# Archibald Atkinson

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{{short description|American politician}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder 
| name                =Archibald Atkinson
| image               = Archibald Atkinson portrait.jpg
| state               =[Virginia](/source/Virginia)
| district            =[1st](/source/Virginia's_1st_congressional_district)
| term_start          =March 4, 1843
| term_end            =March 3, 1849
| preceded            =[Francis Mallory](/source/Francis_Mallory)
| succeeded           =[John Millson](/source/John_Millson)
|office2 = Member of the [Virginia Senate](/source/Virginia_Senate) from [Isle of Wight](/source/Isle_of_Wight_County%2C_Virginia), [Prince George](/source/Prince_George_County%2C_Virginia), [Southampton](/source/Southampton_County%2C_Virginia), [Surry](/source/Surry_County%2C_Virginia) and [Sussex](/source/Sussex_County%2C_Virginia) Counties
|term2 = 1839–1843
|predecessor2 = [Joel Holleman](/source/Joel_Holleman)
|successor2 = William Spark
|office3 = Member of the [Virginia House of Delegates](/source/Virginia_House_of_Delegates) from Isle of Wight County
|term3 = 1828–1830
|predecessor3 = John Chapman
|successor3 = James Jordon
|term4 = 1815–1816<br>Alongside John Lawrence
| birth_date          ={{Birth date|1792|9|15|mf=y}}
| birth_place         =[Isle of Wight County, Virginia](/source/Isle_of_Wight_County%2C_Virginia)
| death_date          ={{death date and age|1872|1|7|1792|9|15|mf=y}}
| death_place         =[Smithfield, Virginia](/source/Smithfield%2C_Virginia)
| resting_place        = [Old St. Luke's Church](/source/St._Luke's_Church_(Smithfield%2C_Virginia))
| party               =[Democrat](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States))
| spouse              =
| relations           =
| children            =
| alma_mater          =[College of William and Mary](/source/Marshall-Wythe_School_of_Law)
| occupation          =
| profession          =[lawyer](/source/lawyer), [legislator](/source/legislator)
|battles = [War of 1812](/source/War_of_1812)
|allegiance = [United States of America](/source/United_States_of_America)
}}

'''Archibald Atkinson''' (September 15, 1792 – January 7, 1872) was an American lawyer and slave owner<ref>{{Citation|title=Congress slaveowners|date=January 19, 2022|url=https://github.com/washingtonpost/data-congress-slaveowners|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=January 23, 2022}}</ref> who served three terms as a [U.S. Representative](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives) from [Virginia](/source/Virginia) from 1843 to 1849. He was a veteran of the [War of 1812](/source/War_of_1812).<ref name="StLukes">{{cite web |title=Archibald Atkinson (1792 – 1872) |url=https://stlukesmuseum.org/veterans/archibald-atkinson/ |website=St. Luke's Historic Church & Museum |access-date=May 25, 2025 |date=May 14, 2020}}</ref>

==Biography==
Born in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, Atkinson received a liberal education.

=== Education and early career ===
He attended the law department of the [College of William & Mary](/source/College_of_William_%26_Mary) (now [William & Mary Law School](/source/William_%26_Mary_Law_School)), [Williamsburg, Virginia](/source/Williamsburg%2C_Virginia).<ref name="StLukes"/>

He served during the War of 1812 and was later [admitted to the bar](/source/Admission_to_the_bar_in_the_United_States) and commenced practice in Smithfield, Virginia.

=== Virginia legislature ===
He was a member of the [Virginia House of Delegates](/source/Virginia_House_of_Delegates) from 1815 to 1817 and from 1828 to 1831, and served in the [Virginia Senate](/source/Virginia_Senate) from 1839 to 1843.

=== Congress ===
Atkinson was elected as a [Democrat](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) to the [Twenty-eighth](/source/28th_United_States_Congress), [Twenty-ninth](/source/29th_United_States_Congress), and [Thirtieth](/source/30th_United_States_Congress) Congresses (March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1849).  He was not a candidate for renomination in 1848 to the [Thirty-first Congress](/source/31st_United_States_Congress).

In a valedictory speech to Congress in 1849, he described slavery as a "positive moral good" for those enslaved, claimed that the "well-fed, well-clad, contented negro of Virginia asks not your sympathy for him," and falsely claimed that slaves would rise up against abolitionists.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rep. Archibald Atkinson (D-VA)|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Rep-Archibald-Atkinson-D-VA/6000000023103271826|access-date=January 23, 2022|website=geni_family_tree|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Crofts">{{cite web |last1=Crofts |first1=Daniel W. |title=Archibald Atkinson (1792–1872) |url=https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/atkinson-archibald-1792-1872/ |website=Encyclopedia Virginia |access-date=May 25, 2025}}</ref>

=== Later career and death ===
He served as [prosecuting attorney](/source/prosecuting_attorney) for Isle of Wight County.

He died in Smithfield, Virginia, on January 7, 1872.<ref name="Crofts"/>  He was interred in the graveyard of [Old St. Luke's Church](/source/St._Luke's_Church_(Smithfield%2C_Virginia)), four miles southeast of Smithfield.

==Elections==
*'''1841'''; Atkinson lost his first election for the U.S. House of Representatives; he was defeated by Whig Francis Mallory, winning only 11.26% of the vote.
*'''1843'''; Atkinson was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 50.07% of the vote, defeating Whig James E. Langhorne.
*'''1845'''; Atkinson was re-elected with 55.9% of the vote, defeating Whig R.H. Whitfield.
*'''1847'''; Atkinson was re-elected with 50.82% of the vote, defeating Whig Samuel Watts.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{CongBio|A000328}}

{{Bioguide}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{US House succession box
| state=Virginia
| district=1
| before=[Francis Mallory](/source/Francis_Mallory)
| after=[John S. Millson](/source/John_S._Millson)
| years=1843–1849}}
{{s-end}}
{{VirginiaRepresentatives01}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Archibald}}
Category:1792 births
Category:1872 deaths
Category:Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates
Category:Democratic Party Virginia state senators
Category:William & Mary Law School alumni
Category:County and city commonwealth's attorneys in Virginia
Category:People from Isle of Wight County, Virginia
Category:American military personnel of the War of 1812
Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Virginia
Category:19th-century American lawyers
Category:19th-century United States representatives
Category:19th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Archibald Atkinson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Atkinson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Atkinson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.