Representative Innis Green

Innis Green (February 26, 1776 – August 4, 1839) was a Jacksonian Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. He was born in Hanover Township in the Province of Pennsylvania, then a part of British North America, during the closing years of the colonial era. Little is recorded about his family background, but his early life in Hanover Township placed him within the agrarian and small-town society of central Pennsylvania that would later shape his political constituency and outlook.

Green pursued an academic course as a young man, reflecting the educational path commonly followed by aspiring professionals in the early Republic. He studied law, preparing for a career in the legal profession at a time when formal law schools were rare and legal training was typically obtained through apprenticeship and independent study. After completing his legal studies, he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Pennsylvania, building a professional reputation that would lead to his later judicial and political appointments.

Green’s legal career advanced significantly when he entered the judiciary of Pennsylvania. In 1818, Governor William Findlay appointed him associate judge of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. As an associate judge, he participated in the administration of justice at the county level, handling civil and criminal matters in a period when local courts were central to community governance. He served in this judicial capacity until October 23, 1827, when he resigned from the position, a decision that coincided with his transition into national legislative service.

Green was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twentieth Congress and reelected to the Twenty-first Congress, serving two consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history marked by the rise of Andrew Jackson and the consolidation of the Democratic Party. As a member of the Jackson Party representing Pennsylvania, Innis Green contributed to the legislative process during his two terms in office, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents in debates over federal power, economic policy, and the evolving party system of the 1820s. His alignment with the Jacksonian movement placed him among those advocating for a more populist, states’ rights–oriented vision of American democracy.

Following the conclusion of his congressional service, Green returned to judicial duties in his home state. He was reappointed associate judge of Dauphin County and resumed his role on the county bench. In this capacity, he continued to influence local legal affairs and public life, serving in the judiciary through the late 1830s. His combined experience as a lawyer, judge, and congressman reflected the intertwined nature of legal and political careers in early nineteenth-century America.

Innis Green remained in Dauphin County for the rest of his life. He died in Dauphin, Pennsylvania, on August 4, 1839, while still serving as associate judge. He was interred in Dauphin Cemetery. His career, spanning law, county judgeship, and two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, placed him among the Jacksonian Democratic figures who helped shape Pennsylvania’s role in the national politics of the early Republic.