View source for Hugh S. Legaré

{{Short description|American politician (1797–1843)}}
{{Lead too short|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name         = Hugh Legaré
|image        = Hugh S. Legaré.jpg
|office       = Acting [[United States Secretary of State]]
|president    = [[John Tyler]]
|term_start   = May 9, 1843
|term_end     = June 20, 1843
|predecessor  = [[Daniel Webster]]
|successor    = [[William S. Derrick]] {{Small|(ad interim)}}
|order1       = 16th
|office1      = United States Attorney General
|president1   = [[John Tyler]]
|term_start1  = September 13, 1841
|term_end1    = June 20, 1843
|predecessor1 = [[John J. Crittenden]]
|successor1   = [[John Nelson (lawyer)|John Nelson]]
|state2       = [[South Carolina]]
|district2    = {{ushr|SC|1|1st}}
|term_start2  = March 4, 1837
|term_end2    = March 3, 1839
|predecessor2 = [[Henry L. Pinckney]]
|successor2   = [[Isaac E. Holmes]]
|office3      = Acting [[United States Ambassador to Belgium|United States Minister to Belgium]]<br/>[[Chargé d'Affaires]]
|president3   = [[Andrew Jackson]]
|term_start3  = September 25, 1832
|term_end3    = June 9, 1836
|predecessor3 = Position established
|successor3   = [[Virgil Maxcy]]
|office4      = 7th [[List of Attorneys General of South Carolina|Attorney General of South Carolina]]
|governor4    = [[James Hamilton Jr.]]
|term_start4  = November 27, 1830
|term_end4    = November 29, 1832
|predecessor4 = [[James L. Petigru]]
|successor4   = [[Robert Barnwell Rhett]]
|office5      = Member of the [[South Carolina House of Representatives]] 
|term5        = 1824-1830
|term6        = 1820-1821
|birth_name   = Hugh Swinton Legaré
|birth_date   = {{birth date|1797|1|2}}
|birth_place  = [[Charleston, South Carolina]], [[United States|U.S.]]
|death_date   = {{death date and age|1843|6|20|1797|1|2}}
|death_place  = [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], [[United States|U.S.]]
|party        = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|education    = [[University of South Carolina|University of South Carolina, Columbia]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
|relatives    = [[James Matthews Legaré]] (cousin)
}}

'''Hugh Swinton Legaré''' ({{IPAc-en|l|ᵻ|ˈ|ɡ|r|iː}} {{respell|lih|GREE}}; January 2, 1797 – June 20, 1843) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician from [[South Carolina]] who served as the 16th [[United States Attorney General]] under President [[John Tyler]].

Legaré served as [[Attorney General of South Carolina]] from 1830 to 1832 before President [[Andrew Jackson]] appointed him as the acting minister to the new [[Kingdom of Belgium]]. On his return to the United States, he was elected to represent [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]] in the [[United States House of Representatives]] but lost re-election to [[Isaac E. Holmes]].

Following the 1841 death of President [[William Henry Harrison]] and the resignation of [[Whig Party (United States)|Whigs]] from the cabinet, Legaré was named [[United States Attorney General]] by [[John Tyler]]. He served as Attorney General until his death in office on June 20, 1843. For the final month of his life, Legaré also served as [[United States Secretary of State]] ''ad interim'' following the resignation of [[Daniel Webster]].

==Life and career==
Legaré was born in [[Charleston, South Carolina]], of [[Huguenot]] and [[Scotland|Scottish]] ancestry.

Partly due to his inability to share in the amusements of his fellows, as a result of a vaccine-related deformity suffered before he was five that permanently stunted the growth and development of his legs; Legaré was an eager student and was president of the [[Clariosophic Society]] at the [[College of South Carolina]] (now [[University of South Carolina at Columbia]]), from which he graduated in 1814 with the highest rank in his class and with a reputation for scholarship and eloquence.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

After graduation, he studied the law for three years, did advanced work in [[Paris]] and [[Edinburgh]] in 1818 and 1819 and in 1822 was admitted to the South Carolina bar.

After practicing for a time in Charleston, he became a member of the [[South Carolina House of Representatives]], serving between 1820 and 1821 and then again between 1824 and 1830. He also founded and edited the ''Southern Review'' between 1828 and 1832.

From 1830 until 1832 he was the [[Attorney General of South Carolina]], and he supported [[states' rights]], he strongly opposed [[Nullification Crisis|nullification]]. He was Attorney General until he was appointed [[chargé d'affaires]] to [[Brussels]] in 1832, serving there until 1836.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} In 1838, he was elected as a member to the [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=1838&year-max=1838&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2021-04-09|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>

On his return he was elected to the [[25th Congress]] as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], but failed in a re-election bid the following term. In 1841 [[President of the United States|President]] [[John Tyler]] named him [[Attorney General of the United States]] and he served in that office until his death. He also served as [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] ad interim from May 8, 1843, until his death.

He died in [[Boston]] while attending ceremonies for the unveiling of the [[Bunker Hill Monument]]. He died, by "internal strangulation..the twisting of the intestine upon itself."<ref>Vermont Telegraph June 28, 1843</ref> He was first interred in [[Mount Auburn Cemetery]] in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]], and was later re-interred in [[Magnolia Cemetery (Charleston, South Carolina)|Magnolia Cemetery]] in Charleston. The ''[[USCGC Legare (WMEC-912)|USCGC Legare]]'', which is a [[USCG Medium Endurance Cutter|medium endurance cutter]], was named in his honor.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Legaré, Hugh Swinton|volume=16|pages=373–374}}
* {{bioguide}}

==Further reading==
* ''The Writings of Hugh Swinton Legaré'', South Carolina, 1846. (2 vols.)
*Hollis, Daniel Walker (1951) ''University of South Carolina, volume I: South Carolina College'', Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.

==External links==
* {{DBCS}}
{{CongBio|L000220}}
*{{Find a Grave|6859974}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{U.S. Cabinet official box
| before     = [[John J. Crittenden]]
| after      = [[John Nelson (lawyer)|John Nelson]]
| years      = 1841–1843
| president  = [[John Tyler]]
| department = Attorney General}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{US House succession box |
  state=South Carolina|
  district=1 |
  before=[[Henry L. Pinckney]] |
  after=[[Isaac E. Holmes]]|
  years=1837&ndash;1839
 }}
{{s-dip}}
{{succession box|title=[[United States Ambassador to Belgium|U.S. Chargé d'Affaires to Belgium]]|before=Position established|after=[[Virgil Maxcy]]|years=1832&ndash;1836}}
{{s-end}}
{{USAttGen}}
{{US Ambassadors to Belgium}}
{{Tyler cabinet}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legare, Hugh Swinton}}
[[Category:1797 births]]
[[Category:1843 deaths]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives]]
[[Category:South Carolina attorneys general]]
[[Category:Attorneys general of the United States]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Belgium]]
[[Category:University of South Carolina alumni]]
[[Category:American people of French descent]]
[[Category:American people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina]]
[[Category:Tyler administration cabinet members]]
[[Category:19th-century American diplomats]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Charleston, South Carolina]]
[[Category:Acting United States secretaries of state]]
[[Category:Diplomats from South Carolina]]
[[Category:Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery]]
[[Category:Burials at Magnolia Cemetery (Charleston, South Carolina)]]
[[Category:19th-century United States representatives]]
[[Category:19th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly]]
[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]