Representative Charles Augustus Barnitz

Charles Augustus Barnitz (September 11, 1780 – January 8, 1850) was an American politician who served as an Anti-Masonic member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania’s 11th congressional district from 1833 to 1835. He was born in York, Pennsylvania, on September 11, 1780, into a community that was emerging as an important regional center in the post-Revolutionary era. Little is recorded about his parents or early family life, but his subsequent professional and political activities indicate that he was raised in an environment that valued education, public service, and engagement in civic affairs.

Details of Barnitz’s formal education are not extensively documented in surviving records, but his later admission to the bar and his participation in public life suggest that he received a solid foundational education typical of aspiring professionals in early nineteenth-century Pennsylvania. Legal training at that time often combined classical studies with apprenticeship under established attorneys, and Barnitz’s eventual legal and political career reflects the influence of this formative period. His early years in York would have exposed him to the legal, commercial, and political currents of a growing town in the new republic.

By the early 1830s, Barnitz had become sufficiently prominent in his community and state to enter national politics. Aligning himself with the Anti-Masonic Party, he was elected to represent Pennsylvania’s 11th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving a single term from March 4, 1833, to March 3, 1835. The Anti-Masonic Party, which arose in the late 1820s in reaction to perceived undue influence and secrecy associated with Freemasonry, was one of the first significant third parties in the United States. Barnitz’s affiliation with this movement placed him within a broader national effort to promote political transparency and to challenge what many of its adherents viewed as entrenched, elitist networks.

During his one term in Congress, Charles Augustus Barnitz contributed to the legislative process at a time when the nation was grappling with issues such as the role of the national bank, internal improvements, and the evolving party system of the Jacksonian era. As a member of the Anti-Masonic Party representing Pennsylvania, he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his constituents in the 11th district, which included communities shaped by both agricultural and emerging industrial concerns. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, and his tenure reflected the brief but notable influence of the Anti-Masonic movement on national politics.

After leaving Congress in 1835, Barnitz did not return to the national legislature, and the Anti-Masonic Party itself soon declined as many of its members and ideas were absorbed into other political organizations, particularly the Whig Party. While detailed records of his later professional activities are limited, it is likely that he resumed private pursuits in Pennsylvania, consistent with the pattern of many one-term representatives of his era who returned to legal, commercial, or local civic roles following their service in Washington.

Charles Augustus Barnitz died on January 8, 1850, closing a life that had intersected with a formative period in the development of the American party system and congressional politics. He was buried in his native Pennsylvania, leaving a legacy as a representative who participated in the early experimentation with third-party politics and who, during his single term in the U.S. House of Representatives, took part in shaping the legislative debates of the Jacksonian period while representing the interests of his constituents in Pennsylvania’s 11th congressional district.