James Iver McKay (July 17, 1792 – September 14, 1853) was an American lawyer and politician who served nine terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina from 1831 to 1849.
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Early life and education
He was born in 1792, near Elizabethtown, North Carolina. He pursued classical studies and then law.
Career
He was appointed United States attorney for the district of North Carolina on March 6, 1817, and also served in the North Carolina General Assembly (1815–1819, 1822, 1826, and 1830).
Congress
He was elected as a Jacksonian to the 22nd through 24th congresses (1831–1837) and as a Democrat to the 25th through 30th congresses (1837–1849). He served as chairman of the: Committee on Military Affairs (25th Congress), Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads (26th Congress), Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War (27th Congress), Ways and Means Committee (28th and 29th congresses).
He was also the chief sponsor of the Walker Tariff of 1846; and was the favorite son of the North Carolina delegation at the 1848 Democratic National Convention for vice president. McKay also introduced the Coinage Act of 1849 on the House floor, with it successfully passing.
Death and burial
McKay died in Goldsboro, North Carolina, September 14, 1853. Though an unapologetic slave-owner, his will included the unusual provision that 30–40 of his slaves be placed under the supervision of the American Colonization Society.