Robert Rhett
Encyclopedia
Robert Barnwell Rhett, Sr. (December 21, 1800 September 14, 1876), was a United States
secession
ist politician
from South Carolina
.
. His name was originally Smith, but after entering public life he changed it for that of a prominent colonial
ancestor Colonel William Rhett
. He studied law
and became a member of the South Carolina legislature in 1826.
His great-uncle was Congressman Robert Barnwell
the father of Congressman Robert Woodward Barnwell
. A cousin of the Barnwells was the wife of Alexander Garden (soldier)
.
After his state legislative service, Rhett was the South Carolina attorney general
(1832), U.S. representative (1837–1849), and U.S. senator (1850–1852). Extremely pro-Southern in his views, he split (1844) with John C. Calhoun
to lead the Bluffton Movement
for separate state action on the Tariff of 1842
. Rhett was one of the leading fire-eaters
at the Nashville Convention
of 1850, which failed to endorse his aim of secession for the whole South.
that merely declared a state's right to secede, Rhett resigned his U.S. Senate seat. He continued to express his fiery secessionist sentiments through the Charleston Mercury, edited by his son, Robert Barnwell Rhett, Jr.
During the 1860 presidential campaign
, a widely credited report in the Nashville Patriot said that Rhett, along with William Lowndes Yancey
and William Porcher Miles
, was a leader of a Southern conspiracy to end the Union that began in May 1858 with a plan, hatched at the Southern Convention in Montgomery, Alabama, in May 1858, to split the Democratic Party
along Northern and Southern lines.
Rhett was a member of the South Carolina Secession Convention in 1860. In the Montgomery Convention
which met to organize a provisional government for the seceding states, he was one of the most active delegates and was chairman of the committee which reported the Confederate Constitution.
Subsequently he was elected a member of the lower house of the Confederate Congress. He received no higher office in the Confederate government and returned to South Carolina, where he sharply criticized the policies of Confederate President Jefferson Davis
of Mississippi
.
After the end of the War
, he settled in Louisiana
. While it was rumored that he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1868
, that was in fact his son, Robert Rhett, Jr., who had shared his father's editorship responsibilities.
Rhett died in St. James Parish near New Orleans. He is buried in Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Robert Barnwell Rhett House
was declared to be a National Historic Landmark
in 1973.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
secession
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
ist politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
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...
.
Biography
Born Robert Barnwell Smith in BeaufortBeaufort, South Carolina
Beaufort is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston. The city's population was 12,361 in the 2010 census. It is located in the Hilton Head Island-Beaufort Micropolitan...
. His name was originally Smith, but after entering public life he changed it for that of a prominent colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
ancestor Colonel William Rhett
William Rhett
Colonel William Rhett moved to the Province of Carolina in 1698. He soon became successful and gained a high rank and social status as a colonial leader. In 1706 it was Rhett who commanded a flotilla that fought off a Franco-Spanish attack on Charles Town...
. He studied law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and became a member of the South Carolina legislature in 1826.
His great-uncle was Congressman Robert Barnwell
Robert Barnwell
Robert Gibbes Barnwell was a South Carolina revolutionary and statesman who was a delegate to the Confederation Congress and a United States Congressman....
the father of Congressman Robert Woodward Barnwell
Robert Woodward Barnwell
Robert Woodward Barnwell was an American planter, lawyer, and educator from South Carolina who served as a Senator in both the United States Senate and that of the Confederate States of America.-Biography:...
. A cousin of the Barnwells was the wife of Alexander Garden (soldier)
Alexander Garden (soldier)
Alexander Garden was an American Revolutionary War soldier and writer from Charleston, South Carolina.-Biography:Garden was born in Charleston, the son of the naturalist Dr. Alexander Garden and his wife, Elizabeth...
.
After his state legislative service, Rhett was the South Carolina attorney general
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
(1832), U.S. representative (1837–1849), and U.S. senator (1850–1852). Extremely pro-Southern in his views, he split (1844) with John C. Calhoun
John C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun was a leading politician and political theorist from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun eloquently spoke out on every issue of his day, but often changed positions. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent...
to lead the Bluffton Movement
Bluffton Movement
The Bluffton Movement , in the U.S. state of South Carolina, was an attempt to invoke "separate state action" against the tariff of 1842, after John Calhoun's failure to secure the presidential nomination and the Northern Democrats' abandonment of the South on the tariff had apparently destroyed...
for separate state action on the Tariff of 1842
Tariff of 1842
The Tariff of 1842, or Black Tariff as it became known, was a protectionist tariff schedule adopted in the United States to reverse the effects of the Compromise Tariff of 1833...
. Rhett was one of the leading fire-eaters
Fire-Eaters
In United States history, the term Fire-Eaters refers to a group of extremist pro-slavery politicians from the South who urged the separation of southern states into a new nation, which became known as the Confederate States of America.-Impact:...
at the Nashville Convention
Nashville Convention
The Nashville Convention was a political meeting held in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 3 – 11, 1850. Delegates from nine slave holding states met to consider a possible course of action if the United States Congress decided to ban slavery in the new territories being added to the country as a...
of 1850, which failed to endorse his aim of secession for the whole South.
Secessionist
When South Carolina passed (1852) an ordinanceLaw
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
that merely declared a state's right to secede, Rhett resigned his U.S. Senate seat. He continued to express his fiery secessionist sentiments through the Charleston Mercury, edited by his son, Robert Barnwell Rhett, Jr.
During the 1860 presidential campaign
United States presidential election, 1860
The United States presidential election of 1860 was a quadrennial election, held on November 6, 1860, for the office of President of the United States and the immediate impetus for the outbreak of the American Civil War. The nation had been divided throughout the 1850s on questions surrounding the...
, a widely credited report in the Nashville Patriot said that Rhett, along with William Lowndes Yancey
William Lowndes Yancey
William Lowndes Yancey was a journalist, politician, orator, diplomat and an American leader of the Southern secession movement. A member of the group known as the Fire-Eaters, Yancey was one of the most effective agitators for secession and rhetorical defenders of slavery. An early critic of...
and William Porcher Miles
William Porcher Miles
William Porcher Miles was among the ardent States' Rights advocates, supporters of slavery, and Southern secessionists who came to be known as the "Fire-Eaters." Born in South Carolina, he showed little early interest in politics and his early career included the study of law and a tenure as a...
, was a leader of a Southern conspiracy to end the Union that began in May 1858 with a plan, hatched at the Southern Convention in Montgomery, Alabama, in May 1858, to split the Democratic Party
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...
along Northern and Southern lines.
Rhett was a member of the South Carolina Secession Convention in 1860. In the Montgomery Convention
Montgomery Convention
The Montgomery Convention marked the formal beginning of the Confederate States of America. Convened in Montgomery, Alabama the Convention organized a provisional government for the Confederacy and created the Constitution of the Confederate States of America....
which met to organize a provisional government for the seceding states, he was one of the most active delegates and was chairman of the committee which reported the Confederate Constitution.
Subsequently he was elected a member of the lower house of the Confederate Congress. He received no higher office in the Confederate government and returned to South Carolina, where he sharply criticized the policies of Confederate President Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
of Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
.
After the end of the 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...
, he settled in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. While it was rumored that he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1868
1868 Democratic National Convention
The 1868 Democratic National Convention was held at Tammany Hall in New York City. Although former Governor from New York Horatio Seymour was nominated as the unanimous candidate for President, he stood virtually no chance of defeating the hero of the Civil War, Republican candidate Ulysses S. Grant...
, that was in fact his son, Robert Rhett, Jr., who had shared his father's editorship responsibilities.
Rhett died in St. James Parish near New Orleans. He is buried in Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Robert Barnwell Rhett House
Robert Barnwell Rhett House
Robert Barnwell Rhett House was the home of Robert Barnwell Rhett, an extreme secessionist politician. He opposed John C. Calhoun to lead the Bluffton Movement for separate state action on the Tariff of 1842...
was declared to be a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1973.