Background
James Lawrence Pugh was born on December 12, 1820, in Burke County, Georgia, United States. He was the son of Robert and Anne Silvia Tilman Pugh. His family moved to Pike County, Alabama, in 1824, and his father died six years later.
James Lawrence Pugh was born on December 12, 1820, in Burke County, Georgia, United States. He was the son of Robert and Anne Silvia Tilman Pugh. His family moved to Pike County, Alabama, in 1824, and his father died six years later.
Pugh attended school in Louisville, Alabama, and at Rocky Mountain Academy. In 1834, he went to night school in Irwinton, Alabama.
In 1836, James Lawrence Pugh fought in the Indian War on the Alabama frontier. He studied law in the office of John Gill Shorter and was admitted to the Alabama bar in 1841.
He farmed and practiced law in Eufaula, Alabama, as a member of the firm of Pugh and Cochran. He was also active in local politics.
James served a term in the House as a Democrat from 1859 to 1861. When the Civil War began, he enlisted as a private in the Eufaula Rifles of the 1st Alabama Regiment and served one year.
Pugh was elected to the Confederate House of Representatives and served from 1861 to 1865. He served on the Military, Public Buildings, and Currency Committees.
After the war, he returned to his law practice in Eufaula. He was a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1875 and a Democratic elector for Samuel Tilden in 1876. Two years later, he ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate.
He was finally elected to that body in 1880 and served until 1897. He was also chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the Senate. He declined a nomination to the United States Supreme Court in 1888.
When his term ended, Pugh settled in Washington and practiced law.
James Lawrence Pugh is known in Alabama history for staunchly defending the South and states' rights and for serving in the Confederate Army and Confederate Congress while also being more willing to compromise during his service in the Senate. He was a self-made man who rose from poverty to become wealthy and influential.
Born a Presbyterian, Pugh became an Episcopalian when he married.
Pugh enjoyed antebellum politics, engaging in lengthy discussions on the great sectional issues of the day, favoring the South and states' rights. As a Whig, he had been a member of the "Eufaula Regency," a powerful group composed of disaffected Whigs and Democrats who espoused secession. In a spirited 1848 congressional campaign known as the "War of the Roses," Pugh was narrowly defeated by a leading Alabama Whig, Henry W. Hilliard, whom Pugh claimed was not supportive enough of the South. The intensity of the campaign between the two hastened Pugh's exit from the party, and in 1850, he switched to the Democrats whom he found more sympathetic to his position on state sovereignty.
James Pugh fought for free coinage of silver, tariff reductions, restrictions of the privileges granted national banks, clearing the Tennessee River for navigation, and building a larger merchant marine.
In 1847, James Pugh married Sarah Sarena Hunter, by whom he had nine children, three of whom died in infancy.
1830-1911
1849-1935
1851-1851
1854-1925
1864-1949
1867-1921
1872-1879
