Harvey Magee Watterson (November 23, 1811 – October 1, 1891) was an American lawyer, newspaper editor, and politician. Watterson was what his only child Henry later described as an "undoubting

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

of the schools of

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and Jackson",Marse Henry: An Autobiography. Volume I
from a UNC-Chapel Hill website active in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

politics at both the state and federal level.

Biography

Watterson was born in

Bedford County, Tennessee Bedford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 50,237. Its county seat is Shelbyville. Bedford County comprises the Shelbyville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also inc ...

. He pursued classical studies, studied law at Cumberland College in

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, was admitted to the

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, and commenced practice in Shelbyville,

Career

Watterson established and edited a newspaper in Shelbyville in 1831. He was a member of the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

in 1835. Elected as a

to the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Congresses, representing

's ninth district in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, Watterson served from March 4, 1839 to March 3, 1843. His son Henry described those years in his autobiography: :Immediately succeeding Mr. Polk, and such a youth in appearance, he attracted instant attention. His father, my grandfather, allowed him a larger income than was good for him — seeing that the ''

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'' then paid Congressmen was altogether insufficient — and during the earlier days of his sojourn in the national capital he cut a wide swath; his principal yokemate in the pleasures and dissipations of those times being

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

, at first a representative and then a senator from New Hampshire. Fortunately for both of them, they were whisked out of Washington by their families in 1843. Watterson was sent by President John Tyler on a diplomatic mission to

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, where he remained for two years. From 1845 to 1847, he was a member of the Tennessee Senate and served as speaker. The editor and proprietor of the ''Nashville Union'' from 1847 to 1851, Watterson was also the editor of the ''Washington Union'' starting in 1851. With his friend Pierce's election as President of the United States in 1853, the ''Washington Union'' became the "organ of the Administration." Again according to Watterson's son, the two's "rather conspicuous frivolity" resumed: : e national capital was still rife with stories of their escapades. One that I recall had it that on a certain occasion returning from an excursion late at night my father missed his footing and fell into the canal that then divided the city, and that Pierce, after many fruitless efforts, unable to assist him to dry land, exclaimed, "Well, Harvey, I can't get you out, but I'll get in with you," suiting the action to the word. And there they were found and rescued by a party of passers, very well pleased with themselves. Watterson was a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

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in 1860, and was a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

on the

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ticket for that year's presidential election. After the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, he was appointed by President

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

as one of a commission to investigate the behavior in the states "lately in rebellion." Watterson practiced law in Washington, D.C. for fourteen years. He moved to

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

and was a member of the editorial staff of the '' Louisville Courier-Journal'', the newspaper founded by his son Henry.

Death

Watterson died in Louisville on October 1, 1891. He is interred at Cave Hill Cemetery.

References

External links

October 1865 letter from Watterson to President Johnson
from the website of the Georgia Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watterson, Harvey Magee 1811 births 1891 deaths Cumberland College (Princeton, Kentucky) alumni Democratic Party Tennessee state senators Democratic Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives American newspaper editors Tennessee lawyers Lawyers from Washington, D.C. 1860 United States presidential electors Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American politicians The Courier-Journal people 19th-century American lawyers