Thomas Bennett, Jr.

Thomas Bennett, Jr.
Portrait by William Harrison Scarborough
48th Governor of South Carolina
In office December 1, 1820 – December 1, 1822
Lieutenant	William Pinckney
Preceded by	John Geddes
Succeeded by	John Lyde Wilson
Member of the South Carolina Senate from St. Philip's and St. Michael's Parish
In office November 28, 1837 – November 23, 1840 Alongside Daniel Elliott Huger
Preceded by	Joel Poinsett
Succeeded by	Ker Boyce
In office November 27, 1820 – December 7, 1820 Alongside Philip Moser
Preceded by	James Reid Pringle
Succeeded by	William Crafts, Jr.
15th Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives
In office November 28, 1814 – November 23, 1818
Governor	David Rogerson Williams Andrew Pickens
Preceded by	John Geddes
Succeeded by	Robert Y. Hayne
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from St. Philip's and St. Michael's Parish
In office September 15, 1813 – November 23, 1818
In office November 23, 1812 – December 19, 1812
In office November 28, 1808 – November 26, 1810
In office November 26, 1804 – November 24, 1806
20th Intendant of Charleston, South Carolina
In office 1812–1813
Preceded by	Thomas McCalla
Succeeded by	Thomas Rhett Smith
Personal details
Born	August 14, 1781 Charleston, South Carolina
Died	January 30, 1865 (aged 83) South Carolina, C.S.A.
Political party	Democratic-Republican
Spouse(s)	Mary Lightbourn Stone Jane (Burgess) Gordon

Thomas Bennett, Jr. (August 14, 1781 – January 30, 1865) was a businessman and politician, the 48th Governor of South Carolina from 1820 to 1822. A respected statesman, he had served several terms in the state legislature since 1804, including four years as Speaker of the House; and a term in the South Carolina Senate.

Early life and career

Born in Charleston to an upper-class family, Bennett was educated at the College of Charleston. In a partnership with his father, Bennett ran a lumber and rice milling operation near the city. He also worked as an architect and as a banker, managing the Planters and Merchant Bank of South Carolina and the Bank of the State of South Carolina.

Political career

Bennett was elected to a number of local positions for the city of Charleston, including Intendant (mayor). The prosperous city was a center of trade, including that for slaves. Beginning in 1804, he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives on three non-consecutive occasions. In 1818, he was elected to the South Carolina Senate.

In 1820, the General Assembly elected him as the Governor of South Carolina for a two-year term. As governor, Bennett denounced the interstate slave trade; in 1818 the legislature repealed a law prohibiting it. (In 1808 the US prohibition of the African slave trade had been implemented, but more than a million African-American slaves would be forcibly relocated to the Deep South in the domestic trade.)

In mid-June 1822, Charleston white residents were alarmed by reports that a conspiracy for a slave rebellion led by free black Denmark Vesey had been discovered; the city organized a militia and rapidly arrested suspected conspirators. A Court of Magistrates and Freeholders operated in secret to hear testimony and judge who was guilty. Four household slaves of Bennett were charged as conspirators; three were found guilty and among five slaves hanged with Vesey on July 2. Bennett was concerned about the way the court was conducting its work and consulted with the state attorney general, who advised him rights of habeas corpus were available only to freemen. In August after the proceedings had ended, Bennett published an article suggesting the insurrection had been exaggerated, but lost the public argument to Intendant James Hamilton, who stressed how whites had been saved by quick city action. Bennett also submitted a report to the legislature critical of the secret proceedings of the court.^[1]

Later life and career

After leaving the governorship in 1822, Bennett returned to Charleston. In about 1825, he constructed a house and lived there; today it is known as the Gov. Thomas Bennett House and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Later, he was elected to the legislature a final time as a state senator, serving from 1837 to 1840, when he became well known as a Unionist. He died on January 30, 1865 and was buried at Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston.

References

1. Richard C. Wade, "The Vesey Plot: A Reconsideration", The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 30, No. 2, May 1964, accessed 5 November 2014 (subscription required)

• Wallace, David Duncan (1951). South Carolina: A Short History. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 384, 385, 397.

External links

• SCIway Biography of Thomas Bennett, Jr.
• NGA Biography of Thomas Bennett, Jr.