Richard Clough Anderson Jr. (August 4, 1788 – July 24, 1826) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat from

Jefferson County, Kentucky Jefferson County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 782,969. It is the most populous county in the commonwealth (with more than twice the population of sec ...

. He served 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 Kentucky. He is the son of Richard Clough Anderson Sr. and the grandfather of

Larz Anderson Larz Anderson (August 15, 1866 – April 13, 1937) was an American diplomat and ''bon vivant''. He served as second secretary at the United States Legation to the Court of St James's, London; as first secretary and later ''chargé d'affaires ...

Early life

Anderson was born at Soldier's Retreat near

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. His father, Richard Clough Anderson Sr., was a Revolutionary War Lt. Colonel in the 5th Virginia continentals, who led the advance of the Americans at the battle of Trenton (24 December 1776), crossing the Delaware River in the first boat. Anderson attended private schools, later graduating from

The College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest institut ...

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...

in 1804. He later studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

under Judge St. George Tucker and was admitted to the bar, practicing law in Louisville. His mother was Elizabeth Clark Anderson, of the Rogers Clark family. All of his uncles from his mother's side were military officers—five of them during the Revolutionary War. Two of his uncles had become quite famous: General

George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American military officer and surveyor from Virginia who became the highest-ranking Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot military officer on the American frontier, nort ...

, hero of the taking of

Fort Sackville During the 18th and early 19th centuries, the French, British and U.S. forces built and occupied a number of forts at Vincennes, Indiana. These outposts commanded a strategic position on the Wabash River. The names of the installations were chang ...

Vincennes, IN Vincennes is a city in, and the county seat of, Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the lower Wabash River in the Southwestern Indiana, southwestern part of the state, nearly halfway between Evansville, Indiana, Evansville and ...

, and considered to be the founder of Louisville, and Captain

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...

, of the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

. His younger brothers included civil war general Robert Anderson and Ohio Governor Charles Anderson.

Career

Anderson was elected to the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

in 1815 and then was elected as a

Democratic-Republican 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 l ...

to the

in 1816 and 1818, serving in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Congresses from March 4, 1817, through March 3, 1821. While in Congress, Anderson served as the chairman of the House Committee on Public Lands in the Sixteenth Congress. Anderson did not seek reelection to the House in 1820. He later served again as a member of the

in 1821 and 1822 and served as

Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives The following is a list of speakers of the Kentucky House of Representatives since statehood. Speakers of the Kentucky House of Representatives See also * List of Kentucky General Assemblies References {{Reflist, 2 Kentucky Kent ...

in 1822. Anderson was appointed as the first United States Minister Plenipotentiary to the

Gran Colombia Gran Colombia (, "Great Colombia"), also known as Greater Colombia and officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish language, Spanish: ''República de Colombia''), was a state that encompassed much of northern South America and parts of Central ...

on January 27, 1823. Prior to his departure, he sold several of his slaves to improve his finances. In 1824 he negotiated with Pedro Gual and concluded the Anderson–Gual Treaty, the first bilateral treaty that the U.S. signed with another

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

state. Anderson took his leave from his post on June 7, 1825, after being commissioned as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Panama Congress of Nations. Anderson died en route to his post in Turbaco, near Cartagena, Colombia on July 24, 1826. He is buried at Soldier's Retreat.Kleber, John E. ed., ''THE KENTUCKY ENCYCLOPEDIA'', Kentucky Bicentennial Commission, 1992, p.21

Legacy

Anderson County, Kentucky Anderson County, located in the Outer Bluegrass physiographic region, is Kentucky's 48th most populated and ninth fastest-growing county. Anderson County's estimated population as of July 1, 2022, is 24,224, a 1.6% increase from April 1, 20 ...

is named in his honor.

References

External links

Biographic sketch at U.S. Congress website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Richard Clough Jr. 1788 births 1826 deaths College of William & Mary alumni Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Speakers of the Kentucky House of Representatives Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery Ambassadors of the United States to Colombia 19th-century American diplomats Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky 19th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives