Reuben Chapman (July 15, 1799 – May 17, 1882) was an American lawyer and politician.

Life

Born on July 15, 1799, in

Bowling Green, Virginia Bowling Green is an incorporated town in Caroline County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,111 at the 2010 census. The county seat of Caroline County since 1803, Bowling Green is best known as the "cradle of American horse racing ...

, he moved to Alabama in 1824, where he established a law practice. He represented

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1835, to March 3, 1847, and served as the

13th In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octave pl ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

from 1847 to 1849. He died in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

on May 17, 1882. While a member of the House of Representatives he had a very contentious relationship with the French ambassador,

Louis Adolphe Aimé Fourier, comte de Bacourt Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

. In 1844 the ambassador had made remarks towards him and Virginia congressman

George W. Hopkins William Henry Gleason (June 28, 1829 – November 8, 1902) was an American politician from Florida. He was Florida's second Lieutenant Governor and was very briefly, acting Governor. Early life William Henry Gleason was born in 1829 in Richfo ...

, and Chapman challenged

to a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

, however, the French ambassador backed down. That same year the French ambassador also offended Virginia congressman

Lewis Steenrod Lewis Steenrod (May 27, 1810 – October 3, 1862) was a nineteenth-century politician and lawyer from Virginia, who helped secure Congressional authorization of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge but who later opposed secession of what became Wes ...

, though it is unknown precisely what words were exchanged. Chapman and Hopkins grew so hostile towards the French ambassador that eventually in 1846 President James K. Polk asked the French government to send Monsieur Fourier home and select a new ambassador to the United States.Governor Reuben Chapman by Thomas McAdory Owen · 1921

References

Sources

Biographic sketch at U.S. Congress websiteReuben Chapman 1847-1849
Encyclopedia of Alabama *Governor Reuben Chapman by Thomas McAdory Owen · 1921

External links

Biographic sketch at U.S. Congress websiteReuben Chapman 1847-1849
Encyclopedia of Alabama 1799 births 1882 deaths People from Bowling Green, Virginia Democratic Party governors of Alabama Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama 19th-century American politicians {{Alabama-politician-stub