Birney, James Gillespie

Birney, James Gillespie

▪ American politician
born February 4, 1792, Danville, Kentucky, U.S.
died November 25, 1857, Eagleswood, New Jersey
 prominent opponent of slavery in the United States who was twice the presidential candidate of the abolitionist Liberty Party.

      Birney was trained in law and practiced in Danville. He won election to the Kentucky legislature in 1816, and in 1818 he moved to Alabama, where he was elected to the legislature in the following year. There he helped incorporate into the state constitution provisions that empowered the legislature to emancipate slaves and to prohibit selling slaves brought into the state.

      In 1837 Birney was elected executive secretary of the American Anti-Slavery Society, which soon afterward split, one faction advocating the inflammatory approach of such abolitionists as William Lloyd Garrison (Garrison, William Lloyd) and the other, which became the Liberty Party, emphasizing electoral activity. The party nominated Birney as its presidential candidate in 1840 and again in 1844. In 1840 he was a vice president of the World Anti-Slavery Convention in England, where he wrote The American Churches, the Bulwarks of American Slavery (1840). Birney's career was ended by an injury that invalided him in 1845.

Additional Reading
Biographies include William Birney, James G. Birney and His Times (1890, reprinted 1969), by his son; and Betty Fladeland, James Gillespie Birney: Slaveholder to Abolitionist (1955, reissued 1969).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • James G. Birney — James Gillespie Birney (* 4. Februar 1792 in Danville, Kentucky; † 25. November 1857 in Perth Amboy, Middlesex County, New Jersey) war ein US amerikanischer Abolitionist, Politiker un …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • James G. Birney — Infobox Person name = James G. Birney image size = caption = birth name = James Gillespie Birney birth date = birth date|1792|2|4 birth place = Danville, Kentucky, USA death date = death date and age|1857|11|24|1792|2|4 death place = death cause …   Wikipedia

  • James — /jaymz/, n. 1. Also called James the Great. one of the 12 apostles, the son of Zebedee and brother of the apostle John. Matt. 4:21. 2. the person identified in Gal. 1:19 as a brother of Jesus: probably the author of the Epistle of St. James. 3.… …   Universalium

  • Gillespie — /gi les pee/, n. John Birks /berrks/ ( Dizzy ), 1917 93, U.S. jazz trumpeter and composer. * * * (as used in expressions) Birney James Gillespie Blaine James Gillespie Gillespie Dizzy John Birks Gillespie * * * …   Universalium

  • James M. Birney — (June 17, 1817 1888) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.Birney was born in Danville, Kentucky, the eldest son of Agatha (McDowell) and James Gillespie Birney, who was a presidential candidate for the Liberty Party in the 1840 and… …   Wikipedia

  • James Knox Polk — am 14. Februar 1849, vier Monate vor seinem Tod James Knox Polk (* 2. November 1795 in Pineville, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina; † 15. Juni 1849 in Nashville, Tennessee) war vom 4. März 1845 bis zum 4. März 1849 elfter …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • James Polk — James Knox Polk am 14. Februar 1849, vier Monate vor seinem Tod James Knox Polk (* 2. November 1795 in Pineville, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina; † 15. Juni 1849 in Nashville, Tennessee) war vom 4. März 1845 bis zum 4. März 1849 elfter …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • James — James, Henry James, Henry James, William * * * (as used in expressions) Agee, James Anderson, (James) Maxwell Audubon, John James Baldwin, James (Arthur) Balfour (de Whittingehame), Arthur James, 1 conde Ballard, J(ames) G(raham) Barrie, Sir… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • James G. Birney — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Birney. Birney assistant à la convention de la société antiesclavagiste à Londres en 1840. Détail d un portrait de groupe de B …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gillespie — (as used in expressions) Birney, James G(illespie) Blaine, James (Gillespie) Gillespie, Dizzy John Birks Gillespie …   Enciclopedia Universal

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”