|
John Pendleton Kennedy (October 25, 1795 – August 18, 1870) was an American novelist and Whig politician who served as United States Secretary of the Navy from July 26, 1852 to March 4, 1853, during the administration of President Millard Fillmore, and as a U.S. Representative from the Maryland's 4th congressional district. He was the brother of U.S. Senator Anthony Kennedy. He was also the Speaker of the Maryland State assembly and served several different terms in the assembly. Kennedy helped to lead the effort to end slavery in Maryland,〔"Immediate emancipation in Maryland. Proceedings of the Union State Central Committee, at a meeting held in Temperance Temple, Baltimore, Wednesday, December 16, 1863", 24 pages, Publisher: Cornell University Library (January 1, 1863), ISBN 1429753242, ISBN 978-1429753241〕 which, as a non-confederate state, was not affected by the Emancipation Proclamation and required a state law to free slaves within its borders and to outlaw the furtherance of the practice.〔 Kennedy was also an advocate of religious tolerance and also of memorializing and furthering study of Maryland history. He is also credited with playing seminal roles in the founding of several historical, cultural and educational institutions in Maryland; including (the now called) Historic St. Mary's City (site of the colonial founding of Maryland and the birthplace of religious freedom in America), St. Mary's College of Maryland (then St. Mary's Female seminary), the Peabody Library (now a part of Johns Hopkins University) and the Peabody Conservatory of Music (also now a part of Johns Hopkins). He also played key and decisive roles in the United States government's study, adoption and implementation of the telegraph. ==Early Life/Education== John Pendleton Kennedy was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 25, 1795,〔Ehrlich, Eugene and Gorton Carruth. ''The Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide to the United States''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982: 218. ISBN 0-19-503186-5〕 the son of an Irish immigrant and merchant, John Kennedy, and Nancy Pendleton, who was the daughter of a wealthy Virginia family, who had moved North to Maryland. Poor investments resulted in his father declaring bankruptcy in 1809.〔Hubbell, Jay B. ''The South in American Literature: 1607–1900''. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1954: 483.〕 John Pendleton Kennedy attended private schools while growing up and was relatively well educated for the time. He graduated from Baltimore College in 1812. Kennedy's college studies were interrupted by the War of 1812. He joined the army and in 1814, marched with the United Company of the 5th Baltimore Light Dragoons, known as the "Baltimore 5th," a unit that included rich merchants, lawyers, and other professionals. In a night of confusion, Kennedy lost his boots and marched onward in dancing pumps. Near the village of Bladensburg, Maryland, James Monroe, the Secretary of State, ordered the Baltimore 5th to move back from the left of the forward line to an exposed position a quarter-mile away. After the British forces crossed a bridge, the 5th moved forward. The fighting was intense: nearly every British officer among the advancing troops was hit, but then the British fired Congreve rockets. At first the 5th stood firm, but when the two regiments to the right had run away, the 5th also broke. Kennedy threw away his musket, and carried a wounded fellow-soldier to safety.〔Pierre Berton (1981), ''Flames across the Border: The Canadian-American Tragedy, 1813—1814'', Boston: Atlantic-Little, Brown, Chapter 11, "The Burning of Washington, August 1814", pp. 368—370.〕 Kennedy later fought in the Battle of North Point. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「John P. Kennedy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|