1843–1844, and a
presidential elector on the
Democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
ticket in 1844.
Iverson was elected as a Democrat to the Thirtieth Congress (March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849). From 1850 to 1854 he again served as judge of the State superior court, and was elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1855, to January 28, 1861, when he withdrew. While in the Senate he was chairman of the Committee on Claims (Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth Congresses). While a senator, he repudiated
popular sovereignty. Iverson left the Senate shortly after Georgia passed an
ordinance of secession
An Ordinance of Secession was the name given to multiple resolutions drafted and ratified in 1860 and 1861, at or near the beginning of the Civil War, by which each seceding Southern state or territory formally declared secession from the United ...
from the United States and after making a defiant
farewell speech, stating that Southerners would never return to the Union "short of a full and explicit recognition of the guarantee of the safety of their institution of
domestic slavery."
[ (text of farewell speech)]
Death and legacy
After leaving the Senate, he resumed the practice of law in Columbus until 1868, when he purchased a plantation in
East Macon and engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death there in 1873; interment was in
Linwood Cemetery.
His son
Alfred Iverson Jr.
Alfred Iverson Jr. (February 14, 1829 – March 31, 1911) was a lawyer, an officer in the Mexican–American War, a U.S. Army cavalry officer, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He served in the 1862–63 campaigns of the Army of ...
was a
Confederate general in the
American Civil War.
References
Other sources
External links
Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library Emory University
Iverson family papers, 1821-1928
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iverson, Alfred Sr.
1798 births
1873 deaths
People from Liberty County, Georgia
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state)
Democratic Party United States senators from Georgia (U.S. state)
1844 United States presidential electors
Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives
Democratic Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators
Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges
American slave owners
Princeton University alumni
19th-century American judges
United States senators who owned slaves