William Cabell Rives

William Cabell Rives (May 4, 1793 – April 25, 1868) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat from Albemarle County, Virginia. He represented Virginia as a Jackson Democrat in both the U.S. House and Senate. He served two terms as U.S. Minister to France. As minister during the Andrew Jackson administration, he negotiated a treaty whereby the French agreed to pay the U.S. for spoliation claims from the Napoleonic Wars. During the American Civil War, Rives served as a Delegate to the Provisional Confederate Congress and as a member of the Confederate House of Representatives.

William Cabell Rives
Member of the Confederate Congress from Virginia's 7th district
In office May 2, 1864 – March 2, 1865
Preceded by	James Philemon Holcombe
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Delegate from Virginia to the Provisional Confederate Congress
In office February 4, 1861 – February 17, 1862
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
United States Minister to France
In office 1849–1853
Appointed by	Zachary Taylor
Preceded by	Richard Rush
Succeeded by	John Y. Mason
In office 1829–1833
Appointed by	Andrew Jackson
Preceded by	James Brown
Succeeded by	Levett Harris
United States senator from Virginia
In office January 18, 1841 – March 3, 1845
Preceded by	Himself
Succeeded by	Isaac S. Pennybacker
In office March 4, 1836 – March 3, 1839
Preceded by	John Tyler, Jr.
Succeeded by	Himself
In office December 10, 1832 – February 22, 1834
Preceded by	Littleton W. Tazewell
Succeeded by	Benjamin W. Leigh
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 10th district
In office March 4, 1823 – 1829
Preceded by	Thomas L. Moore
Succeeded by	William F. Gordon
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Albemarle County
In office 1822 Alongside William F. Gordon
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Nelson County
In office 1817–1819 Alongside Thomas McCleland, John Cobbs and Joseph Shelton
Personal details
Born	(1793-05-04)May 4, 1793 Amherst County, Virginia
Died	April 25, 1868(1868-04-25) (aged 74) Charlottesville, Virginia
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic, Whig

Early life

Rives was born at "Union Hill", the estate of his grandfather, Col. William Cabell, in Amherst County, Virginia. It was located on the James River in what is now Nelson County. His parents were Robert (1764–1845) and Margaret Cabell (c. 1770–1815) Rives, and his brothers included Alexander Rives. He was a great-uncle of Alexander Brown, author of books on the early history of Virginia and a family history, The Cabells and their Kin.[1]

After private tutoring, Rives attended Hampden-Sydney College, followed by the College of William and Mary.

He left Williamsburg to study law with Thomas Jefferson at Monticello, and in 1814 was admitted to the bar at Richmond. Rives began his law practice in Nelson County, but after marrying Judith Page Walker (1802–1882), the daughter of Francis Walker, in 1819, he moved to her estate Castle Hill, near Cobham in Albemarle County. This was his home for the remainder of his life.

Political career

William Cabell Rives

Rives's political career began by serving in the state constitutional convention of 1816. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1817–19 for Nelson County, and again in 1822 for Albemarle County. In 1823 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives and served from 1823 to 1829. In 1829 he was appointed by Andrew Jackson as Minister to France.

When Rives took office, compensation demands for the capture of American ships and sailors, dating from the Napoleonic era, caused strained relations between the American and French governments. The French Navy had captured and sent American ships to Spanish ports while holding their crews captive forcing them to labor without any charges or judicial rules. According to Secretary of State Martin Van Buren, relations between the U.S. and France were "hopeless."[2] Yet, Rives was able to convince the French government to sign a reparations treaty on July 4, 1831, that would award the U.S. ₣ 25,000,000 ($5,000,000) in damages.[3] The French government became delinquent in payment due to internal financial and political difficulties, but after firm insistence from the United States, payments were finally made in February 1836.[2]

Rives was presented as a candidate for the Democratic vice presidential nomination in 1835, but the nomination went to Richard M. Johnson, in spite of having been presidential nominee Martin Van Buren's preferred candidate.

On his return from France, Rives was elected to the United States Senate. He would serve three terms, the last as a member of the Whig Party. He served on the Board of Visitors for the University of Virginia from 1834 to 1849, and was for many years the president of the Virginia Historical Society. In 1849, Rives was once more appointed Minister to France. He served until 1853. In 1860, he endorsed the call for a Constitutional Union Party Convention, where he received most of Virginia's first ballot votes for President.

Rives was a delegate to the February 1861 Peace Conference in Washington, which sought to prevent the American Civil War. He spoke out against secession but was loyal to Virginia when it seceded.[4] He served in the Provisional Confederate Congress from 1861 to 1862 and the Second Confederate Congress from 1864 to 1865.

Later life

Rives wrote several books, the most important being his Life and Times of James Madison (3 vols., Boston, 1859–68).[4] He died at Castle Hill in 1868 and was buried in the family cemetery.

Family

His son, Alfred Landon Rives, was a prominent engineer, and his granddaughter Amélie Rives was a novelist, best known for The Quick or the Dead? (1888).[4]

His second son William Cabell Rives, Jr., (1825–1890) owned Cobham Park Estate.[5] It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.[6] His son, also William Cabell Rives (1850–1938) donated the Peace Cross and supported building the Washington National Cathedral.[7]

Legacy

Rives is the namesake of the town of Rivesville, West Virginia.[8]

References

1. Brown, Alexander (1939). The Cabells and Their Kin. Richmond: Garrett and Massie.
2. Latner 2002, pp. 119–20.
3. Cunningham, Hugo S. (1999). "Gold and Silver Standards France". Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
4. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Rives, William Cabell" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 386–387.
5. Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission Staff (December 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Cobham Park" (PDF).
6. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
7. inscription to the right of the Great Choir.
8. Kenny, Hamill (1945). West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains. Piedmont, WV: The Place Name Press. p. 533.

• Rives, Barclay (2014). William Cabell Rives : a country to serve. New York, New York: Atelerix. ISBN 978-0-9899263-2-4. OCLC 878972025.

Bibliography

• Latner, Richard B. (2002). "Andrew Jackson". In Graff, Henry (ed.). The Presidents: A Reference History (7th ed.).CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• United States Congress. "William Cabell Rives (id: R000285)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• William Cabell Rives at Find a Grave

Further reading

• McCoy, Drew R. The Last of the Fathers: James Madison and the Republican Legacy. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 1989, pp. 323–369.

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Thomas L. Moore	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 10th congressional district 1823–1829	Succeeded by William F. Gordon
U.S. Senate
Preceded by Littleton W. Tazewell	U.S. senator (Class 2) from Virginia 1832–1834 Served alongside: John Tyler, Jr.	Succeeded by Benjamin W. Leigh
Preceded by John Tyler, Jr.	U.S. senator (Class 1) from Virginia 1836–1839 Served alongside: Richard E. Parker, William H. Roane	Succeeded by Himself
Preceded by Himself	U.S. senator (Class 1) from Virginia 1841–1845 Served alongside: William S. Archer	Succeeded by Isaac S. Pennybacker
Political offices
Preceded by New creation	Delegate to the Provisional Confederate Congress from Virginia April 29, 1861 – February 16, 1862	Succeeded by Office abolished
Confederate States House of Representatives
Preceded by James P. Holcombe	Member of the C.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 7th congressional district February 17, 1864 – March 7, 1865	Succeeded by Office abolished
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by James Brown	Minister to France Mid-1829–1832	Succeeded by Edward Livingston
Preceded by Richard Rush	Minister to France 1849–1853	Succeeded by John Y. Mason