Laurence M. Keitt

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Laurence Massillon Keitt (October 4, 1824 – June 4, 1864) was a South Carolina politician who served as a United States Congressman. He is included in several lists of Fire-Eaters—men who adamantly urged the secession of southern states from the United States, and who resisted measures of compromise and reconciliation, leading to the American Civil War.

Keitt was born in Orangeburg County, South Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, he was representative to the South Carolina state house, 1848, and then U.S. Representative from South Carolina's 3rd District, 1853-55, 1855-56, 1856-60. Keitt was censured by the House in 1856 for aiding Rep. Preston S. Brooks in his caning attack on Sen. Charles Sumner, after which he resigned and was re-elected to his seat within a month.

Perhaps Keitt's most famous quotation best summarized his political views. In 1860, Congressman Keitt said, "The anti-slavery party contend that slavery is wrong in itself, and the Government is a consolidated national democracy. We of the South contend that slavery is right, and that this is a confederate Republic of sovereign States."^[1] That same year, Keitt was involved in a fight on the House floor with Galusha A. Grow after calling him a "black Republican puppy".

Keitt served as a delegate from South Carolina to the Provisional Confederate Congress, 1861-62, and a colonel in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. Mortally wounded at the Battle of Cold Harbor on June 3, 1864, Keitt died the next day near Richmond, Virginia.

[edit] References

This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

1. ^ Lawrence Keitt, Congressman from South Carolina, in a speech to the House on January 25, 1860: Taken from a photocopy of the Congressional Globe supplied by Steve Miller.

Preceded by Joseph A. Woodward	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 3rd congressional district March 4, 1853 – July 16, 1856	Succeeded by Laurence M. Keitt(a)
Preceded by Laurence M. Keitt(a)	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 3rd congressional district August 6, 1856 – December 10, 1860	Succeeded by Manuel S. Corley(b)
Preceded by (none)	Representative to the Provisional Confederate Congress from South Carolina 1861 – 1862	Succeeded by (none)
(a) Keitt lost his seat due to aiding in the beating of Senator Charles Sumner, but was later elected back.
(b) Due to South Carolina's succession, the House seat was empty for almost eight years before Corley succeeded Keitt.