# James Tallmadge Jr. > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/James_Tallmadge_Jr. > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/James_Tallmadge_Jr..md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tallmadge_Jr. > Source revision: 1353716819 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American politician (1778–1853)}} {{Use American English|date=December 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = James Tallmadge Jr. | image = File:James Tallmadge Jr. ( 1778 –1853).jpg | image_size = 200px | office = [Lieutenant Governor of New York](/source/Lieutenant_Governor_of_New_York) | term_start = January 1, 1825 | term_end = December 31, 1826 | governor = [DeWitt Clinton](/source/DeWitt_Clinton) | predecessor = [Erastus Root](/source/Erastus_Root) | successor = [Nathaniel Pitcher](/source/Nathaniel_Pitcher) | state2 = [New York](/source/New_York_(state)) | district2 = [4th](/source/New_York's_4th_congressional_district) | term_start2 = June 6, 1817 | term_end2 = March 3, 1819 | preceded2 = [Abraham H. Schenck](/source/Abraham_H._Schenck) | succeeded2 = [Randall S. Street](/source/Randall_S._Street) | birth_date = {{birth date|1778|1|28}} | birth_place = [Stanford](/source/Stanford%2C_New_York), [New York](/source/New_York_(state)) | death_date = {{death date and age|1853|09|29|1778|1|28}} | death_place = [New York City](/source/New_York_City), [New York](/source/New_York_(state)) | spouse = {{marriage|Laura Tallmadge
|1788|1824|reason=died}} | children = Mary Rebecca Tallmadge Van Rensselaer | relatives = [Matthias B. Tallmadge](/source/Matthias_B._Tallmadge) (brother) | signature = James Tallmadge signature.jpg | party = [Democratic-Republican](/source/Democratic-Republican_Party) | allegiance = United States of America | branch = | service_years = | rank = | commands = | unit = | battles = [War of 1812](/source/War_of_1812) | awards = | laterwork = }} '''James Tallmadge Jr.''' (January 28, 1778 – September 29, 1853) was a United States [lawyer](/source/lawyer), and politician who served as a [United States representative](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives) from [New York's 4th congressional district](/source/New_York's_4th_congressional_district). He introduced the anti-slavery [Tallmadge Amendment](/source/Tallmadge_Amendment) to the bill admitting [Missouri](/source/Missouri) as a state, which triggered a serious political conflict between north and south. ==Early life== James Tallmadge Jr. was born on January 28, 1778, in [Stanford](/source/Stanford%2C_New_York), [Dutchess County](/source/Dutchess_County), [New York](/source/New_York_(state)). His father, Colonel James Tallmadge (1744–1821), led a company of volunteers at the capture of General [John Burgoyne](/source/John_Burgoyne). He graduated from [Brown University](/source/Brown_University), [Providence, Rhode Island](/source/Providence%2C_Rhode_Island) in 1798. ==Career== From 1798 to 1800, following his graduation from Brown, Tallmadge was secretary to New York Governor [George Clinton](/source/George_Clinton_(vice_president)). He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1802, after which he practiced in [Poughkeepsie](/source/Poughkeepsie_(city)%2C_New_York) and in [New York City](/source/New_York%2C_New_York). He was [Surrogate](/source/Probate_court) of [Dutchess County](/source/Dutchess_County) from 1804 to 1810. He served in the [War of 1812](/source/War_of_1812) and commanded a company of home guards in defense of New York.{{cite web|title=TALLMADGE, James Jr. - Biographical Information|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=T000031|website=bioguide.congress.gov|publisher=[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress](/source/Biographical_Directory_of_the_United_States_Congress)|access-date=6 December 2016}} ===U.S. House of Representatives=== {{further|Tallmadge Amendment}} Representative-elect [Henry B. Lee](/source/Henry_B._Lee) died on September 16, 1816. In the special election to replace him, Tallmadge was elected as a [Democratic-Republican](/source/Democratic-Republican_Party) to the [Fifteenth Congress](/source/Fifteenth_Congress). He served from June 6, 1817, to March 3, 1819. In the House, he defended General [Andrew Jackson](/source/Andrew_Jackson)'s course in the [Seminole War](/source/Seminole_War). His most famous action in Congress was the [Tallmadge Amendment](/source/Tallmadge_Amendment) to the bill for [Missouri](/source/Missouri) statehood. It would have restricted [slavery](/source/Slavery_in_the_United_States) in Missouri and provided for its future termination. It read as follows:
And provided, That the further introduction of slavery or involuntary servitude be prohibited, except for the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been fully convicted; and that all children born within the said State, after the admission thereof into the Union, shall be free at the age of twenty-five years.''Annals of Congress'', House of Representatives, 15th Congress, 2nd Session,[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llac&fileName=033/llac033.db&recNum=582 1170]
In support of this amendment, on February 16, 1819, he delivered a powerful speech in opposition to the extension of slavery.''Annals of Congress'', House of Representatives, 15th Congress, 2nd Session, [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llac&fileName=033/llac033.db&recNum=599 1203-1214] This speech was widely circulated, and was translated into [German](/source/German_language). The House adopted the Tallmadge Amendment, but the Senate rejected it. ===Later career=== Tallmadge declined to run for a second term in the House. He continued the practice of law in New York City, and took a prominent role in civic affairs. He was a delegate to the [Constitutional Convention of 1821](/source/New_York_Constitution), a member of the [New York State Assembly](/source/New_York_State_Assembly) in 1824, and [Lieutenant Governor of New York](/source/Lieutenant_Governor_of_New_York) from 1825 to 1826. In 1836, he visited [Russia](/source/Russia), and helped introduce into that country several American mechanical inventions, especially cotton-spinning machinery. He was a delegate to the New York [Constitutional Convention of 1846](/source/New_York_Constitution). ==Personal life== Tallmadge married Laura Tallmadge (1788–1824), his paternal second cousin. She was the daughter of John Tallmadge (1757–1823) and Phebe Pomeroy (1766–1842). Together, they had six children, only one who survived to adulthood. *John James Tallmadge (1811–1819) *Mary Rebecca Tallmadge (1817–1872), who was regarded as one of the most beautiful women in the country, and accompanied her father to Russia. She married Philip Stephen Van Rensselaer (1806–1871), third son of [Stephen Van Rensselaer III](/source/Stephen_Van_Rensselaer_III), [patroon](/source/patroon) of the [Rensselaerswyck](/source/Rensselaerswyck). Tallmadge died on September 29, 1853, in New York City. He is buried at the [New York Marble Cemetery](/source/New_York_Marble_Cemetery). His first cousin was United States Senator and Wisconsin Territorial Governor [Nathaniel P. Tallmadge](/source/Nathaniel_P._Tallmadge). His first cousin, once removed was [Benjamin Tallmadge](/source/Benjamin_Tallmadge), United States Congressman from Connecticut and spy for George Washington during the American Revolutionary War. His sister, Rebecca, married [Theodorus Bailey](/source/Theodorus_Bailey_(politician)), a United States Congressman and United States Senator from New York. ==Legacy== He assisted in the founding of [New York University](/source/New_York_University) in 1831. The university conferred an honorary [LL.D.](/source/LL.D.) on him in 1838. He was also one of the founders of the [American Institute](/source/American_Institute_of_the_City_of_New_York), a New York society for the promotion of inventions and technical education, and was its president from 1831 to 1850. His only surviving grandchild, James Tallmadge Van Rensselaer, was a well-known lawyer in New York City.{{cite book|last=Reynolds|first=Cuyler|date=1914 |title=Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York, Volume 3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iNIUAAAAYAAJ&q=%22stephen+van+rensselaer%22+margarita+schuyler&pg=PA1341|location=New York|publisher=Lewis Publishing Company|pages=1166, 1341}} ==References== ;Notes {{Reflist}} ;Sources {{CongBio|T000031}} *[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/tallmadge-tannehill.html#R9M0JEPXE] Political Graveyard *[http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/26jan20061725/www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/hd108-222/15th.pdf] Biographical Directory {{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state= New York | district= 4 | before= [Abraham H. Schenck](/source/Abraham_H._Schenck) | after= [Randall S. Street](/source/Randall_S._Street) | years= June 6, 1817 – March 3, 1819 }} {{s-off}} {{succession box | title=[Lieutenant Governor of New York](/source/Lieutenant_Governor_of_New_York) | before=[Erastus Root](/source/Erastus_Root)| after=[Nathaniel Pitcher](/source/Nathaniel_Pitcher) | years=1825–1826}} {{s-end}} {{Governors of New York|expanded=Lt. Governors}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Tallmadge, James Jr.}} Category:1778 births Category:1853 deaths Category:19th-century American lawyers Category:19th-century members of the New York State Legislature Category:19th-century United States representatives Category:Brown University alumni Category:Democratic-Republican Party United States representatives from New York (state) Category:Lieutenant governors of New York (state) Category:Members of the New York State Assembly Category:New York (state) lawyers Category:People from Stanford, New York --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [James Tallmadge Jr.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tallmadge_Jr.) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tallmadge_Jr.?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.