Charles Hammond (lawyer and journalist)

Charles Hammond
from a painting in the office of the Reporter of the Ohio Supreme Court in Columbus
Member of the Ohio Senate from the Belmont County district
In office December 6, 1813 – December 3, 1815
Preceded by	James Caldwell
Succeeded by	John Patterson
Personal details
Born	(1779-09-19)September 19, 1779 Baltimore County, Maryland
Died	April 3, 1840(1840-04-03) (aged 60) Cincinnati, Ohio
Political party	Federalist
Spouse(s)	Sally Tillinghast

Charles Hammond (September 19, 1779 – April 3, 1840) was a lawyer, newspaper editor, and state legislator in Ohio in the early nineteenth century. He attained renown in his time as both a lawyer and a journalist, but was largely neglected later. Hammond is best known today for his role as the intellectual leader of Ohio's ultimately failed opposition to the Second Bank of the United States.

Charles Hammond was born on September 19, 1779 to George and Elizabeth (née Wells) Hammond. The family lived in Baltimore County, Maryland at the time of Hammond's birth, but moved to Brooke County in western Virginia (now in West Virginia) in 1785. After a very brief (two-day) attempt at learning the printing business in 1798, Hammond began studying law under Virginia lawyer Philip Doddridge in 1799.

Hammond received his license to practice law in Virginia in 1801, and later that year acquired a license to practice in the Northwest Territory. In November 1801, he was appointed as prosecuting attorney in Belmont County, Ohio.

In 1804, Hammond moved to Wheeling, where he lived, practiced law, and wrote newspaper essays for five years. He returned to Belmont County in 1809.

In 1813, Hammond began publishing a newspaper, the Ohio Federalist, in St. Clairsville, Ohio. That same year, Hammond was elected to a position in the Ohio Senate, serving a two-year term until 1815. Hammond was elected to the lower house of the Ohio legislature in 1816, and re-elected in 1817, 1818, and 1820.

Hammond did not play a very prominent role as a legislator until controversy arose between Ohio and the Second Bank of the United States. This controversy thrust him into prominence for the next several years.

Together with John Crafts Wright, Hammond represented Ohio and Auditor Ralph Osborn in the litigation that followed on the state's forcible collection of state taxes from the federal Bank. The high-stakes legal wrangling lasted from late 1819 until early 1824, when it came to end with a loss for Hammond in the Supreme Court of the United States in Osborn v. Bank of the United States. Hammond played an important role in the 1824 presidential campaign of Henry Clay - who had been opposing counsel representing the federal Bank in the litigation with Ohio.