[1] Born near Leonardtown, St. Mary's County, Maryland, Harris attended Yale College in the late 1820s, and Harvard Law School from 1829 to 1830.

Harris was removed from Yale after taking part in a student protest against the poor quality of the food in the campus housing.

While serving in the Maryland State House of Delegates, he opposed the Know-Nothing Party and championed religious freedom.

In his defense of Congressman Alexander Long, Harris openly prayed for a southern victory on the floor of the House.

In addition, he was tried by a military court in Washington, D.C. in May 1865 for harboring two paroled Confederate soldiers, and sentenced to three years imprisonment and forever disqualified from holding any office under the United States Government.