Henry M. Brackenridge (1786-1871)
MSA SC 3520-15268
Biography:
Born Henry Marie Brackenridge (sometimes spelled Breckenridge) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 11, 1786. Son of Hugh Henry Brackenridge (1748-1816), Judge of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Educated by private tutors; attended a French academy in St. Genevieve, Upper Louisiana; read law. Admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar, 1806. Married Caroline Marie. One son: Benjamin Morgan. Died on January 18, 1871 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Practiced law in Pennsylvania, Baltimore, and Louisiana. Deputy Attorney General, New Orleans Territory, 1811. District Judge, Louisiana, 1812. Secretary of U.S. trade mission to South America, 1817. House of Delegates, Baltimore City, Maryland, 1818-1819; Republican. Judge, U.S. Western District Court of Florida, 1821-1832. Returned to Pennsylvania, 1832. U.S. Congress, Pennsylvania, 1840-1841; defeated in reelection campaign. Member, Pennsylvania Legislature, 1844. Noted as an author of several books, including "A Voyage to South America in the Frigate Congress."
During his two terms in the House of Delegates, Brackenridge was a leading supporter, along with Thomas Kennedy of the effort to pass the "Jew Bill," the measure to remove Maryland's exclusion of Jews from elected office. He argued that Maryland's requirement that elected officials swear to "a belief in the Christian religion" violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Brackenridge also decried attempts by govenment to enforce religious beliefs. The Jew Bill did not pass during Brackenridge's time in office, and Jews were unable to hold elected office in Maryland until 1826.
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