View source for Benjamin Watkins Leigh

{{PersonInfoBox
|imagename= BenjaminWatkinsLeigh.jpg
|name= Benjamin Watkins Leigh
|honorific= 
|1stoffice= First Lieutenant and then Commander of the Petersburg Republican Light Infantry
|1stofficedates= 1807-1812 (?)
|1stofficepreceded=
|1stofficesucceeded= 
|2ndoffice= Representative for Dinwiddie County in the State House of Delegates
|2ndofficedates= December 2, 1811 to February 23, 1813
|2ndofficepreceded=
|2ndofficesucceeded= 
|3rdoffice= Representative in the State Constitutional Convention
|3rdofficedates= 1829-1830
|3rdofficepreceded=
|3rdofficesucceeded= 
|4thoffice= Representative for Henrico County in the State House of Delegates
|4thofficedates= 1830-1831
|4thofficepreceded= 
|4thofficesucceeded= 
|5thoffice= U.S. Senator
|5thofficedates= 1834-1836
|5thofficepreceded=
|5thofficesucceeded= William Cabell Rives
|6thoffice= Reporter of the Supreme Court of Appeals in Virginia
|6thofficedates= 1839-1841
|6thofficepreceded=
|6thofficesucceeded=
|7thoffice=
|7thofficedates=
|7thofficepreceded=
|7thofficesucceeded=
|borndate= June 18, 1781
|bornplace= Chesterfield County, Virginia
|dieddate= February 2, 1849
|diedplace= Richmond, Virginia
|restingplace= Shockoe Hill Cemetery
|residence= 
|education= the College of William and Mary
|almamater=
|profession= lawyer, soldier, politician
|spouse= Mary Selden Watkins, Susanna Colston (niece of Chief Justice [[John Marshall]], Julia Wickham (daughter of [[John Wickham]])
|relatives= brother of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Leigh_(judge) William Leigh], Circuit Court Judge of Halifax.
|knownfor= his court reports and southern conservatism
}}
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_W._Leigh Benjamin Watkins Leigh] was born in Chesterfield County, Virginia to William Leigh, an Episcopalian minister, and Elizabeth Watkins. <ref> ''American National Biography Online'', s.v."[http://www.anb.org/articles/03/03-00275.html?a=1&n=benjamin%20watkins%20leigh&d=10&ss=0&q=1. Leigh, Benjamin Watkins]," by F. Thornton Miller, accessed November 9, 2015. </ref> After his father died in 1787, Leigh and his younger brother [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Leigh_(judge) William] were educated by a private tutor, Needler Robinson. <ref> Cline Edwin Hall, "[http://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1144&context=masters-theses The political life of Benjamin Watkins Leigh]," (master's thesis, University of Richmond, 1959), accessed online November 30, 2015. </ref>

Like his father before him, Leigh attended the College of William and Mary. While studying law there, Leigh was a student of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George_Tucker St. George Tucker] and a potential student of [[George Wythe]]. <ref> "Leigh, Benjamin Watkins." </ref> Leigh graduated in 1802 at which time he was accepted to the bar and began practicing in Petersburg, Virginia. <ref> Ibid; Clement Eaton, "Southern Senators and the Right of Instruction, 1789-1860," ''The Journal of Southern History'', Vol. 18, No. 3 (Aug., 1952), pp. 303-319, 3, accessed November 9, 2015. </ref> That same year, Leigh married his cousin, Mary Selden Watkins--they had one child together. <ref> Eaton, "Southern Senators and the Right of Instruction, 1789-1860," 3. </ref>

While in Petersburg, Leigh joined the Petersburg Republican Light Infantry and rose to the rank of First Lieutenant. In 1807, Leigh was appointed Commander of the Infantry and held that position until Alexander Taylor succeeded him and led the Infantry into the field during the War of 1812. <ref> Hall, "The political life of Benjamin Watkins Leigh," 4. </ref>

After representing Dinwiddie County in the House of Delegates from 1811 to 1813, Leigh moved his legal practice to Richmond, Virginia and became a prominent attorney. <ref> "Leigh, Benjamin Watkins." </ref> In 1819, the legislature requested Leigh to direct the compilation and publishing of the Code of Virginia. In 1822, the legislature again commissioned Leigh. This time Leigh represented Virginia in negotiations with Kentucky over legal claims arising from Kentucky having been originally a part of Virginia. </ref> However, neither state accepted Leigh's compromise plan. <ref> Ibid. </ref>

Throughout his political career, Leigh steadfastly opposed [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Jackson Andrew Jackson]. "Leigh opposed absolute or arbitrary government, whether by a tyrant or a democracy, and he believed the former could easily result from the latter." <ref> Ibid. </ref> However, Leigh's main issue with Jackson was that Leigh believed Jackson lacked ability as a political leader and erred in saying the writ of habeas corpus did not apply to the territories of the United States. <ref> Hall, "The political life of Benjamin Watkins Leigh," 23. </ref> Leigh defended the irginia Constitution, the status quo, and property qualifications for voting. He disagreed with ideas of electoral districts and proportional representation. At the state constitutional convention of 1829-1830, Leigh became a conservative leader and successfully preserved an apportionment system favoring the planters. In 1830, Leigh again went to the State House of Delegates, this time representing the county of Henrico. <ref> "Leigh, Benjamin Watkins." </ref>

After [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cabell_Rives William Cabell Rives] resigned, Leigh was appointed to the U.S. Senate to represent Virginia. Leigh narrowly won the 1835 vote to remain in office with a majority of only two votes. After rejecting the Right of Instruction, Leigh grudgingly resigned from office in 1836. After leaving politics, Leigh resumed his legal practice. In 1829, Leigh became the court reporter for the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. In 1835, the College of William and Mary honored him with a doctorate in laws. <ref> Ibid. </ref>

Leigh is primarily known for his court reports and for his "early articulation of a southern conservatism." <ref> Ibid. </ref> As an aristocratic Virginian, Leigh believed in preserving traditional forms of government and ways of life. This is especially evident in Leigh's views towards slavery. Because of his strong opposition to Jackson, Leigh had an anti-administration attitude that played a role in developing the Whig party. <ref> Hall, "The political life of Benjamin Watkins Leigh," 77-78. </ref>

Leigh married three times--first to Mary Selden Watkins, second to Susanna Colston, and third to Julia Wickham. Altogether, Leigh had eleven children. <ref> Ibid, 5. </ref> Leigh died in Richmond, Virginia, on February 2, 1849 and is buried in Shockoe Hill Cemetery. <ref> "[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6953448 Benjamin Watkins Leigh (1781-1849)]," Find A Grave (2002), accessed online December 1, 2015. </ref>


==Further Reading==
(1) Clement Eaton, "Southern Senators and the Right of Instruction, 1789-1860. The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 18, No. 2 (Aug., 1952), pp. 303-319.

==See also==
[[Wythe the Teacher]]

==References==
<references />

[[Category: Wythe's Students]]