Edmund William McGregor Mackey
Encyclopedia
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Born in Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, he became a representative after the end of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. As an active Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, he was nominated to be a delegate from Charleston for the constitutional convention
Constitutional convention (political meeting)
A constitutional convention is now a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution...
of South Carolina in 1868. He was admitted to the bar in 1868 and practiced law in Charleston while also having the positions of sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
and alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
.
Mackey was elected as a Republican to South Carolina House of Representatives
South Carolina House of Representatives
The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the upper house being the South Carolina Senate. It consists of 124 Representatives elected to two year terms at the same time as US Congressional elections...
in 1872, but ran successfully in 1874 as an Independent Republican
Independent Republican Party of South Carolina
The Independent Republican Party of South Carolina was a political party of South Carolina during Reconstruction. It was founded in 1872 to oppose the election of Franklin J. Moses Jr. for Governor of South Carolina after he had been nominated by the Republicans on August 21, 1872...
for the Second Congressional District
South Carolina's 2nd congressional district
The 2nd Congressional District of South Carolina is a congressional district in central and eastern South Carolina. It includes all of Lexington, Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton, Allendale and Barnwell counties; most of Richland County and parts of Aiken, Calhoun and Orangeburg counties...
. However, the Forty-fourth Congress
44th United States Congress
The Forty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1875 to March 4, 1877, during the seventh and...
declared his seat vacant on July 19, 1876.
He was elected again to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1876 and claimed to be the Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
after a tumultuous campaign in the state, marked by violence and intimidation. Republicans disputed the election of Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Representatives from Edgefield and Laurens counties because of massive fraud in the election and barring of freedmen from the polls by Democratic Party Red Shirts. Following the South Carolina Supreme Court's decision to allow seating of elected legislators from Edgefield and Laurens counties, rival state governments assembled. Mackey and the Republican legislators occupied the South Carolina State House
South Carolina State House
The South Carolina State House is the building housing the government of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The building houses the South Carolina General Assembly and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. Until 1971, it also housed the Supreme Court...
with the support of Federal troops
Second Military District
The Second Military District existed in the American South during the Reconstruction era that followed the American Civil War included North and South Carolina. Originally commanded by General Daniel E. Sickles, after his removal by President Andrew Johnson on August 26, 1867, General Edward Canby...
.
The order of President Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
to remove Federal troops from South Carolina on April 10, 1877, a result of a national compromise, ended the Republicans' struggle to control state government. The Democrats annulled the election of representatives from Charleston County
Charleston County, South Carolina
Charleston County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. According to a 2005 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, its population was 330,368. Its county seat is Charleston. It is the third-most populous county in the state . Charleston County was created in 1901 by an act of the South...
, including Edmund Mackey.
Mackey continued to be active in public life. While serving as an assistant United States attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for South Carolina from 1878 to 1881, Mackey attempted to win election as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina. He lost the election against Michael P. O’Connor for the 2nd congressional district
South Carolina's 2nd congressional district
The 2nd Congressional District of South Carolina is a congressional district in central and eastern South Carolina. It includes all of Lexington, Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton, Allendale and Barnwell counties; most of Richland County and parts of Aiken, Calhoun and Orangeburg counties...
in 1878 and failed to have the Democratic-controlled House
46th United States Congress
The Forty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1879 to March 4, 1881, during the last two years of...
overturn the election. With the Republican takeover of the House for the Forty-seventh Congress
47th United States Congress
The Forty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1881 to March 4, 1883, during the administration...
, Mackey succeeded in replacing Samuel Dibble
Samuel Dibble
Samuel Dibble was a U.S. Representative from South Carolina.Samuel Dibble was born in Charleston, South Carolina, son of Philander Virgil and Frances Ann Dibble. Young Dibble pursued an academic course in Bethel, Connecticut , and Charleston, South Carolina...
for the House seat. Re-elected in 1882 from the Seventh Congressional District
South Carolina's 7th congressional district
For other uses see SC 7 The 7th Congressional District of South Carolina was a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in South Carolina. It was first eliminated in 1853 as a result of the 1850 Census. After the 1880 Census, it was again reconstituted for 50 years...
, Mackey died during the term in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
on January 27, 1884.