John Randolph

Congressman John Randolph, who was born to an elite Virginia family and traced his ancestry to Pocahontas and John Rolfe, was a stalwart advocate for states’ rights. Elected to the House of Representatives in 1799, he opposed the War of 1812 (1812–15), regarding the conflict with Britain and its allies as foolhardy and driven by land hunger rather than as a defense of U.S. sovereignty. Randolph was an eccentric man, who brought his hunting dogs into the House chamber, and his colleagues feared his sharp tongue. With only a brief interruption, he served in Congress until 1829.

Randolph exercised enormous influence when he represented Southern planters in resisting the Missouri Compromise, which forbade slavery in new western territories north of the 36°30’ paral-lel. Although he defended the institution of slavery, Randolph loathed the slave trade. On his death-bed, Randolph freed the people he had enslaved, although contradictions in his will and subsequent litigation delayed their freedom.