Joseph Lawrence (Pennsylvania)

Joseph Lawrence ( * 1786 in Huntertown, Adams County, Pennsylvania, † April 17, 1842 in Washington DC ) was an American politician. Between 1825 and 1829, and again in the years 1841 and 1842 he represented the State of Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Career

In 1789, Joseph Lawrence moved with his widowed mother on a farm in Washington County. He attended the public schools of his new home and worked in agriculture. At the same time he proposed as a member of the Democratic-Republican Party launched a political career. Between 1818 and 1824 he sat as an MP in the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania, which he was president during the years 1820-1822. In the 1820s he became a follower of U.S. President John Quincy Adams.

In the congressional elections of 1824 Lawrence was in the 15th electoral district of Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington DC chosen, where he became the successor of Thomas Patterson on March 4, 1825. After a re-election he was able to complete in Congress until March 3, 1829 two legislative sessions. This period was characterized by fierce debate between the supporters of Andrew Jackson and those of John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay. In 1828 he was not re-elected.

Between 1834 and 1836 Lawrence was again a deputy in the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. In 1837 he served as State Treasurer on the finances of his home state. At that time he was a member of the Whig party. In 1838 he competed unsuccessfully yet to return to the Congress. In the elections of 1840 Lawrence but was then re-elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 21st District of Pennsylvania, where he Isaac Leet replaced on March 3, 1841. In Congress he was Chairman of the Committee on Roads and Canals. This mandate he was able to exercise until his death on 17 April 1842. He was buried at the Congress Cemetery in Washington. His son George (1818-1904) was also a congressman