Tucker, N. Beverley (1784–1851)

• Author: Dennis J. Mahoney
• Pages: 2737

Page 2737

Jurist, scholar, and novelist Nathaniel Beverley Tucker developed his political views under the influence of his half-brother, JOHN RANDOLPH. As a judge and politician in Missouri (1815?1830) he fiercely resisted the MISSOURI COMPROMISE. Later, as a professor of law at William and Mary College (1834?1851) he was one of the most extreme advocates of a STATES ' RIGHTS interpretation of the Constitution. He argued that SOVEREIGNTY resided in the several states and that the people of Virginia were obliged to obey federal law only because Virginia commanded them to do so. He defended SLAVERY and supported NULLIFICATION. His novel, The Partisan Leader (1836), advocated SECESSION and predicted a civil war.

DENNIS J. MAHONEY

(1986)

Bibliography

BAUER, ELIZABETH KELLEY 1952 Commentaries on the Constitution, 1790?1860. New York: Columbia University Press.