page_title: George Tucker (politician)
section_title: Richmond society, second marriage, slavery and politics
hierarchical_section_title: George Tucker (politician) / Richmond society, second marriage, slavery and politics
caption_attribution_description: English: Miniature Portrait by Sully ca. 1805
context_page_description: George Tucker was born in Bermuda, and became an American attorney, politician, historian, author, and educator. His literary works include The Valley of Shenandoah, the first fiction of colonial life in Virginia, and Voyage to the Moon, which is among the nation's earliest science fiction novels. Tucker also published the first comprehensive biography of Thomas Jefferson in 1837, as well as his History of the United States.
  Tucker was a son of the first mayor of Hamilton, Bermuda, Daniel Tucker. He immigrated to Virginia at age 20, was educated at the College of William and Mary, and was admitted to the bar. His first marriage to Mary Farley ended childless with her death in 1799; he remarried and had six children with wife Maria Carter, who died at age 38 in 1823. His third wife of 30 years was Louisa Thompson, who died in 1858.
  Aside from his law practice, Tucker wrote distinctive compositions for various publications. His topics ranged widely from the conceptual to the technical—from slavery, suffrage, and morality to intracoastal navigation, wages, and banking.
context_section_description: Tucker arrived in Richmond in the summer of 1800 with a letter of introduction from St. George to Governor James Monroe. His cousin's letter accurately portrayed Tucker's character and also foretold his future there: "To the best qualities of the heart he unites an excellent understanding, which has been well cultivated, and a very comprehensive knowledge of the world; nature has blessed him with a most exuberant flow of spirits, which sometimes betray him into acts of levity..." Tucker effectively entered the desired social circles in Richmond, bolstered by a well-furnished home near the Governor's own, and soon could count among his acquaintances not only the Governor (whom Tucker called "that slow dull man"), but also George Wythe, Edmund Pendleton, and George Hay. (Tucker later boasted that, with the exception of John Adams, he had conducted personal intercourse with every president from Washington to Buchanan.)
  While in Richmond, he met Charles Carter (1765–1829), who introduced him to daughter Maria Ball Carter—a granddaughter of Betty Washington Lewis and descendant of Robert Carter I. Tucker described her as, "being a decided beauty, she had a face distinguished for sweetness and intelligence, conversed sensibly and sang sweetly." They soon fell in love, and in February 1802 he married Maria, age seventeen and pregnant.
  While Tucker began writing for publication, as an attorney he was initially deficient, being disabled by his fear of speaking in the courtroom; he later gained the requisite self-confidence. Tucker later became a founding member of the Virginia Historical and Philosophical Society (now the Virginia Museum of History and Culture) in Richmond. This was an effort led by John Marshall and John Floyd; Tucker was named to the Society's Standing Committee.
  Politically, Tucker was a Jeffersonian Republican, who delighted at the split in the Federalists between John Adams and Alexander Hamilton. He joined in the resentment toward Federalist attempts to "appoint a president" by party caucus; in time he became a pro-bank Republican. He once gave a speech in support of a Federalist in a local election, and a staunch Republican, Lewis Harvey, called him a party traitor and liar. In reaction Tucker, routinely prone to a hot temper, took a swing at Harvey, but missed due to the intervention of a neutral party. Assuming his challenge unsuccessful, Tucker demanded satisfaction, which Harvey accepted. Tucker carefully arranged the duel, stipulating an extraordinary distance in paces, so as to diminish the superior marksmanship of his opponent. Fortunately for Tucker the duel was avoided at the last moment—though not before he had completed his will and arranged his estate for his expecting wife. Their first child, Daniel George, was born November 23, 1802.
caption: Maria Carter Tucker, miniature portrait by Sully ca. 1805
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