Robert Pleasant Trippe

Robert Pleasant Trippe (December 21, 1819 – July 22, 1900) was an American politician, lawyer, and jurist from the state of Georgia. He was born near Monticello in Jasper County, Georgia, and in his youth moved with his family to an area near Culloden, Monroe County, Georgia. His early life in rural Georgia placed him within the social and political milieu that would shape many of the state’s antebellum leaders.

Trippe pursued higher education at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, before transferring to Franklin College, the founding college of the University of Georgia in Athens. He graduated from Franklin College in 1839. While a student there, he was a member of the Phi Kappa Literary Society, an influential campus organization that fostered debate and oratory among future public figures. After completing his collegiate studies, he read law and was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1840. He then commenced the practice of law in Forsyth, Georgia, establishing himself professionally as a young attorney.

Trippe’s political career began at the state level. In 1849, he was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, where he served until 1852. That year he made an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. Undeterred, he remained active in public life and continued his legal practice. His early legislative experience in the Georgia House helped build his reputation as a capable lawyer-legislator and positioned him for later national office.

In 1854, Trippe again sought election to the United States House of Representatives and was successful. Running as a member of the American Party, often known as the Know Nothing Party, he was elected to represent Georgia’s 3rd congressional district in the 34th United States Congress. He was re-elected as an American Party candidate to the 35th Congress, serving two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1855, to March 3, 1859. As a member of the American Party representing Georgia, Robert Pleasant Trippe contributed to the legislative process during these two terms in office. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, in the tense years preceding the Civil War, and he participated in the democratic process while representing the interests of his Georgia constituents in national debates over sectional and political realignments.

Trippe did not seek re-election to the U.S. Congress in 1858. Instead, he returned to state politics and that same year was elected to the Georgia Senate. He was re-elected to the state senate in 1860, serving through the critical secession winter and the opening of the Civil War. With the formation of the Confederate States of America, Trippe was elected to the First Confederate Congress, where he took part in the legislative affairs of the new Confederate government. In addition to his legislative role, he served in the Confederate States Army from 1862 to 1865, further aligning his public career with the Confederate cause during the war.

Following the conclusion of the Civil War, Trippe resumed the practice of law in Georgia, rebuilding his professional life in the altered legal and political landscape of Reconstruction. His legal acumen and long experience in public office led to his appointment in 1873 as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia. He sat on the state’s highest court from 1873 until his resignation in 1875, participating in the adjudication of cases during a period when Georgia was redefining its legal order in the postwar era.

After leaving the bench, Trippe again returned to private legal practice, this time in Atlanta, Georgia, which was emerging as the state’s principal commercial and political center. He continued to practice law there for the remainder of his life. Robert Pleasant Trippe died in Atlanta on July 22, 1900. He was buried in Forsyth Cemetery in Forsyth, Georgia, closing a long career that had encompassed service as a state legislator, United States Representative, Confederate congressman and soldier, and associate justice of the Georgia Supreme Court.