James Iver McKay (July 17, 1792September 14, 1853) was an American lawyer and politician who served nine terms as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

from 1831 to 1849.

Early life and education

He was born in 1792, near

Elizabethtown, North Carolina Elizabethtown is a town in Bladen County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,296 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Bladen County. History Some hold Elizabethtown is named for Elizabeth, the wife of George Carteret, ...

. He pursued classical studies and then law.

Career

He was appointed

United States attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the district of North Carolina on March 6, 1817, and also served in the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

(1815–1819, 1822, 1826, and 1830).

Congress

He was elected as a Jacksonian to the 22nd through 24th congresses (1831–1837) and as a

Democrat 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the 25th through 30th congresses (1837–1849). He served as chairman of the: Committee on Military Affairs (25th Congress), Committee on the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

and Post Roads (26th Congress), Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War (27th Congress),

Ways and Means Committee A ways and means committee is a government body that is charged with reviewing and making recommendations for government budgets. Because the raising of revenue is vital to carrying out governmental operations, such a committee is tasked with fi ...

(28th and 29th congresses). He was also the chief sponsor of the Walker Tariff of 1846; and was the

favorite son Favorite son (or favorite daughter) is a political term referring to a presidential candidate, either one that is nominated by a state but considered a nonviable candidate or a politician whose electoral appeal derives from their native state, r ...

of the North Carolina delegation at the

1848 Democratic National Convention The 1848 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that met from Monday May 22 to Friday May 26 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was held to nominate the Democratic Party's candidates for President and Vice president i ...

for Vice President. McKay also introduced the

Coinage Act of 1849 The Coinage Act of 1849 was an Act of the United States Congress passed during the California Gold Rush authorizing the Mint to produce two new gold coins in response to the increased gold supply: the small gold dollar and the large double e ...

on the House floor, with it successfully passing.

Death and burial

McKay died in

Goldsboro, North Carolina Goldsboro, originally Goldsborough, is a city in and the county seat of Wayne County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 33,657 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Me ...

, September 14, 1853. Though an unapologetic slave-owner, his will included the unusual provision that 30–40 of his slaves be placed under the supervision of the

American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the repatriation of freeborn peop ...

. Clegg, Claude A., III, ''The Price of Liberty: African Americans and the making of Liberia'', Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009, p. 192.

References

External links