John Berrien served as U.S. attorney general from 1829 to 1831 under President Andrew Jackson. Berrien had previously served as a Georgia legislator and judge and as a U.S. Senator. Following his removal from the Jackson cabinet, he reentered politics and later served again in the U.S. Senate.

Berrien was born on August 23, 1781, near Princeton, New Jersey, but grew up in Savannah, Georgia, after his father purchased several plantations. He graduated from Princeton University in 1796 and then studied law with a Georgia lawyer before being admitted to the Georgia bar in 1799. Berrien started a private law practice but left in 1809 when he was elected solicitor of the eastern circuit of Georgia. The following year he was elected a judge of the eastern circuit, a position he held until 1821. He also served as a captain of the Georgia Hussars, a volunteer company, in the War of 1812.

Berrien's interests...