Jeremiah Sullivan Black Biography

Jeremiah Sullivan Black served as U.S. attorney general from 1857 to 1860 under President James Buchanan. Black also served as a judge, secretary of state and was an unsuccessful nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition, he served as reporter of decisions of the Supreme Court.

Black was born on January 10, 1810, in Stony Creek, Pennsylvania. Raised in a rural area of the state, Black was largely self-educated. Black's father arranged for his son to study law with a local attorney and in 1830 Black was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar. He joined a local law firm, but his attentions quickly shifted to politics. A staunch Democrat, Black used his party connections to become a district court judge in 1842. In 1851, he was elected to the Pennsylvania supreme court and later served as chief justice for three years.

Black's political connections continued to work for him. In 1857, fellow Pennsylvania Democrat James Buchanan became president and in one of his first appointments named Black attorney general. At this time the office was still relatively weak and understaffed. Nevertheless, Black made a name for himself when he ordered the enforcement of federal fugitive slave laws that required runaway slaves to be returned to their owners. Many northern states sought to frustrate these efforts and the tensions these federal actions generated contributed to the frictions that led to the Civil War.

The Buchanan administration was sympathetic to the South, believing it was up to each state to decide whether it wanted slavery. Black participated in efforts to calm the South in the face of mounting Abolitionist pressures. During the last months of his administration, Buchanan shifted Black to the office of secretary of state.

In January 1861, Buchanan nominated Black to a seat on the Supreme Court that had been vacant for eight months. However, Buchanan was a lame duck president and Republican senators wished to reserve the appointment for the incoming Abraham Lincoln. Black's enforcement of the fugitive slave laws came back to hurt him, and his prospects diminished as states started seceding from the Union, leaving fewer sympathetic senators to vote for him. He lost his confirmation battle by one vote.

Black returned to his home in York, Pennsylvania, where he briefly resumed the practice of law. However, in December of 1861, he agreed to return to Washington, D.C. to become reporter of decisions for the U.S. Supreme Court. As reporter, Black edited, published and distributed the Court's opinions. He returned to Pennsylvania and his law practice in 1864. He argued several important cases before the Supreme Court, advised President Johnson during his controversial administration and participated in civic affairs for many years. He died on August 19, 1883, in York, Pennsylvania.