In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Debate_251-300.indd 256 5/7/12 7:39 AM JoHN RowAN John Rowan was born in Pennsylvania in I773ยท His family moved to Louisville, Kentucky, and he received a classical education in the school of James Priestly in Bardstown. He studied law in Lexington, was admitted to the bar in 1795, and became a successful criminal lawyer and wellknown orator. A member of the Kentucky constitutional convention in r799, he was Kentucky secretary of state from r8o4 to r8o6, when he was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives for one term. On the grounds that he was a congressman-elect, he turned down a request for legal assistance from Aaron Burr in r8o6. Rowan was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from r8r3 to r8r7, in r822 and r824, and was a judge on the state court of appeals from r8r9 to r82r. In Kentucky politics, he was a supporter ofdebtor reliefmeasures and a critic ofjudicial conservatism. He was appointed by the legislature to adjust a boundary dispute with Tennessee in r82o, and a land claims dispute with Virginia in r823. Rowan was elected as a states' rights Republican to the United States Senate in r825. He served one term and was involved in efforts to reform the federal judicial system and abolish imprisonment for debt. In r839 he was appointed commissioner for carrying out a treaty with Mexico. He was president of the Kentucky Historical Society from r838 until his death in r843. ...

Share