randycrowWe last find J.R. leaving Phila for Bizarre in July 1792 at the age of 19. He proceeded as far as Richmond, VA and was there afflicted with a severe illness…letter. “In this town on my way to Williamsburg, I was taken with scarlet fever and brought to the brink of death. …A few years after this, it was widely known in Va that he was impotent. …This frustration, this profound humiliation undoubtedly produced bitterness of spirit. This physical disability unquestionably found vent its suffering in unprovoked assaults upon both friend and foe. Page12 At Christmas 1787 Theo and John went to New York for the holidays but the trip was cut short by the news of the illness of Mrs. Tucker. (Their mother) Her death in 1788 was John’s second great misfortune. …and immediately there began to appear in Randolph’s life an errancy, inconstancy and lack of purpose which were to become its mark and its tragedy. Pages 4 &5. He passed through that critical period of life (16-17Yo) without missing a single vice in which gentlemen of that period indulged. P6 In Feb. 1792 Theo died, by July he had decided to go back to Va. P7 J.R. lashed men who deserved his nather his admiration and praise, so he has come down in history with one of the most terrible reputations ever attached an American Politician who was never convicted of murder, or treason or theft. He was in public life 1/3 of a century. P8 It is not for these services he is remembered, but for carrying the wickedest tongue ever hung in the head of an American congressman, P9 “When I speak of my country, I mean the commonwealth of Va.” he wrote to his friend Francis Scott Key, in 1818. P9 This development (Va becoming a mere geographical expression) Randolph saw clearly but without knowing any effective means of combating it other than dogged opposition to every extension of the power of the Federal government, no matter how obvious the need for the specific extension under consideration. PP 9,10 Randolph was the most powerful influence in transforming the South from the mother of the republic into the frantic opponent of the republic and the first shot of the Civil War was not fired by South Carolina at Ft. Sumpter but by John Randolph of Roanoke. P10 His malice was more feared than that of J.Q. Adams. His violence was greater than that of Andrew Jackson….In one of his aphorisms he said “Life is not as important as the duties of life.” P11 His (J.R.’s) childhood worship of his brother (Richard) had increased to a profound love and admiration. In his will Richard freed his slaves and set aside an Estate for their support: and the reasons he set down for this act constitute an attack on the institution on human slavery as ferocious and far better aimed than the effort of any Northern abolitionist. P13.
A Brief Sketch of John Randolph of Roanoke by A RandolphWilson my grandfather For a copy call my MagicJack 205-255-8554 and leave voicemail.
For the rest of the story Unwise Passions by AlanPellCrawford