James Lucus

James Lucas, best known for being the 2nd President of the United States.

Early Life (1751-1781)
Born to a radical thinking man who shared his views via the written word (newspaper), James was raised with a deep respect for the power of the written word. Nonetheless, his father was killed in '58 after publishing a particular article calling for gradual abolition of slavery. He was then sent to his father's brother, who happened to be a slaveholder (although he did not abuse his slaves). His uncle was very different from his father, and taught James to hunt, and James became an expert sharpshooter under the tutelage of his uncle.

James inevitably became involved in the War of the Regulation, which his uncle was a major part of. He helped his uncle out by running the farm when he was away, taking care of Regulators who stopped by for safety, and helping keep his uncle's weapons in condition, as well as taking care of the ammo by making it in the barn with the assistance of some of the slaves.

When he turned 18, he went off to Virginia, where he became a soldier. He assisted in fighting the Natives, and rose through the ranks because of the high esteem his father and uncle both held. In 1771, his uncle died in the battle of Alamance, and Lucas inherited both his uncle's plantation and his father's printing shop, which up until this point his uncle had kept. James kept up his battling of the Natives, and in 1775 he decided to move to his father's old printing press in Boston, where he reopened the newspaper. He gave control of the plantation to his nephew on his mother's side, and began publishing his father's newspaper again.

He tried to keep out of the American Revolutionary War, until finally the Siege of Boston forced him to act. He took up arms against the British, and was commissioned by Washington to bring multiple cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to reinforce Dorchester Heights in Boston, thus helping the Revolutionaries overtake the city. Impressed by Lucas's command of the troops bringing in the cannons, and knowing that Lucas had great knowledge of the geography of the southern states, Washington decided to send Lucas to the south to take command of the army there. Almost as soon as he arrived, he helped fend off the British in the first siege of Charleston. Unforunately, Lucas was removed from the position in 1777 by the older, more experienced General Kingston. Lucas joined a local colonial milita, and made life hard for loyalists. He was largely out of the spotlight until the Battle of Kings Mountain, where although he was not in command the militia he was in handily defeated Loyalist militia. Washington recalled him to the North, where he served on Washington's staff, until Washington later dispatched him along with Lafayette to defend Virginia. He was the general to accept the British surrender at Yorktown. After the war was over, he took up residence in his nephew's (formerly his uncle's) plantation, and watched as the nation formed.

Post War and Constitutional Convention (1781-1789)
See Main Article: Constitutional Convention (someone create a page and then link this)

Lucas lived in relative peace and quiet on the same plantation he'd grown up on, and in a small way mentored his nephew through ownership of the farm. In 1782, He attempted to become a lawyer, but quit after losing his first case, and began working for his nephew as a middle man in various slave deals. It was about this time that his opposition to slaver cemented, but the constant pro-slavery environment he was also subjected to made him the closet abolitionist he was until much later in life.

He was extremely popular in North and South Carolina, hence the decision to send him as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. Ironically, they never actually asked him about his views, and contrary to general South Carolinian sentiment he was a Federalist, and in opposition to the two other South Carolina delegates, who were both Anti-Federalist. It was at the Convention that he met Peter F. McConnell, who would later become one of his greatest political allies.