George Burd

George Burd (1788 – January 13, 1844) was an Anti-Jacksonian member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. A lawyer by profession, he was active in public life during the formative decades of the early nineteenth century, when the Second Party System and the contest between Jacksonian Democrats and their opponents helped shape the nation’s political landscape.

Burd was born in Pennsylvania in 1788, though the specific town of his birth is not recorded in surviving standard references. He came of age in the post-Revolutionary period, as Pennsylvania was expanding westward and its legal and political institutions were being consolidated. Against this backdrop, he pursued legal training, a common pathway into public service for ambitious young men of his generation.

In 1810, Burd was admitted to the bar at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a prominent legal and educational center in the state. Following his admission, he engaged in the practice of law. His work as an attorney would have involved the broad range of civil and criminal matters typical of the era, and it provided him with the professional standing and local reputation that later supported his entry into elective office.

Burd’s national political career began with his election as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-second Congress, which convened on March 4, 1831. Identified with the Anti-Jacksonian opposition to President Andrew Jackson, he aligned himself with those who favored a stronger role for Congress, a more cautious approach to executive power, and policies generally associated with the emerging National Republican and later Whig movements. He was reelected to the Twenty-third Congress, serving continuously in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1831, to March 3, 1835, as a representative from Pennsylvania.

During his two terms in Congress, Burd served at a time when major national issues included debates over the Bank of the United States, internal improvements, tariffs, and the scope of federal authority. As an Anti-Jacksonian, he was part of the legislative opposition to key Jackson administration initiatives, participating in the broader contest that defined the political realignment of the 1830s. Although detailed records of his individual floor speeches and committee assignments are limited in standard biographical references, his repeated election indicates a measure of confidence from his constituents in his representation of their interests.

After leaving Congress at the close of the Twenty-third Congress in 1835, Burd returned to private life and the practice of law. In 1843, he moved to Mercer County, Pennsylvania, reflecting the continued westward development of the state and perhaps seeking new professional or personal opportunities in that region. Despite this relocation, he maintained ties to Bedford, Pennsylvania, a community with which he was closely associated in his later years.

George Burd died in Bedford, Pennsylvania, on January 13, 1844. He was interred in Bedford Cemetery. His career, spanning law and national legislative service, placed him among the cohort of early nineteenth-century Pennsylvania lawyers who helped shape congressional debate during a critical period of party formation and institutional change in the United States.