James Madison Broom

James Madison Broom (1776 – January 15, 1850) was an American lawyer and Federalist politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware, who served as a U.S. Representative from Delaware. He was born near Wilmington, Delaware, the son of prominent Delaware politician and Constitutional Convention delegate Jacob Broom and Rachel Pierce. Raised in a family active in public affairs, he grew up in an environment that emphasized civic responsibility and legal and political engagement, influences that would shape his own professional and political career.

Broom pursued a formal education at the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, graduating in 1794. Following his graduation, he read law and undertook the traditional legal apprenticeship of the period. He was admitted to the Delaware bar in 1801 and began the practice of law. Over the course of his legal career he practiced in several locations, including New Castle and Wilmington in Delaware, and later in Baltimore, Maryland, building a professional reputation that supported his entry into public life.

In his personal life, Broom married a woman named Ann, with whom he had at least two children, Elizabeth and Jacob. Ann died on August 9, 1808. Their son, Jacob Broom, later followed the family tradition of public service and became a Congressman from Pennsylvania. After Ann’s death, James Madison Broom is believed to have remarried, possibly to Mary Lowber, although details of this second marriage are less clearly documented.

Broom’s political career developed in the context of the early national period, when the Federalist Party was a principal force in American politics. As a member of the Federalist Party representing Delaware, he contributed to the legislative process during two terms in office. He was elected as a Federalist to the 9th and 10th Congresses, in elections held on the first Tuesday of October, and served as Delaware’s at-large U.S. Representative from March 4, 1805. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, as the young republic confronted issues of foreign policy, commerce, and the balance of federal and state authority. Broom resigned his seat in 1807, before the assembling of the 10th Congress, thus ending his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives after roughly one full term and the beginning of a second.

After leaving Congress, Broom continued his legal career. He practiced law in Wilmington and New Castle and also spent part of his professional life in Baltimore, Maryland, reflecting the regional mobility of some early American lawyers. In 1819 he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he resumed the practice of law. His relocation to Philadelphia placed him in one of the nation’s leading commercial and political centers and provided a base for renewed involvement in public affairs.

In Pennsylvania, Broom extended his record of public service beyond the federal level. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1824, participating in state legislative deliberations during a period of expanding democracy and evolving party structures. His role in both Delaware and Pennsylvania politics illustrates the breadth of his public career and his continued engagement with the legislative process at different levels of government, representing the interests of his constituents and participating in the democratic process over several decades.

James Madison Broom spent his later years in Philadelphia, remaining in the legal profession until the end of his life. He died in Philadelphia on January 15, 1850. He was buried in Saint Mary’s Churchyard in Hamilton Village, which is now part of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His life and career linked two states and two generations of public service, from his father’s role in the founding era to his own service in Congress and state government, and to the subsequent congressional career of his son.