Editing John Eager Howard

{{Short description|American politician (1752–1827)}}
{{other people||John Howard (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name         = John Eager Howard
|image        = Johneagerhoward.jpg
|caption      = 1823 portrait
|office       = [[President pro tempore of the United&nbsp;States&nbsp;Senate]]
|term_start   = November 21, 1800
|term_end     = November 27, 1800
|predecessor  = [[Uriah Tracy]]
|successor    = [[James Hillhouse]]
|jr/sr1       = United States Senator
|state1       = [[Maryland]]
|term_start1  = November 21, 1796
|term_end1    = March 3, 1803
|predecessor1 = [[Richard Potts]]
|successor1   = [[Samuel Smith (Maryland politician)|Samuel Smith]]
|order2       = 5th [[Governor of Maryland]]
|term_start2  = November 24, 1788
|term_end2    = November 14, 1791
|predecessor2 = [[William Smallwood]]
|successor2   = [[George Plater]]
|office3      = Member of the [[Maryland Senate]]
|term3        = 1791–1795
|birth_name   = John Eager Howard
|birth_date   = {{birth date|1752|6|4}}
|birth_place  = [[Baltimore County, Maryland|Baltimore County]], Maryland, British America
|death_date   = {{death date and age|1827|10|12|1752|6|4}}
|death_place  = [[Baltimore County, Maryland]], U.S.
|restingplace = [[Old Saint Paul's Cemetery]]
|party        = [[Federalist party (United States)|Federalist]]
|spouse       = {{marriage|[[Peggy Chew Howard|Peggy Chew]]|1787|1824|reason=died}}
|children     = 9, including [[George Howard (Governor of Maryland)|George]], [[Benjamin Chew Howard|Benjamin]], and [[William Howard (engineer)|William]]
|signature    = John Eager Howard signature.jpg 
}}

'''John Eager Howard''' (June 4, 1752{{spaced ndash}}October 12, 1827) was an American soldier and politician from [[Maryland]]. He was elected as governor of the state in 1788, and served three one-year terms. He also was elected to the [[Continental Congress]], the [[Congress of the Confederation]], the [[United States Senate]], and the [[Maryland Senate]].<ref name=congbio>{{CongBio|H000841|inline=1|date=December 5, 2012}}</ref> In the [[1816 United States presidential election|1816 presidential election]], Howard received 22 electoral votes for vice president on the [[Federalist Party (United States)|Federalist Party]] ticket with [[Rufus King]]; the ticket lost to [[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republicans]] [[James Monroe]] and [[Daniel D. Tompkins]] in a landslide.

[[Howard County, Maryland]], is named for him, as are three streets in [[Baltimore]].<ref name="graveyard">{{cite web |title=Index to Politicians: Howard |url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/howard.html#R9M0J14KU |access-date=June 15, 2009 |work=[[The Political Graveyard]] |publisher=[[Lawrence Kestenbaum]]}}</ref> For seven days in November 1800, Howard was [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|president pro tempore of the Senate]].

==Early life and education==
John Eager Howard was the son of Cornelius Howard and Ruth (Eager) Howard, of the Maryland [[Planter (American South)|planter]] elite and was born at their plantation "The Forest" in [[Baltimore County, Maryland]].<ref>{{cite web |title=John Eager Howard (1752–1827) |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/000600/000692/html/692bio.html |access-date=23 February 2021 |website=Archives of Maryland}}</ref> Howard grew up in an [[Anglican]] slaveholding family.

Howard joined a [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]] lodge of [[Freemasonry|Freemasons]].<ref name=graveyard/>

==Military career==
Commissioned a captain at the beginning of the [[American Revolutionary War]] (1775–1783), Howard rose in 1777 to the rank of colonel in the [[Maryland Line]] of the [[Continental Army]],<ref name=congbio/> fighting in the [[Battle of White Plains]] in 1776 and in the [[Battle of Monmouth]] in 1778. He was awarded a silver medal by the [[Congress of the Confederation|Confederation Congress]] for his leadership at the [[Battle of Cowpens]] in 1781,<ref name=congbio/> during which he commanded the [[2nd Maryland Regiment]].<ref name=MdArchBio>{{cite web|title=John Eager Howard (1752–1827)|url=http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/000600/000692/html/692bio.html|website=Archives of Maryland (Biographical Series)|access-date=August 22, 2014}}</ref> In September 1781, he was wounded in a bayonet charge at the [[Battle of Eutaw Springs]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Maryland|author=Nancy Capace|page=81}}</ref> Major General [[Nathanael Greene]] wrote that Howard was "as good an officer as the world affords. He has great ability and the best disposition to promote the service....He deserves a statue of gold."<ref>Quoted in Lawrence E. Babits, ''A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens'' (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998), 26.</ref>

At the conclusion of the war, Colonel Howard was admitted as an original member of the [[Society of the Cincinnati]] of Maryland.<ref>Metcalf, Bryce (1938). ''Original Members and Other Officers Eligible to the [[Society of the Cincinnati]], 1783–1938: With the Institution, Rules of Admission, and Lists of the Officers of the General and State Societies'' Strasburg, VA: Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc., p. 168.</ref> He went on to serve as the vice president (1795–1804) and president (1804–1827) of the Society in Maryland.<ref>Metcalf, p. 22.</ref>

[[File:John Eager Howard Uniform.jpg|thumb|left|''John Eager Howard in Uniform,'' painted in 1782 by [[Charles Willson Peale]] ]]

==Political life==
Following his army service, Howard held several electoral political positions: elected to the Confederation Congress in 1788; fifth [[Governor of Maryland]] for three one-year terms from 1788 through 1791; later as [[Maryland Senate|State Senator]] from 1791 through 1795; and [[United States Electoral College|elector]] in the [[1792 United States presidential election|presidential election of 1792]]. He declined an offer from [[George Washington]] in 1795 to serve as [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]]. He subsequently joined the newly organized [[Federalist Party]] and was elected to the [[United States Senate|Senate]] of the [[4th United States Congress|Fourth Congress]] by the [[Maryland General Assembly|General Assembly of Maryland]] to serve the remainder of the term of [[Richard Potts]], who had resigned. He was elected to a Senate term of his own in 1797, serving until March 3, 1803, and briefly served as [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|president pro tempore of the Senate]] in November 1800.<ref name="congbio" /> While in Congress, he was the sole Federalist to vote against the [[Alien and Sedition Acts|Sedition Act]].{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

In 1798, amidst [[Quasi-War|rising tensions with France]], Howard declined a commission as [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] in the [[United States Army]].<ref name=congbio/>

At the end of his Senate term in 1803, Howard returned to Baltimore, where he avoided elected office but continued in public service and philanthropy.<ref>''American National Biography'', [http://www.anb.org/articles/03/03-00223.html John Eager Howard]; online version consulted</ref> He was elected a member of the [[American Antiquarian Society]] in 1815.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlisth |title=American Antiquarian Society Members Directory |publisher= American Antiquarian Society |access-date=July 16, 2015 }}</ref> In the [[1816 United States presidential election|1816 presidential election]], he received 22 electoral votes for [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]]<ref name=graveyard/> as the running mate of Federalist [[Rufus King]], losing to [[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republican]] candidates [[James Monroe]] and [[Daniel D. Tompkins]] in a landslide. No formal Federalist nomination had been made, and it is not clear whether Howard himself, who was one of several Federalists who received electoral votes for vice president, actually wanted to run.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

Howard developed property in the city of Baltimore and was active in city planning. His house was constructed north of the city, in what later became the [[Mount Vernon, Baltimore|Mount Vernon]] neighborhood, where he owned slaves.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rememberingbaltimore.net/2018/04/remembering-john-eager-howard-and-his.html|title=Remembering John Eager Howard and His Vision for Baltimore|website=Remembering Baltimore|language=en|access-date=August 21, 2018|first=Edward C.|last=Papenfuse|author-link=Edward C. Papenfuse|date=April 24, 2018|quote=According to the 1820 census there were ... five slaves and seven free blacks.}}</ref>

==Marriage and family==
[[File:Mrs. John Eager Howard (Peggy Oswald Chew) and Her Son, John Eager Howard II.jpg|thumb|Peggy Chew Howard and John Eager Howard Jr., portrait by [[Charles Willson Peale]]]]
Howard married [[Peggy Chew Howard|Margaret ("Peggy") Chew]], daughter of [[Supreme Court of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania Supreme Court]] justice [[Benjamin Chew]], in 1787.<ref name="graveyard" /> They had nine children:
*John Eager Howard Jr. (1788–1822), Maryland State Senator.
*[[George Howard (Governor of Maryland)|George Howard]], Governor of Maryland.<ref name="graveyard" />
*[[Benjamin Chew Howard]] (1791–1872), US Representative and [[Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States]].<ref name="graveyard" />
*[[William Howard (engineer)|Dr. William Howard]] (1793–1834), civil engineer for the War Department.
*Juliana Howard McHenry (1796–1821)
*James Howard (1797–1870)
*Sophia Howard Read (1800–1880)
*Charles Howard (1802–1869), father of [[Frank Key Howard]].
*Mary (February–May 1806)

==Death and legacy==
Howard died in 1827. He is buried at [[Old Saint Paul's Cemetery]] in Baltimore.<ref name=congbio/>
*[[Howard County, Maryland]], was named for Howard.<ref name=graveyard/><ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n161 162]}}</ref>
*In 1904, the city of Baltimore commissioned an [[equestrian sculpture|equestrian statue]] of Howard by [[Emmanuel Frémiet]] and installed it at Washington Place in Mount Vernon.<ref name=graveyard/>
*The former Maryland state song "[[Maryland, My Maryland]]" refers to "Howard's war-like thrust".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Books.php/2009/12/31/cool-deliberate-courage-john-eager-howar |title='Cool Deliberate Courage: John Eager Howard in the American Revolution' Book Review |first=William |last=Hughes |publisher=Media Monitors Network |via=thepeoplesvoice.org |date=December 2009 |access-date=November 14, 2019 }}</ref>
*Three streets in Baltimore are named for Howard: John Street, Eager Street, and [[Howard Street (Baltimore)|Howard Street]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://baltimorebrickbybrick.com/2015/02/02/why-eager-street/|title=Why "Eager" Street?|last=maxjpollock|date=2015-02-02|website=Baltimore Brick By Brick|language=en|access-date=2019-01-02}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*  Jim Piecuch and John Beakes. ''Cool Deliberate Courage: John Eager Howard in the American Revolution'' (2009)
*  Tony J. Lopez. "Courage at the Cowpens: The Colonel John Eager Howard Medal", The Numismatist, Vol. 122 No. 7 (July 2009): 40–47

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[William Smallwood]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Governor of Maryland]]|years=1788–1791}}
{{s-aft|after=[[George Plater]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Uriah Tracy]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[President pro tempore of the United States Senate]]|years=1800}}
{{s-aft|after=[[James Hillhouse]]}}
|-
{{s-par|us-sen}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Richard Potts]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of United States senators from Maryland|U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Maryland]]|years=1796–1803|alongside=[[John Henry (Maryland politician)|John Henry]], [[James Lloyd (Maryland politician)|James Lloyd]], [[William Hindman]], [[Robert Wright (Maryland politician)|Robert Wright]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Samuel Smith (Maryland politician)|Samuel Smith]]}}
|-
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Jared Ingersoll]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Federalist Party|Federalist]] nominee for [[Vice President of the United States]]|years=[[1816 United States presidential election|1816]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Richard Stockton (U.S. senator)|Richard Stockton]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Federalist Party}}
{{Governors of Maryland}}
{{USSenMD}}
{{USSenPresProTemp}}
{{1816 United States presidential election}}
{{Unsuccessful major party VPOTUS candidates}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, John E.}}
[[Category:1752 births]]
[[Category:1827 deaths]]
[[Category:18th-century American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:19th-century American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:Continental Army officers from Maryland]]
[[Category:Continental Congressmen from Maryland]]
[[Category:Federalist Party state governors of the United States]]
[[Category:Federalist Party United States senators]]
[[Category:Governors of Maryland]]
[[Category:People from Howard County, Maryland]]
[[Category:Maryland Federalists]]
[[Category:Maryland state senators]]
[[Category:Politicians from Baltimore County, Maryland]]
[[Category:Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate]]
[[Category:United States senators from Maryland]]
[[Category:1816 United States vice-presidential candidates]]
[[Category:Howard family (Maryland)]]
[[Category:United States senators who owned slaves]]
[[Category:19th-century Maryland politicians]]
[[Category:19th-century United States senators]]
[[Category:18th-century United States senators]]
[[Category:18th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly]]