John Archibald Campbell

For other people named John Campbell, see John Campbell (disambiguation).

John Archibald Campbell
Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court
In office March 23, 1853 – April 30, 1861
Nominated by	Franklin Pierce
Preceded by	John McKinley
Succeeded by	David Davis
Personal details
Born	June 24, 1811(1811-06-24) Wilkes County, Georgia
Died	March 12, 1889(1889-03-12) (aged 77) Baltimore, Maryland
Political party	Democratic
Religion	Episcopalian

John Archibald Campbell (June 24, 1811 – March 12, 1889) was an American jurist.

Campbell was born near Washington, Georgia, to Col. Duncan Greene Campbell (for whom the now-defunct Campbell County, Georgia was named). Considered a child prodigy, he graduated from the University of Georgia in 1825 at the age of 14, and immediately enrolled at the United States Military Academy for three years and would have graduated in 1830, but withdrew upon the death of his father (July 1828) and returned home to Georgia. He read law with former Georgia governor John Clark, and was admitted to the bar in 1829, at the age of 18 which required a special act of the Georgia legislature.

Eggnog Riot

While at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, on 24–25 December 1826, Campbell was involved in the Eggnog Riot also known as the "Grog Mutiny". Proceedings began on December 26, 1826, courts-martial was complete on 16 March 1827, and ended on May 3, 1827, with the Presidents adjusting of some of the verdicts and approval of the rest. Campbell was among 70 cadets that were involved but a review concluded that only 20 (one soldier) be charged. Many notable cadets such as Jefferson Davis (involved but not charged), George Bomford (Expelled on four charges, but allowed to resigned), and Robert E. Lee (not involved but testified), were involved in the incident. Nine expulsions were approved by President John Quincy Adams. There was a call for Campbell to be expelled, along with James W. M. "Weems" Berrien (remittance allowed) but this was rejected so Campbell escaped court martial.

Alabama

Campbell later moved to Alabama, establishing a practice in Montgomery. There he married Anne Goldthwaite and, in 1836, was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives. In 1839 he moved to Mobile and resumed private practice, but was elected again to the state legislature in 1843. Campbell was twice offered appointment to the Alabama Supreme Court, but declined on both occasions.

Portrait of John A. Campbell

Supreme Court

In 1852 the death of John McKinley created a vacancy on the Supreme Court. President Millard Fillmore, a Whig, made three nominations to fill the vacancy, all of whom were denied confirmation by the Democratic-controlled Senate. After the election of Franklin Pierce, a Democrat, a group of sitting Supreme Court justices approached Pierce to recommend Campbell as a nominee; this is one of the few times sitting justices have made recommendations for new nominations. Pierce, who was hoping to stave off insurrection by appeasing the South, agreed to nominate the Alabaman Campbell. The nomination was made on March 21, 1853, and was approved by the Senate on the same day.

Impending war

In early 1861, Campbell served as a mediator between William H. Seward, Simon Cameron, and the three Confederate commissioners Martin Crawford, Andre Roman, and John Forsyth, Jr.. The Confederate mediators attempts at diplomatic negotiations were spurned by Seward. According to John Nikolay, one of Lincoln's private secretaries and a later biographer of the Civil War president, "Failing in this direct application, they made further efforts through Mr. Justice Campbell of the Supreme Court...who came to Seward in the guise of a loyal official, though his correspondence with Jefferson Davis soon revealed a treasonable intent."

Court retirement and Confederate appointment

After learning of the reinforcement of Fort Sumter, Campbell resigned from the Court on April 30, 1861, and returned to Alabama. A year later he was named Assistant Secretary of War by Confederate president Jefferson Davis, a position he held through the end of the war. After the fall of Richmond in 1865, Campbell was arrested and imprisoned at Fort Pulaski, in Georgia, for six months. After his release, he was reconciled and resumed his law practice in New Orleans, Louisiana. In this private practice he argued a number of cases before the U.S. Supreme Court including the Slaughterhouse Cases and a number of other cases designed to obstruct Radical Reconstruction in the South.

Judge John A. Campbell

Campbell died in 1889.

References

• Data drawn in part from the Supreme Court Historical Society and Oyez.
• Justice John Campbell—Last of the Jacksonians, by Christine Jordan

Further reading

Michael A. Ross, "Obstructing Reconstruction: John A. Campbell and the Legal Campaign against Reconstruction in New Orleans, 1868-1873," Civil War History, 49(September 2003): 235-253.

Legal offices
Preceded by John McKinley	Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States March 23, 1853 – April 30, 1861	Succeeded by David Davis