“T” is for Taylor, John (1770-1832)

“T” is for Taylor, John (1770-1832). Congressman, governor, U.S. senator. Born near Granby, Taylor graduated from Princeton in 1788. Later he read law in Charleston and established a practice in Columbia. In 1793 he was elected to the first of six terms in the South Carolina House of Representatives. Taylor later served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1807-1810) and the U.S. Senate (1810-1816). A Democratic-Republican, he became a key player in congressional efforts to make economic sanctions an effective deterrent against British and French violations of American neutral trading rights. From 1818-1825 he was a member of the state senate and in 1826 elected governor. As governor, John Taylor used his position to rally opposition against Congress, whose continued sanctions of protective tariffs and internal improvements he denounced as unconstitutional and inequitable.