James Hamilton Jr. (May 8, 1786 – November 15, 1857) was an American lawyer and politician. He represented South Carolina in the U.S. Congress (1822–1829) and served as its 53rd governor (1830–1832). Prior to that he achieved widespread recognition and public approval for his actions as Intendant (mayor) of the city of Charleston, South Carolina in 1822, during the period when plans for a slave rising were revealed. As governor, he led the state during the Nullification Crisis of 1832, at the peak of his power. Hamilton organized a city militia in June 1822 to arrest suspects, including the purported free black leader Denmark Vesey, supported the City Council in commissioning a Court of Magistrates and Freeholders, and defended their actions, including ordering the execution of Vesey and 34 other blacks, and deporting of tens of others. He helped shape the public perception of the Court proceedings and the reasons for the revolt, as well as gaining legislation in 1822 for more controls on slaves and free people of color. Because of problems with crippling debt after 1839, Hamilton's reputation suffered. Early life and career James Hamilton was born on May 8, 1786, in Charleston, South Carolina, to James and Elizabeth (Lynch) Hamilton, both of the Lowcountry planter elite; his mother was the daughter of Congressman Thomas Lynch and sister of Thomas Lynch Jr. His parents sent him to preparatory schools in New England; he studied in Newport, Rhode Island, and Dedham, Massachusetts, before returning to Charleston. In the city he read law under prominent attorneys Daniel Huger and William Drayton. Hamilton passed the bar and went into practice in Drayton's office; he later was in partnership with James L. Petigru. Marriage and family On November 15, 1813, Hamilton married Elizabeth Mathews Heyward, daughter of wealthy low country South Carolina planter Daniel Heyward and Ann SarahTrezevant; her paternal grandfather was Thomas Heyward Jr., a South Carolinian who served in the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence. She brought three plantations and approximately 200 slaves to the marriage. The couple had eleven children, ten males and one female. Political career Hamilton entered politics in the state. He was elected in 1818 to the South Carolina state House of Representatives, serving from 1819 until early 1822. That year Hamilton was elected as Intendant, or mayor, of the city of Charleston. He was serving when plans were revealed in the spring