Whitemarsh Benjamin Seabrook (June 30, 1793 – April 16, 1855) was the 63rd

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

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 ...

from 1848 to 1850.

Early life and career

Seabrook was born on

Edisto Island Edisto Island is one of South Carolina's Sea Islands, the larger part of which lies in Charleston County, with its southern tip in Colleton County. Edisto Beach is in Colleton County, and the Charleston County part of the island is unincorpor ...

at his family's plantation in and he received his education at the College of New Jersey from which he graduated in 1812. He owned Gun Bluff Plantation on Edisto Island and engaged in agriculture issues of the state. For several years, Seabrook was the president of the South Carolina Agricultural Society and he stressed the need upon the farmers of the state for diversification of crop. In addition, Seabrook wrote the ''History of the Cotton Plant'' and ''A concise view of the critical situation, and future prospects of the slave-holding states, in relation to their coloured population''. Seabrook wrote an essay in which he advocated keeping enslaved African Americans in stocks overnight "as a powerful auxiliary in the cause of good government."

Political career

In 1814, at the age of 21, Seabrook gained election to the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seatin ...

and served until his election to the

South Carolina Senate The South Carolina State Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives. It consists of 46 senators elected from single member districts for four-year terms at ...

in 1829. Beginning in 1825, Seabrook was involved in campaigning to close Black schools in Charleston. In the early 1830s he led a campaign inspired by other Southern states to limit black literacy and religion by passing a law that would ban the teaching of slaves and free Black people to read. In 1834, this law was successfully passed. After five years in the Senate, the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

elected him as the 36th

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

in 1834. The General Assembly elected Seabrook as

in 1848 and he pushed for reform of education in the state. He lamented that only the

upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status. Usually, these are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper cla ...

of South Carolina was provided with education and that the

middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

and

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classes received almost little if any education. Local officials were even encouraged by Seabrook to pass additional taxes to fund education. Furthermore, Seabrook organized the teachers of the state into the Teachers' Association, but it collapsed after he left office.

Later life

Upon the expiration of his term in 1850, Seabrook returned to his plantation on Edisto Island. He remained active in politics and participated in the Southern Rights Convention of 1852. On April 16, 1855, in Beaufort, Seabrook died and he was interred on his plantation.

References

External links

SCIway Biography of Whitemarsh Benjamin Seabrook''A concise view of the critical situation, and future prospects of the slave-holding states, in relation to their coloured population''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seabrook, Whitemarsh Benjamin 1793 births 1855 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American essayists Princeton University alumni South Carolina lawyers Democratic Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Democratic Party South Carolina state senators Lieutenant governors of South Carolina Democratic Party governors of South Carolina University of South Carolina trustees 19th-century American planters 19th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly