Marcus Morton

Marcus Morton
16th & 18th Governor of Massachusetts
In office
January 17, 1843 – January 9, 1844
LieutenantHenry H. Childs
Preceded byJohn Davis
Succeeded byGeorge N. Briggs
In office
January 18, 1840 – January 7, 1841
LieutenantGeorge Hull
Preceded byEdward Everett
Succeeded byJohn Davis
In office
Acting: February 6, 1825 – May 26, 1825
Preceded byWilliam Eustis
Succeeded byLevi Lincoln Jr.
12th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
In office
May 31, 1824 – May 26, 1825
GovernorWilliam Eustis (1824–1825)
Himself (1825)
Preceded byLevi Lincoln Jr.
Succeeded byThomas L. Winthrop
Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
In office
1825–1840
Appointed byLevi Lincoln Jr.
Preceded byLevi Lincoln Jr.
Succeeded byTheron Metcalf (1848)
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 10th district
In office
March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1821
Preceded byLaban Wheaton
Succeeded byFrancis Baylies
Personal details
Born(1784-02-19)February 19, 1784 or
(1784-12-19)December 19, 1784
East Freetown, Massachusetts
DiedFebruary 6, 1864(1864-02-06) (aged 79)
Taunton, Massachusetts
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
Democratic
Free Soil
SpouseCharlotte Hodges
ChildrenMarcus Morton
Nathaniel Morton
Alma materBrown University
ProfessionLawyer
Signature

Marcus Morton (1784 – February 6, 1864) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from Taunton, Massachusetts. He served two terms as the governor of Massachusetts and several months as Acting Governor following the death in 1825 of William Eustis. He served for 15 years as an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, all the while running unsuccessfully as a Democrat for governor. He finally won the 1839 election, acquiring exactly the number of votes required for a majority win over Edward Everett. After losing the 1840 and 1841 elections, he was elected in a narrow victory in 1842.

The Massachusetts Democratic Party was highly factionalized, which contributed to Morton's long string of defeats. His brief periods of ascendancy, however, resulted in no substantive Democratic-supported reforms, since the dominant Whigs reversed most of the changes enacted during his terms. An opponent of the extension of slavery, he split with longtime friend John C. Calhoun over that issue, and eventually left the party for the Free Soil movement. He was considered by Martin Van Buren as a potential vice presidential running mate in 1848.