Orr, James Lawrence

Orr, James Lawrence, 1822–73, American politician, b. Craytonville, S.C. He served in the South Carolina legislature (1844–48) and in the U.S. House of Representatives (1849–59), where he was (1857–59) speaker. Orr opposed secession during the 1850s but followed his state into the Confederacy after Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. After brief military service, he was elected (Dec., 1861) to the Confederate senate, where he held office throughout the Civil War. He was elected governor of South Carolina in 1866. Orr, at first a supporter of President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction plan, became a radical Republican when it became clear that the radical Republicans were dominant. He was appointed (Dec., 1872) minister to Russia, where he died.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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