Biography
Edmund Pettus was an American politician who represented Alabama in the United States Senate from 1897 to 1907. He previously served as a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. After the war, he was politically active in the Ku Klux Klan, serving as a grand dragon.
The Edmund Pettus Bridge across the Alabama River in Selma, built-in 1940, was named in his honor. The bridge became a landmark of the American civil rights movement in 1965 when armed Alabama police attacked unarmed peaceful civil rights demonstrators, including John Lewis and Hosea Williams, as they sought to march to the state capital of Montgomery. The incident became known as Bloody Sunday.
Full Name | Edmund Winston Pettus |
Profession | Politician |
Date of Birth & Death Date | July 6, 1821, & July 27, 1907 |
Age | 56 years |
Birth Place & Death Place | Athens, Alabama, United States & Hot Springs, North Carolina, United States |
Zodiac Sign | Unknown |
Nationality | American |
Early Life & Career
Edmund Pettus was born in 1821 in Limestone County, Alabama. He was the youngest of nine children of John Pettus and Alice Taylor Winston, a brother of John J. Pettus, and a distant cousin of Jefferson Davis. He was educated in local public schools and later graduated from Clinton College located in Smith County, Tennessee.
Pettus then studied law in Tuscumbia, Alabama, under William Cooper and was admitted to the state’s bar association in 1842. Shortly afterward he settled in Gainesville and began practicing as a lawyer. On June 27, 1844, Pettus married Mary L. Chapman, with whom he had three sons, two of whom died in infancy, and two daughters. Also that year he was elected solicitor for the seventh Judicial Circuit of Alabama.
Education
There is no information about his education.
School | Unknown |
College/University | N/A |
Age, Height, Weight & Body Measurements
Famous late politician, Edmund Pettus’s body measurement is not available right now. We will update Pettus’s Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size as soon as possible.
Physical Status | |
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Height | Unknown |
Weight | Unknown |
Body Measurements | N/A |
Eye Color | N/A |
Hair Color | N/A |
Shoe Size | N/A |
Dress Size | N/A |
What’s His Relationship Status?
Our team is still unknown about the relationship status of Pettus.
Family
Pettus has not shared any details about his parents. Our team still working, we will update Family, Sibling, Spouse, and Children’s information.
Family | |
Father | John Pettus |
Mother | Alice Taylor Winston |
Sibling | John J. Pettus |
Rumors & Controversy/Scandal
There are no rumors and scandals about Pettus.
Where One Can Follow Him?
Pettus got dead. He does not have any social media account like Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and so on.
Deezer | N/A |
N/A | |
TuneIn | N/A |
YouTube | N/A |
What is Edmund Pettus’s Net Worth?
Jack Nicklaus’s net worth has been growing significantly in 2019-20. So, how much was Edmund Pettus worth? What was Pettus’s salary per year and how rich was he? We have estimated Edmund Pettus net worth, money, income below:
Net Worth in 2020 | Unknown |
Salary in 2020 | Under Review |
Net Worth in 2019 | Under review |
Salary in 2019 | Under Review |
Source of Income | Late Politician |
Later Life
After the war, Edmund Pettus returned to Alabama and resumed his law practice in Selma. Pettus served as chairman of the state delegation to the Democratic National Convention for more than two decades. In 1877, during the final year of Reconstruction, Pettus was named Grand Dragon of the Alabama Ku Klux Klan. With earnings from his law practice, he bought farmland.
In 1896, at the age of 75, Pettus ran for U.S. Senate as a Democrat and won, beating incumbent James L. Pugh. The state legislature, rather than state voters, elected United States Senators then. His campaign relied on his successes in organizing and popularizing the Alabama Klan and his prominent opposition to the constitutional amendments following the Civil War that elevated former slaves to the status of free citizens. Later, on March 4, 1897, he began service in the U.S. Senate. The state legislature re-elected him on 26 January 1903 and 22 January 1907. This term would begin two years later, in 1909.


Pettus died at Hot Springs, North Carolina, in the summer of 1907, at age 86, while still in office and elected for the next term. He is buried in Live Oak Cemetery in Selma.
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Reference: Edmund Pettus