Alfred Cuthbert

Alfred Cuthbert (December 23, 1785 – July 9, 1856) was a United States Representative and Senator from Georgia. A prominent Georgia politician in the early nineteenth century, he should not be confused with his brother, John Alfred Cuthbert, who was also active in public life. Over the course of eight terms in Congress, Cuthbert participated in the legislative process during a formative period in American history, representing the interests of his Georgia constituents as the nation confronted issues of expansion, party realignment, and sectional tension.

Cuthbert was born in Savannah, Georgia, on December 23, 1785. He received his early education under private tutors, a common arrangement for children of prominent Southern families of the era. He later attended the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) and graduated in 1803. Following his graduation, he studied law and was admitted to the Georgia bar around 1805. Although qualified to practice, he chose not to pursue an active legal career, instead turning his attention to public service and politics.

Before entering national office, Cuthbert gained experience in both military and state legislative roles. In 1809 he served as captain of a company of volunteer infantry, reflecting the heightened concerns over national defense in the years leading up to the War of 1812. He was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, serving from 1810 to 1813. This period in the state legislature helped establish his reputation and connections within Georgia politics and prepared him for subsequent service in the United States Congress.

Cuthbert first entered the U.S. House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic-Republican Party. He was elected to the Thirteenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William W. Bibb and took his seat on December 13, 1813. He was reelected to the Fourteenth Congress and served continuously until November 9, 1816, when he resigned. After returning to state politics as a member of the Georgia Senate from 1817 to 1819, he again sought national office and was elected to the Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth Congresses, serving in the House from March 4, 1821, to March 3, 1827. Over these combined periods in the House, he served a total of eight terms in Congress, contributing to the legislative debates of the post–War of 1812 era and the early Jacksonian period.

Although he was not a candidate for renomination to the House in 1826, Cuthbert soon returned to federal office in the upper chamber. Aligning with the emerging Democratic Party, he was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator John Forsyth. He took his Senate seat on January 12, 1835, and was reelected in 1837, serving until March 3, 1843. During his Senate tenure, he participated in national deliberations during the presidencies of Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, and John Tyler, a time marked by controversies over the national bank, federal economic policy, and the expansion of slavery. As a Democratic senator representing Georgia, he played a role in advancing the interests and political positions of his state within the broader framework of the Democratic Party.

Cuthbert chose not to be a candidate for reelection to the Senate in 1843 and withdrew from public life. He retired from active business pursuits and settled on his estate near Monticello in Jasper County, Georgia. There he lived quietly for the remainder of his life, removed from the increasingly heated national political conflicts of the 1840s and 1850s. He died on July 9, 1856, and was interred in Summerville Cemetery in Augusta, Georgia. His long career in both houses of Congress, spanning the Democratic-Republican and Democratic parties, reflected the political evolution of the early United States and the central role played by Georgia politicians in that era.