Background
ohn Jones was Mcrae was born on January 10, 1815, in Sneedsboro, North Carolina, United States. He was the son of John and Elizabeth Mary McRae. In 1817 the family moved to Mississippi.
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John J. McRae was sent by his brother Colin to Miami University in Ohio, where he graduated in 1834.
Businessman congressman editor lawyer politician
ohn Jones was Mcrae was born on January 10, 1815, in Sneedsboro, North Carolina, United States. He was the son of John and Elizabeth Mary McRae. In 1817 the family moved to Mississippi.
McRae attended Frederick's School before being sent by his brother Colin to Miami University in Ohio, where he graduated in 1834.
In 1835 John J. McRae was admitted to the Mississippi bar. He developed a decent legal practice in Wayne County, Mississippi.
During the 1840s, McRae edited the newspaper Eastern Clarion at Paulding, Mississippi, and was a promoter for the Mobile and Ohio Railroad in the 1850s.
McRae was a states' rights delegate in the state legislature in 1848 and 1850, serving as speaker of the house in the latter term. The state legislature appointed him acting United States senator in 1851-1852, and he was elected and served as governor of Mississippi from 1854 to 1858. In 1858, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a states’ rights Democrat.
He was reelected in 1860 and resigned in 1861. Elected from the Seventh Congressional District to the Confederate House, he served on the Ways and Means and Special Committees, and he supported the Davis administration. When the Piney Woods area of Mississippi became increasingly unsettled because of military losses, McRae was blamed for not pushing the war effort more vigorously, as a result of which he was defeated for reelection by John Lamkin.
McRae assisted his brother in business for the Confederate government for the remainder of the war. When the war ended, he returned to his law practice in Mississippi. His fortune lost and in poor health, he traveled to South America to live with his brother.
John J. McRae was most noted for his advocacy of reopening the African slave trade and seceding if Abraham Lincoln won the presidency. When Lincoln was elected, McRae counseled secession. As an elected member of the lower house of the Confederate Congress from 1862 to 1864, he was committed to the program of the Davis administration.
In personal appearance, John J. McRae was of slight build, and in temperament, he was high-strung and excitable. In deportment, he was genial, generous, frank, and courteous to all persons.
In 1835, McRae married Mary Annette Burge.