BADGER, GEORGE EDMUND
George Edmund Badger was a lawyer, judge, and politician, and the subject of a U.S. Supreme Court confirmation battle in 1853.
The only son of a lawyer who died prema-
turely and a daughter of a Revolutionary War
leader, Badger was born on April 17, 1795, in
New Bern, North Carolina. He was first edu-
cated at a local academy and then attended Yale
College. Because of poverty, he was forced to
leave the college after only two years. He then
returned home to North Carolina to study law.
In 1814, he served for a short time as a major in
a militia called out to repel a threatened British
invasion. A year later, he was admitted to the
North Carolina bar. He quickly built a reputa-
tion as a brilliant and persuasive trial and appel-
late lawyer. In 1820, after four years of
representing New Bern in the state house of
commons, he was elected a judge of the superior
court, where he served five years before resign-
ing to practice law in Raleigh.
Initially a strong supporter of ANDREW
JACKSON, Badger became a Whig in the mid-
1830s and was appointed secretary of the Navy
in 1841 by President WILLIAM H. HARRISON.He
served for less than a year in this position and
thus had little opportunity to have a lasting
effect. However, during his tenure, he did rec-
ommend a home squadron to patrol the Carib-
bean and the Gulf of Mexico.He also authorized
the construction of two steam vessels.
In 1846, Badger was elected to the U.S. Sen-
ate. As a senator, he strongly opposed the policies of the Polk administration. He also pro-
posed reform of the Supreme Court’s docket
and advocated salary increases for the justices.
In January 1853, President MILLARD FILLMORE,
who had lost the 1852 election to FRANKLIN
PIERCE, nominated Badger for a vacancy on the
Court. Badger’s nomination was met with wide-
spread criticism from the Democratic papers of
the South. Senators from Alabama, Louisiana,
and Mississippi opposed his nomination
because he resided outside the Fifth Circuit,
where the vacancy on the Court arose. Even the
Whig press, though it supported the proposed
appointment, stated that “as a statesman, [Bad-
ger] is of no account, and as a politician
detestable.”
On previous occasions, the Senate had usu-
ally granted quick confirmation to a senator
nominated for the Court, with little debate. But
it postponed consideration of Badger’s nomina-
tion until March 1853, so that Pierce could fill
the vacancy with his own nominee—effectively
defeating Badger’s nomination. The same tactic
would also be used to defeat later Supreme
Court nominees.
Badger served in the Senate until 1855. After
his retirement, he continued to practice law and
took an active role in politics, helping to organ-
ize the Constitutional Union party in 1861. This
party was made up of conservative Whigs who
had been alienated by the emergence of ABRA-
HAM LINCOLN as the leader of the Republican
party during the presidential election of 1860. In
its platform, the Constitutional Union party
took no stand on the issue of SLAVERY and
strongly advocated preservation of the Union.
Badger was elected as a Union candidate, but a
convention was never held.
Though he was widely known as a national-
ist, when the Civil War broke out, Badger was
elected to the North Carolina secession conven-
tion. At first, he argued against secession, con-
tending that it was unconstitutional. Instead, he
offered a declaration of independence, which
was rejected. As a result, he reluctantly voted for
secession.
Badger continued to practice law in North Carolina until his death in 1866.
FURTHER READINGS
Congressional Quarterly. 1989. Guide to the U.S. Supreme
Court. 2d ed. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly.
Maisel, L. Sandy, ed. 1991. Political Parties and Elections in
the United States. New York: Garland.
CROSS-REFERENCES
Fillmore, Millard; Slavery.
