James Trezvant

James Trezvant (died September 2, 1841) was a U.S. Representative from Virginia and a slave owner who served three consecutive terms in Congress during a formative period in the early nineteenth century. Born in Sussex County, Virginia, he came of age in the Tidewater region, a society deeply rooted in plantation agriculture and slavery. After completing his early education and attending college, he pursued the study of law, preparing for a professional career that would place him at the center of local and state politics.

Trezvant was admitted to the bar and established his law practice in Jerusalem, Virginia, a town in Southampton County that later became known as Courtland. Through his legal work he gained prominence in the region and eventually rose to the position of attorney general in the Commonwealth of Virginia. His growing stature in legal and political circles led to his selection as a delegate to the Virginia state constitutional convention of 1820, where he participated in deliberations over the structure and powers of state government. Following this service, he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, further embedding himself in the political life of the state and representing the interests of his constituents in the legislature.

Building on his state-level experience, Trezvant entered national politics in the mid-1820s. As a member of the Jackson Party, later known as the Jacksonian movement, he was elected unopposed to the Nineteenth Congress in 1825 to represent Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was again re-elected unopposed in 1827 to the Twentieth Congress and, continuing his unchallenged electoral record, was re-elected unopposed in 1829 as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-first Congress. His congressional service thus extended from March 4, 1825, to March 3, 1831, a period marked by the rise of Andrew Jackson, the realignment of national political parties, and intense debates over federal power, economic policy, and the expansion of slavery.

During his tenure in the House of Representatives, Trezvant contributed to the legislative process and participated in the democratic governance of the young republic, representing the interests of his Virginia constituents. In the Twenty-first Congress he served as chairman of the Committee on Military Pensions, overseeing matters related to benefits and compensation for veterans and their families. His role on this committee placed him at the intersection of federal responsibility for former soldiers and the broader fiscal and administrative policies of the era. As a Jacksonian, he aligned himself with a political movement that emphasized states’ rights, opposition to certain federal economic interventions, and support for the expansion of white male suffrage, while also operating within and benefiting from a slaveholding social order.

Trezvant remained active in Virginia politics even while engaged in national service. He served as a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829–1830, representing Southampton County in a district that also included Sussex, Surry, Isle of Wight, Prince George, and Greensville counties. At this convention he served on the Committee of the Executive Department, helping to shape debates over the powers and selection of the governor and other executive officers. The convention addressed long-standing tensions between eastern and western Virginia over representation, suffrage, and the political influence of slaveholding counties, issues that framed the political environment in which Trezvant operated.

In addition to his legislative and convention work, Trezvant held judicial responsibilities in Southampton County. He was one of the judges who presided over the trials of those accused of participating in Nat Turner’s Rebellion in 1831, one of the most significant slave uprisings in American history. These proceedings took place in the same region where he had practiced law and built his political career, underscoring his role in enforcing the legal and racial order of antebellum Virginia. His participation in these trials reflected both his prominence in local legal affairs and his position within a system that sought to suppress enslaved resistance and maintain white supremacy.

James Trezvant spent his later years in Southampton County, continuing to be identified with the legal and political life of the region. He died in Southampton County, Virginia, on September 2, 1841. His career, spanning local, state, and national office, illustrates the trajectory of an early nineteenth-century Virginia lawyer-politician whose public service was closely intertwined with the institution of slavery and the evolving political landscape of the Jacksonian era.