Federal Judicial Center Operational Status:

Due to a lapse in appropriations, the Federal Judicial Center (Center) has ceased all non-excepted activities until funding is restored.

The Center will post any changes in operational status on this web page. Please check back for updates.

Campbell, John Archibald

Born June 24, 1811, in Washington, GA
Died March 12, 1889, in Baltimore, MD

Federal Judicial Service:
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States
Nominated by Franklin Pierce on March 21, 1853, to a seat vacated by John McKinley. Confirmed by the Senate on March 22, 1853, and received commission on March 22, 1853. Service terminated on April 30, 1861, due to resignation.

Supreme Court Oath:
April 11, 1853 (based on questionable authority)

Allotment as Circuit Justice:

Fifth Circuit, ca. April 11, 1853-April 30, 1861

Education:
Franklin College (now University of Georgia), 1825
Read law, 1829

Professional Career:

Private practice, Washington, Georgia, 1829
Private practice, Montgomery, Alabama, 1829-1837
Private practice, Mobile, Alabama, 1837-1853
State representative, Alabama, 1837, 1843
Assistant secretary of war for the draft, Confederate States of America, 1862-1865
Private practice, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1865-1884

Bibliography

Connor, Henry G. John Archibald Campbell: Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, 1853-1861. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1920.

Fiebelman, Herbert U. “John Archibald Campbell: He Tried Twice to Stop the Civil War.” Commercial Law Journal, vol. 68, no. 7 (Jul. 1963): 208-11.

Mann, Justine S. “The Political Thought of John Archibald Campbell: The Formative Years 1847-1851.” Alabama Law Review, vol. 22, no. 2 (Spring 1970): 275-303.

Noles, James L., Jr. “Alabama’s Forgotten Justices: John McKinley and John A. Campbell.” Alabama Lawyer, vol. 63, no. 5 (July 2002): 236-42.

Saunders, Robert. John Archibald Campbell: Southern Moderate, 1811-1889. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2017.

Schmidhauser, John R. “Jeremy Bentham, The Contract Clause and Justice John Archibald Campbell.” Vanderbilt Law Review, vol. 11, no. 3 (Jun. 1958): 801-20.

Sklut, Ronald. “John Archibald Campbell: A Study in Divided Loyalties.” Alabama Lawyer, vol. 20, no. 3 (Jul. 1959): 233-65.

Manuscript Collections

University of Georgia
Athens, Ga.
John Archibald Campbell collection, 1865-1911.
2 items; scrapbooks documenting Campbell's interest in the Hampton Roads peace conference; one contains typescripts of correspondence and opinions and the other contains newspaper articles and two obituaries.

John Archibald Campbell papers, 1842-1843, 1885.
3 items; two letters from Campbell to his sister Rebecca Anne Campbell Butler (1842, 1885) and a deed of a gift of enslaved people from Campbell to Butler (1843).

Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
John Archibald Campbell letters, 1860-1868.
5 items; collection is a part of the Miscellaneous Manuscripts collection.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
Springfield, Ill.
John Archibald Campbell papers, Jan.-April, 1865.
12 items; correspondence and telegrams relating to negotiations for peace and reconstruction during the Civil War.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Southern Historical Collection
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Campbell and Colston family papers, 1781-1938.
800 items; finding aid; collection includes John A. Campbell's correspondence, financial and legal papers, a copybook, memoranda, and miscellaneous scrapbooks.

Campbell family papers, 1781-1938.
800 items; finding aid; collection includes 4 letters Campbell wrote while serving in the Alabama legislature and his correspondence while practicing law in New Orleans (1866-
1884).

Washington and Lee University
Lexington, Va.
John Archibald Campbell papers, 1853-1861.
8 items; photocopies of Campbell's letters to Secretary of State William Seward regarding Campbell's efforts to mediate the problem of Fort Sumter; and miscellaneous papers.

John Archibald Campbell papers, 1853-1889.
38 items; includes photocopies of Campbell's letters to his son, Duncan G. Campbell; material relating to Campbell's April 1865 interviews with Lincoln in Richmond and to his imprisonment in Fort Pulaski; printed speeches and interviews; and miscellaneous papers of Duncan G. Campbell.

You are here

Campbell, John Archibald