James Ross | |
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President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate | |
In office March 1, 1799 – December 1, 1799 |
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Preceded by | John Laurance |
Succeeded by | Samuel Livermore |
United States Senator from Pennsylvania |
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In office April 24, 1794 – March 4, 1803 |
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Preceded by | Albert Gallatin |
Succeeded by | Samuel Maclay |
Personal details | |
Born |
Delta, Pennsylvania |
July 12, 1762
Died | November 27, 1847 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
(aged 85)
Political party | Federalist |
James Ross (July 12, 1762 – November 27, 1847) was a lawyer and senator from Pennsylvania from 1794 to 1803.
Born near Delta, York County, Pennsylvania, he was the son of Joseph and Jane (Graham) Ross. At eighteen, after having received a classical education, he moved to Canonsburg, Pennsylvania and taught at what would become Washington and Jefferson College. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1784 focusing on land law. A Federalist, he was a member of the convention that drafted a new constitution for Pennsylvania in 1789-1790.
President George Washington appointed him to negotiate with the rebels of the Whiskey Rebellion, successfully defusing the situation without violence. On April 1, 1794, the Pennsylvania legislature elected him to the United States Senate to replace Albert Gallatin, who was removed by legislature. There, he authored a new law for the public lands and fought President Thomas Jefferson's administration. He was elected to a second term in the Senate in 1797.
He ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Pennsylvania in 1799, 1802, and 1808.