Pierce Butler (July 11, 1744February 15, 1822) was an Irish-born American politician who was one of the

Founding Fathers of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American Revolution, American revolutionary leaders who United Colonies, united the Thirteen Colon ...

. Born in the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland (; , ) was a dependent territory of Kingdom of England, England and then of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1542 to the end of 1800. It was ruled by the monarchs of England and then List of British monarchs ...

, Butler emigrated to the

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...

n colonies, where he fought in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. After the war, he served as a state legislator and was a member of the

Congress of the Confederation The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States from March 1, 1781, until March 3, 1789, during the Confederation ...

. In 1787, he served as a delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, where Butler signed the

Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

; he was also a member of the

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

. As one of the largest slaveholders in the United States, he frequently defended

American slavery The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865, predominantly in the South. Sl ...

for both political and personal motives, even though he had private misgivings about the institution and particularly about the

Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...

. He introduced the

Fugitive Slave Clause The Fugitive Slave Clause in the United States Constitution, also known as either the Slave Clause or the Fugitives From Labor Clause, is Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3, which requires a "Person held to Service or Labour" (usually a slave, appr ...

into a draft of the Constitution, which gave a federal guarantee to the property rights of slaveholders. Butler also supported counting the entire slave population in state totals for Congressional apportionment. The Constitution's

Three-fifths Compromise The Three-fifths Compromise, also known as the Constitutional Compromise of 1787, was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention over the inclusion of slaves in counting a state's total population. This count ...

counted only three-fifths of the enslaved population in state totals but still led to white voters in

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

having disproportionate power in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

Early life

Butler was born on July 11, 1744, in Garryhundon,

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He was born into the

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

Protestant Ascendancy The Protestant Ascendancy (also known as the Ascendancy) was the sociopolitical and economical domination of Ireland between the 17th and early 20th centuries by a small Anglicanism, Anglican ruling class, whose members consisted of landowners, ...

. He was an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

until after the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

when he became a member of the Episcopal Church alongside many of America's Founding Fathers. He was the third son of

Sir Richard Butler, 5th Baronet Sir Richard Butler, 5th Baronet (1699 – 25 November 1771) was an Irish politician and baronet. Early life He was the eldest son of James Butler and Frances ( Abney) Parker Butler. His mother was the widow of Sir John Parker, who lived at ...

, of Cloughgrenan (1699–1771), and his wife, Henrietta Percy. He resigned from a commission in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in 1773 and settled with his wife, Mary, in

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 ...

Revolutionary war soldier

In early 1779, Governor

John Rutledge John Rutledge Jr. (September 17, 1739 – June 21, 1800) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, politician, and jurist who served as one of the original Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States ...

asked Butler to help reorganize South Carolina's defenses. Butler assumed the post of the state's adjutant general, a position that carried the rank of brigadier general. He preferred to be addressed as major, his highest combat rank.Robert K. Wright Jr. and Morris J. MacGregor Jr., "Pierce Butler"
, ''Soldier-Statesmen of the Constitution,'' Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History, 1987, accessed March 4, 2012 Meanwhile, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

were shifting their wartime strategy. By 1778, King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

and his ministers faced a new military situation in the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

. Their forces in the northern and middle colonies had reached a stalemate with

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

's Continentals, more adequately supplied and better trained after the hard winter at

Valley Forge Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. It was the t ...

. There was a risk that

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

would enter the war as a partner of the Americans. The British developed a "southern strategy." They believed that the many

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

in the southern states (with whom the British had an active trade through

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

) would rally to the Crown if supported by regular troops. They planned a reconquest of the rebellious colonies one at a time, moving north from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. They launched their new strategy by capturing

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

in December 1778. Butler joined to mobilize South Carolina's militia to resist the British invasion. Later, he helped prepare the state units used in the counterattack which attempted to drive British forces from Georgia. Butler served as a volunteer aide to General

Lachlan McIntosh Lachlan McIntosh (March 17, 1725 – February 20, 1806) was a Scottish American military and political leader during the American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in whic ...

during the operation, which climaxed with an attempted attack on Savannah. The hastily raised and poorly prepared militia troops could not compete with the well-trained British regulars, and the

Patriots A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

' effort to relieve Savannah were defeated. In 1780, the British captured Charleston, South Carolina, and with it most of the colony's civil government and military forces. Butler escaped as part of a command group deliberately located outside the city. Over the next two years, he developed a counterstrategy to defeat the southern operations of. Refusing to surrender, allies in South Carolina and the occupied portions of Georgia and

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 ...

organized guerrilla operations against the British. As adjutant general, Butler worked with former members of the militia and Continental Army veterans such as

Francis Marion Brigadier general (United States), Brigadier General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the "Swamp Fox", was an American military officer, planter, and politician who served during the French and Indian War and t ...

and

Thomas Sumter Thomas Sumter (August 14, 1734June 1, 1832) was an American military officer, planter, and politician who served in the Continental Army as a Brigadier general (United States), brigadier-general during the American Revolutionary War, Revolution ...

to integrate the partisan efforts into a unified campaign. They united with the operations of the southern Army under the command of

Horatio Gates Horatio Lloyd Gates (July 26, 1727April 10, 1806) was a British-born American army officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the early years of the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War. He took credit for the Ameri ...

and later

Nathanael Greene Major general (United States), Major General Nathanael Greene (August 7, 1742 – June 19, 1786) was an American military officer and planter who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War. He emerge ...

. British forces repeatedly attempted to capture Butler due to his status as a former British Army officer. Several times he barely avoided capture. Throughout the closing phases of the southern campaign, he personally donated cash and supplies to help sustain the American forces and assisted in the administration of prisoner-of-war facilities.

Politician

Military operations in the final months of the Revolutionary War left Butler poor. Many of his plantations and ships were destroyed, and the international trade on which most of his income depended was in shambles. To secure loans and establish new markets, he traveled to Europe when the war ended. He enrolled his son Thomas in a London school run by Weeden Butler and engaged a new minister from among the British clergy for his Episcopal church in South Carolina. In late 1785, Butler returned to the United States. He became an outspoken advocate of reconciliation with former Loyalists and of equal representation for the backcountry residents. Attesting to his growing political influence, the South Carolina legislature asked Butler to represent the state at the Constitutional Convention that met in

Philadelphia 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 ...

in 1787. At the convention, he urged that the president be given the power to initiate war but did not receive a second proponent for his motion, and all the other delegates overwhelmingly rejected his proposal. Butler's experiences as a soldier and planter-legislator led to his forceful support for a strong union of the states. At the same time, he looked to the special interests of his region. He introduced the Fugitive Slave Clause (Article 4, Section 2), which established protection for slavery in the Constitution. In addition, while privately criticizing the international trade in enslaved Africans, he supported the passage in the Constitution that prohibited regulation of the trade for 20 years. He advocated counting the entire slave population in the states' totals for Congressional apportionment but compromised to count three-fifths of the enslaved people toward that end.Marian C. McKenna, "Review: Malcolm Bell Jr., 'Major Butler's Legacy: Five Generations of a Slaveholding Family' (1987)"
, ''Canadian Journal of History'', Vol. 23, No. 2 (1988) August It ensured that the Southern planter elite exerted a strong influence in national politics for decades. Butler displayed inconsistencies that troubled his associates. He favored ratification of the Constitution yet did not attend the South Carolina convention that ratified it. Later, he was elected by the South Carolina state legislature to three terms in the

— from 1789 to October 1796, and from November 1802 to November 1804 — but changed his party allegiance: beginning as a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

, he switched to the

Democratic-Republicans The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed li ...

in 1795. In 1804, he declared himself a political independent. Between his tenures as a senator, Butler ran in

South Carolina's 2nd congressional district South Carolina's 2nd congressional district is in central and southwestern South Carolina. The district spans from Columbia, South Carolina, Columbia to the South Carolina side of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area. From 1993 through 2012, ...

in 1798, but overwhelmingly lost to incumbent John Rutledge Jr. After these successive changes, voters did not elect Butler again to national office. They elected him three more times to the state legislature as an easterner who spoke on behalf of the west. Vice President

Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician, businessman, lawyer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805 d ...

was Butler's guest at his St. Simons plantations in September 1804. Burr was, at the time, lying low after shooting

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

in the July 1804 duel. The states of New York and New Jersey had each indicted Burr for murder in the duel's wake. Burr had traveled during August to Butler's plantation under the pseudonym Roswell King, Butler's overseer's name. During Burr's stay in early September, one of the worst hurricanes in history hit the area, and Burr's firsthand description documents both his stay and this event.

Later years, post-politics

Following his wife's death in 1790, Butler sold off the last of their South Carolina holdings and invested in Georgia Sea Island plantations. Butler hired Roswell King as the manager of his two plantations on St. Simon's Island and Butler Island. They had some conflicts as Butler wanted more moderate treatment of the people he enslaved than was King's style. King left in 1820 to operate a plantation near Darien. He also pursued plans in the 1830s to develop cotton mills in the Piedmont of Georgia, where he founded what became

Roswell, Georgia Roswell is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States. At the official 2020 census, the city had a population of 92,883, making Roswell the state's ninth largest city. A suburb of Atlanta, Roswell has an affluent National Registe ...

, in 1839. Butler retired from politics in 1805 and spent much of his time in Philadelphia, where he had previously established a summer home. Through his business ventures, he became one of the wealthiest men in the nation, with substantial land holdings in several states. Like other Founding Fathers from his region, Butler also continued to support the institution of slavery. But unlike Washington or

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

, for example, Butler never acknowledged the fundamental inconsistency in simultaneously defending the people's freedom and supporting slavery. Associates called Butler "eccentric" and an "enigma." He followed a path to produce the maximum liberty and respect for people he considered citizens. He wanted to maintain a strong central government but one that could never ride roughshod over the rights of the private citizen. He opposed the policies of the Federalists under Alexander Hamilton because he believed they had sacrificed the interests of westerners and had sought to force their policies on the opposition. He later split with Jefferson and the Democrats for the same reason. Butler emphasized his belief in the role of the ordinary person. Late in life, he summarized his view: "Our System is little better than matter of Experiment. ... much must depend on the morals and manners of the people at large."

Progeny and succession

In January 1771, Butler married Mary Middleton (c. 1750–1790). She was the orphaned daughter of Thomas Middleton, a South Carolina planter and slave importer, and was heiress to a large fortune. The couple had eight children: * Anne Elizabeth Butler (1771–1845), unmarried * Sarah Butler (1772–1831), married 1800, James Mease of Philadelphia * Frances Butler (1774–1836), unmarried * Harriot Percy Butler (1775–1815), unmarried * Pierce Butler Jr. (1777–1780), died aged three * Thomas Butler (1778–1838), married 1812, Eliza de Mallevault of Paris= * 3rd son, died young * 4th son, died young Butler disinherited his only surviving son, Thomas Butler, along with his French-born wife and children.Marian C. McKenna, "Review: Malcolm Bell Jr., 'Major Butler's Legacy: Five Generations of a Slaveholding Family' (1987)"
, ''Canadian Journal of History'', Vol. 23, No. 2 (1988) August Four of Butler's daughters reached adulthood, but only one of them, Sarah Mease, married or had children. Butler initially planned to leave his entire fortune to Sarah's eldest son, Pierce Butler Mease, but the boy died in 1810 at age 9. Butler told Sarah he would devise his estate in equal parts to her three surviving sons (including one born that year), provided they irrevocably adopt "Butler" as their surname. Two of Sarah's sons, John Mease and Pierce Butler Mease (born in 1810 and named for the brother who died), duly changed their surnames to inherit portions of the estate. Until the grandsons came of age, Butler's other surviving daughters, Frances and Anne Elizabeth ("Eliza"), had use of the most productive lands.

John A. Mease Butler

John A. Mease Butler (1806–1847) inherited half of his grandfather's plantations after adopting "Butler" as his surname in 1831. He married Gabriella Morris, but they had no children. He served in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

, attaining the rank of captain, but died of dysentery in camp. He was survived by his wife, who continued to reside on his estates and experienced the effects of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. U.S. forces occupied all the Butler plantations beginning in February 1862. The January 1, 1863,

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the eff ...

freed all of Gabriella Morris Butler's nearly 500 enslaved people. She died later that year.

Pierce Mease Butler

Pierce Mease Butler (1810–1867) inherited the other half of his grandfather's Butler Island and St. Simons Island plantations after adopting "Butler" as his surname. The English actress

Fanny Kemble Frances Anne Kemble (later Butler; 27 November 180915 January 1893) was a British actress from a Kemble family, theatre family in the early and mid-nineteenth century. She was a well-known and popular writer and abolitionist whose published wor ...

and her noted actor/manager father,

Charles Kemble Charles Kemble (25 November 1775 – 12 November 1854) was a British actor from the prominent Kemble family. Life Charles Kemble was one of 13 siblings and the youngest son of English Roman Catholic theatre manager/actor Roger Kemble, and Ir ...

, made a two-year theatrical tour of the United States in 1832–34. Pierce Mease Butler met her during the tour and married her on June 7, 1834. They lived in Philadelphia and had two daughters, Sarah and Frances. His wife kept a journal of their brief stay on one of their plantations. She expressed extreme horror at the state of life of enslaved people and deconstructed contemporary arguments attempting to justify slavery. Pierce Mease Butler took his family to Georgia for the winter of 1838–39. Kemble was shocked at the enslaved people's living and working conditions and complained to him about their overwork and the manager Roswell King Jr.'s treatment of them. She noted that King was known to have sired several

mixed-race The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...

children with enslaved women, whom he sometimes took away from their husbands for periods. Kemble's firsthand experiences of the winter residence contributed to her growing

abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. ...

. The couple had increasing tensions over this and their basic incompatibility. Butler threatened to deny Kemble access to their daughters if she published anything of her observations about the plantation conditions. When they divorced in 1849, he retained custody of their daughters. Kemble waited until 1863, after the start of the

and her daughters had come of age, to publish ''

Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838–1839 ''Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838–1839'' (the ''Journal'') is an account by Fanny Kemble of the time spent on her husband's plantation in Butler Island (Georgia), Butler Island, Georgia. The account was not published un ...

.'' Her eyewitness indictment of slavery included an account of King's mixed-race children with slave women. The book was published in both the U.S. and England. In the social and economic disruption of the postwar years, Pierce Mease Butler was unsuccessful in adapting to the free labor market. Amid a general agricultural depression, he failed to profit from the Sea Island plantations.

Slave auction

By mid-century, Pierce Mease Butler was among the richest men in the United States, but he squandered a fortune estimated at $700,000. He was saved from bankruptcy by the sale of his Philadelphia house and then the sale of 436 Georgia slaves on March 2–3, 1859, at Ten Broeck Racetrack, outside Savannah, Georgia. It was the largest single slave auction in U.S. history and netted him more than $300,000 (). The auction was a notable event and covered by national newspapers. He sat out the Civil War in Philadelphia, a refuge for numerous Southerners, and was imprisoned for treason in August–September 1861.

Later generations

After Pierce Mease Butler's death, his younger daughter Frances Butler Leigh and her husband, James Leigh, a minister, tried to restore productivity and operate the combined plantations but were unsuccessful in generating a profit. They left Georgia in 1877 and moved permanently to England, where Leigh had been born. Frances Butler Leigh defended her father's actions as a slaveholder in her book, ''Ten Years on a Georgian Plantation since the War'' (1883), intended as a rebuttal to her mother's critique of slavery from 20 years before. Pierce Mease Butler's elder daughter Sarah Butler Wister married a wealthy Philadelphia doctor, Owen Jones Wister, and they lived in the Germantown section of the city. Their son,

Owen Wister Owen Wister (July 14, 1860 – July 21, 1938) was an American writer. His novel ''The Virginian (novel), The Virginian'', published in 1902, helped create the cowboy as a folk hero in the United States and built Wister's reputation as the " ...

, became a popular American novelist, best known for '' The Virginian,'' a 1902 western novel now considered a classic. The younger Owen Wister was the last of Major Butler's descendants to inherit the plantations. He wrote about the post-Civil War South in his 1906 novel, '' Lady Baltimore'', which romanticized "the lost aristocrats of antebellum Charleston." Wister's friend and former Harvard classmate, President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

, wrote to him criticizing the novel for making "nearly all the devils Northerners and the angels Southerners."

Legacy

Pierce Butler and many of his descendants are buried in a vault in the cemetery of

Christ Church, Philadelphia Christ Church is an Episcopal church in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1695 as a parish of the Church of England, it played an integral role in the founding of the Protestant Episcopal Chu ...

, built in 1727–1744 and a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

. Butler Street in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, is named in his honor.

References and external links

Notes

Sources

* Malcolm Bell Jr., ''Major Butler's Legacy: Five Generations of a Slaveholding Family'' (University of Georgia Press, 1987) * James H. Hutson, "Pierce Butler's Records of the Federal Constitutional Convention," ''Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress'' 37 (1980): 64–73. * ''The Letters of Pierce Butler, 1790–1794: Nation Building and Enterprise in the New American Republic.'' Edited by Terry W. Lipscomb (University of South Carolina Press, 2007). * "Pierce Butler," in ''Documentary History of the First Federal Congress of the United States of America.'' Edited by

Linda Grant DePauw Linda Grant DePauw (born January 19, 1940) is an American modern historian, retired university teacher, non-fiction author and journal editor, who is a pioneer in women's research in the United States. She received the Beveridge Award in 1964, wa ...

et al. (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1972) 14: 824–30.
John T. White, "Pierce Butler"
''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography,'' Vol. 2, 1895, p. 162

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Pierce 1744 births 1822 deaths 18th-century Irish people 19th-century Irish politicians Politicians from County Carlow Continental Army officers from Ireland 18th-century American planters Burials at Christ Church, Philadelphia Cheshire Regiment officers Continental Congressmen from South Carolina American proslavery activists Irish emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Signers of the United States Constitution South Carolina militiamen in the American Revolution United States senators from South Carolina 29th Regiment of Foot officers Worcestershire Regiment officers South Carolina Democratic-Republicans South Carolina Federalists Democratic-Republican Party United States senators Younger sons of baronets Pierce South Carolina independents United States senators who owned slaves Founding Fathers of the United States Irish Anglicans Military personnel from County Carlow 19th-century United States senators 18th-century United States senators Candidates in the 1798 United States elections