Alexander Hugh Holmes Stuart facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alexander Stuart
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| 3rd United States Secretary of the Interior | |
| In office September 14, 1850 – March 7, 1853 |
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| President | Millard Fillmore |
| Preceded by | Thomas McKennan |
| Succeeded by | Robert McClelland |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 17th district |
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| In office March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843 |
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| Preceded by | Robert Craig |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Augusta County | |
| In office January 1, 1874 – December 5, 1877 |
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| Preceded by | Charles S. Roler |
| Succeeded by | John Echols |
| In office December 5, 1836 – December 2, 1839 |
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| Preceded by | Robert S. Brooke |
| Succeeded by | Franklin McCue |
| Member of the Virginia Senate from Augusta County |
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| In office December 7, 1857 – December 2, 1861 |
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| Preceded by | Clement R. Harris |
| Succeeded by | Bolivar Christian |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Alexander Hugh Holmes Stuart
April 2, 1807 Staunton, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | February 13, 1891 (aged 83) Staunton, Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse | Frances Baldwin |
| Children | 8 |
| Education | College of William and Mary University of Virginia, Charlottesville (BA) |
Alexander Hugh Holmes Stuart (born April 2, 1807 – died February 13, 1891) was an important lawyer and political figure from Virginia. He was involved with several political groups during his life. Stuart served in both parts of the Virginia General Assembly (like a state parliament) at different times. He was also a U.S. Congressman and the Secretary of the Interior. This role is like a cabinet member who manages federal lands and Native American affairs.
Even though he was against Virginia leaving the United States during the American Civil War, he was not allowed to be a Congressman after the war. Stuart also led a group called the Committee of Nine. This group tried to change some things that happened during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War. He also served as the head of the University of Virginia.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Alexander Stuart was born in Staunton, Virginia. He was one of three sons. His father, Archibald Stuart, was a judge and a friend of Thomas Jefferson. His family had Scottish-Irish roots. His mother was Eleanor Briscoe, who had English ancestors.
Stuart was taught by private tutors at home. Later, he went to the College of William and Mary. He then studied law and graduated from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. In 1833, he married his cousin, Frances Cornelia Baldwin. They had eight children together.
Political Career
Stuart became a lawyer in Virginia in 1828. He quickly became active in politics, supporting the National Republican Party.
Serving in the State and U.S. Government
In 1836, voters in Augusta County elected Stuart to the Virginia House of Delegates. This is a part of Virginia's state government. He was re-elected twice as a member of the Whig Party. During this time, he worked on improving roads and canals, like the James River Canal.
In 1840, Stuart was elected as a Whig to the 27th Congress, which is the U.S. Congress. He served on committees related to the Navy and foreign affairs. He was one of only two Southern representatives who supported ending a rule that stopped people from sending petitions against slavery. Stuart also disagreed with President John Tyler about creating a new national bank. He supported a tariff, which is a tax on imported goods, to help American businesses.
In 1843, his district changed, and he lost his re-election bid. However, he remained active in politics. He helped with the presidential campaigns for the Whig Party in 1844 and 1848.
From 1850 to 1853, Stuart served as the United States Secretary of the Interior under President Millard Fillmore. This department was new and brought together different government offices. Stuart worked to set rules for government appointments and improve how the department was run.
When the Whig Party started to break apart around 1852, Stuart joined the Know Nothing Party. This party was known for its focus on American-born citizens. Stuart wrote many letters explaining the party's ideas. He believed in giving more rights to native-born Americans than to some immigrants.
Leading Up to the Civil War
From 1857 to 1861, Stuart was elected to the Virginia Senate, another part of the state government. He was a leader on a committee that investigated John Brown's Raid in 1859. This raid was an attempt to start a slave rebellion. The committee suggested strengthening local militias and making Virginia more economically independent from the Northern states.
By 1860, Stuart owned nine enslaved people. He believed that slavery was good for the Southern economy and even helped the North. He also thought that ending slavery would cause violence.
In the 1860 U.S. Presidential Election, Stuart supported the Constitutional Union Party. This party tried to keep the country together. When President Abraham Lincoln was elected, Southern states began to leave the Union. Augusta County voters chose Stuart to represent them at the Virginia Secession Convention of 1861. He voted against Virginia leaving the Union at first.
Stuart was part of a special group that met with President Lincoln in Washington, D.C. after the attack on Fort Sumter. They found Lincoln determined to keep federal forts in the South. Two days later, the vote to secede came up again in Virginia. Stuart and the other Augusta County delegates voted against it, but it passed. Stuart later signed the official secession document. He also suggested changes to Virginia's constitution, believing that too much democracy in the North led to Lincoln's election. However, these changes were rejected by voters in 1862.
During and After the Civil War
After Virginia left the Union, Stuart chose not to hold any official positions for the Confederacy or Virginia. He did support efforts to help Virginia's soldiers. Two of his relatives, John Brown Baldwin and J. E. B. Stuart, became Confederate generals.
After the war ended in 1865, Stuart helped organize a meeting in Staunton. They asked for protection from the U.S. Army and declared that the people were no longer rebelling. Stuart took oaths of loyalty to the United States. Because he had not held Confederate office, he was elected as a U.S. Representative again in 1865. However, he was not allowed to take his seat in Congress. This was because Virginia had not yet been fully brought back into the Union.
Stuart spoke at the University of Virginia in 1866. He was sad about the changes to "Old Virginia." He also opposed Congressional Reconstruction, which was the U.S. government's plan to rebuild the South. In 1867, Stuart criticized the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868. This convention included black delegates and was elected with universal voting rights.
Stuart became the head of the Committee of Nine. This group worked with President Ulysses S. Grant to help Virginia rejoin the Union. They managed to get separate votes on the new state constitution and on measures against former Confederates. This helped Virginia rejoin the United States in 1870.
Augusta County voters elected Stuart to the Virginia General Assembly again in 1873. He served until 1877. He also served as the head of the University of Virginia from 1874 to 1882 and again from 1886 to 1887. During this time, he accepted the idea of public education. He also became president of the Virginia Historical Society in 1881 and continued his law practice.
Later Life and Legacy
Alexander Stuart died at his home in Staunton in 1891, a few years after his wife. They are buried in Thornrose Cemetery in Staunton. His important papers are kept by the Virginia Historical Society and the University of Virginia. He was the last person alive who had served in President Fillmore's cabinet.
His son-in-law, John M. P. Atkinson, was the tenth president of Hampden–Sydney College. Stuart's home in Staunton, the Stuart House, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
Family
- Father: Judge Archibald Stuart (1757–1832)
- Mother: Eleanor Briscoe (1768–1858)
- Brothers: Thomas Jefferson Stuart, Archibald P. Stuart, and Gerard Briscoe Stuart.
- Alexander Stuart was the first cousin of Congressman Archibald Stuart. This Archibald Stuart's son was Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart, making Alexander Stuart his first cousin, once removed.
- Alexander Stuart married Frances Cornelia Baldwin (1815–1888). They had eight children: Briscoe Baldwin Stuart, Alexander H. H. Stuart Jr., Archibald Gerard Stuart, Eleanor Augusta Stuart, Frances Peyton Stuart, Mary Stuart, Susan Baldwin Stuart, and Margaret Briscoe Stuart.
- His daughter Mary Stuart married Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire. Dr. McGuire was a chief surgeon during the Civil War and later became President of the American Medical Association.
