Hugh Lawson White (October 30, 1773April 10, 1840) was a prominent American
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
during the first third of the 19th century. After filling in several posts particularly 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 ...
's judiciary and state legislature since 1801, thereunder as a
Tennessee Supreme Court
The Tennessee Supreme Court is the ultimate judicial tribunal of the state of Tennessee. Roger A. Page is the Chief Justice.
Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general is directly elected or appointed by the governor or state leg ...
justice, he was chosen to succeed former presidential candidate
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
in the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
in 1825. He became a member of the new
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
, supporting Jackson's policies and his future presidential administration. However, he left the Democrats in 1836 and was a
Whig candidate in that year's
presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pre ...
.
[Mary Rothrock, ''The French Broad-Holston Country: A History of Knox County, Tennessee'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1972), pp. 501-502.]
An ardent
strict constructionist
In the United States, strict constructionism is a particular legal philosophy of judicial interpretation that limits or restricts such interpretation only to the exact wording of the law (namely the Constitution).
Strict sense of the term
...
and lifelong states' rights advocate, White was one of President Jackson's most trusted allies in Congress in the late 1820s and early 1830s.
[Nancy Scott, ]
A Memoir of Hugh Lawson White
' (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott and Company, 1856). White fought against the national bank, tariffs, and the use of federal funds for
internal improvements
Internal improvements is the term used historically in the United States for public works from the end of the American Revolution through much of the 19th century, mainly for the creation of a transportation infrastructure: roads, turnpikes, canal ...
,
and led efforts in the Senate to pass the
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States President Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for ...
of 1830.
In 1833, at the height of the
Nullification Crisis, White, as the Senate's
president pro tempore, coordinated negotiations over the
Tariff of 1833
The Tariff of 1833 (also known as the Compromise Tariff of 1833, ch. 55, ), enacted on March 2, 1833, was proposed by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun as a resolution to the Nullification Crisis. Enacted under Andrew Jackson's presidency, it was ...
.
Suspicious of the growing power of the presidency, White began to distance himself from Jackson in the mid-1830s, and realigned himself with
Henry Clay and the burgeoning Whig Party.
He was eventually forced out of the Senate when Jackson's allies, led by
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...
, gained control of the Tennessee state legislature and demanded his resignation.
Biography
Early life
White was born in what is now
Iredell County, North Carolina
Iredell County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 186,693. Its county seat is Statesville, and its largest town is Mooresville. The county was formed in 1788, subtracted from R ...
(but then part of
Rowan County), the eldest son of
James White and Mary Lawson White.
James, a Revolutionary War veteran, moved his family to the Tennessee frontier in the 1780s, and played an active role in the failed
State of Franklin.
[William MacArthur, Lucile Deaderick (ed.), "Knoxville's History: An Interpretation," ''Heart of the Valley: A History of Knoxville, Tennessee'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1976), p. 13.] In 1786, he constructed
White's Fort, which would eventually develop into
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...
.
Young Hugh was a sentinel at the fort and helped manage its small gristmill.
In 1791, White's Fort was chosen as the capital of the newly created
Southwest Territory
The Territory South of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796, when it was admitted to the United States a ...
, and James White's friend,
William Blount
William Blount (March 26, 1749March 21, 1800) was an American Founding Father, statesman, farmer and land speculator who signed the United States Constitution. He was a member of the North Carolina delegation at the Constitutional Convention o ...
, was appointed governor of the territory. Hugh Lawson White worked as Blount's personal secretary,
and was tutored by early Knoxville minister and educator,
Samuel Carrick
Samuel Czar Carrick (July 17, 1760 – August 17, 1809) was an American Presbyterian minister who was the first president of Blount College, the educational institution to which the University of Tennessee traces its origin. Milton M. KleinUT's ...
.
In 1793, he fought in the territorial militia under
John Sevier
John Sevier (September 23, 1745 September 24, 1815) was an American soldier, frontiersman, and politician, and one of the founding fathers of the State of Tennessee. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, he played a leading role in Tennes ...
during the
Cherokee–American wars
The Cherokee–American wars, also known as the Chickamauga Wars, were a series of raids, campaigns, ambushes, minor skirmishes, and several full-scale frontier battles in the Old Southwest from 1776 to 1794 between the Cherokee and American se ...
.
Historian
J. G. M. Ramsey credited Hugh Lawson White's company with the killing of the
Chickamauga Cherokee
The Chickamauga Cherokee refers to a group that separated from the greater body of the Cherokee during the American Revolutionary War. The majority of the Cherokee people wished to make peace with the Americans near the end of 1776, following se ...
war chief, King Fisher, and White's granddaughter and biographer, Nancy Scott, stated that White fired the fatal shot.
White studied law in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, under James Hopkins, and was admitted to the bar in 1796.
Two years later, he married Elizabeth Carrick, the daughter of his mentor, Samuel.
The judiciary and early political career
In 1801, White was appointed judge of the Superior Court of Tennessee, then the state's highest court.
In 1807, he resigned after being elected to the
state legislature.
He left the state legislature in 1809, following his appointment to the state's Court of Errors and Appeals (which replaced the Superior Court as the highest court).
He resigned this position in 1815 when he was elected to the
state senate
A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...
.
He served in the state senate until 1817. As a state legislator, White helped reform the state's land laws,
and engineered the passage of an anti-
dueling measure.
In 1812, White was named president of the Knoxville branch of the Bank of Tennessee.
White was described as a very cautious banker,
and his bank was one of the few in the state to survive the
Panic of 1819
The Panic of 1819 was the first widespread and durable financial crisis in the United States that slowed westward expansion in the Cotton Belt and was followed by a general collapse of the American economy that persisted through 1821. The Panic ...
.
In 1821, President
James Monroe
James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...
appointed White to a commission to settle claims against
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, following the
Adams-Onís Treaty in which that nation sold Florida to the United States.
United States Senate
![Hugh-lawson-white-leutze1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Hugh-lawson-white-leutze1.jpg)
In 1825, the Tennessee state legislature chose White to replace Andrew Jackson in the United States Senate (Jackson had resigned following his failed run for the presidency in 1824).
White spearheaded the Southern states' opposition to sending delegates to 1826
Congress of Panama
The Congress of Panama (also referred to as the Amphictyonic Congress, in homage to the Amphictyonic League of Ancient Greece) was a congress organized by Simón Bolívar in 1826 with the goal of bringing together the new republics of Latin Americ ...
, which was a general gathering of various nations in the Western Hemisphere, many of which had declared their independence from Spain and abolished slavery.
White argued that if the U.S. attended the congress, it would violate the commitment to neutrality put forth by President Washington decades earlier, and stated that the nation should not get involved in foreign treaties merely for the sake of "gratifying national vanity."
Following Jackson's election to the presidency in 1828, White became one of the Jackson Administration's key congressional allies.
White was chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, which drew up the
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States President Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for ...
of 1830, a major initiative of Jackson.
The act called for the relocation of the remaining Native American tribes in the southeastern United States to territories west of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
and would culminate in the so-called
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...
.
In an 1836 speech, White described himself as a "strict constructionist,"
arguing that the federal government could not pass any laws outside its powers specifically stated in the Constitution. Like many Jacksonians, he was a staunch states' rights, advocate.
He opposed the
national bank
In banking, the term national bank carries several meanings:
* a bank owned by the state
* an ordinary private bank which operates nationally (as opposed to regionally or locally or even internationally)
* in the United States, an ordinary p ...
,
and rejected federal funding for internal improvements (which he believed only the states had the power to fund).
He also supported Jackson's call for the elimination of the
Electoral College.
A slaveowner himself,
he and opposed federal intervention into the issue of slavery.
Like most Southern senators, White opposed the
Tariff of 1828
The Tariff of 1828 was a very high protective tariff that became law in the United States in May 1828. It was a bill designed to not pass Congress because it was seen by free trade supporters as hurting both industry and farming, but surprising ...
, which placed a high tax on goods imported from overseas to protect growing northern industries. White argued that while the federal government had the power to impose tariffs, it should only do so when it benefited the nation as a whole, and not merely one section (i.e., the North) at the expense of another (i.e., the agrarian South, which relied on trade with England).
During the resulting
Nullification Crisis in late 1832 and early 1833, as the Senate's
president pro tempore (the leader of the Senate in the absence of the Vice President), White coordinated negotiations in the interim between the resignation of Vice President
John C. Calhoun (December 28, 1832) and the swearing in of Vice President Martin Van Buren (March 4, 1833).
Vice President Calhoun's resignation put White
next in line to assume the presidency should that office have become vacant.
1836 presidential election
Toward the end of Jackson's first term, a rift developed between White and Jackson. In 1831, as Jackson reshuffled his cabinet in the aftermath of the
Petticoat affair
The Petticoat affair (also known as the Eaton affair) was a political scandal involving members of President Andrew Jackson's Cabinet and their wives, from 1829 to 1831. Led by Floride Calhoun, wife of Vice President John C. Calhoun, these wo ...
, White was offered the office of
Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
but turned it down.
During the Nullification Crisis in February 1833, White angered Jackson by appointing Delaware senator and Clay ally
John M. Clayton to the select committee to consider the Clay compromise.
In later speeches, White stated that the Jackson Administration had drifted away from the party's core states' rights principles, and argued that the executive was gaining too much power.
At the end of Jackson's second term, the Tennessee state legislature endorsed White for the presidency in 1835. This angered Jackson, as he had chosen
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...
as his successor. White stated that no sitting president should choose a successor, arguing that doing so was akin to having a monarchy.
In 1836, White left Jackson's party entirely, and decided to run for president as a candidate for the Whig Party led by
Henry Clay, which had mainly formed from opposition to Jackson but also continued the nationalist agenda of the
National Republican Party, although this very contradicting position in regard to White's ideals was not yet determined at that time, as the party was still regionally factionalized.
In the
1836 presidential election, the Whig Party, unable to agree on a candidate, ran four candidates against Van Buren: White,
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...
,
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison ...
, and
Willie Person Mangum
Willie Person Mangum (; May 10, 1792September 7, 1861) was a U.S. Senator from the state of North Carolina between 1831 and 1836 and between 1840 and 1853. He was one of the founders and leading members of the Whig party, and was a candidate for ...
. Jackson actively campaigned against White in Tennessee, and accused him of being a
federalist who was opposed to states' rights.
In spite of this, White won Tennessee, as well as Georgia, giving him 26
electoral votes, the third highest total behind Van Buren's 170 and Harrison's 73.
Later career
By 1837, the relationship between White and Jackson had turned hostile. Jackson was outraged when he learned that White had accused his administration of committing outright fraud, and stated in a letter to
Adam Huntsman that White had a "lax code of morals."
Jackson's allies such as
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...
,
Felix Grundy
Felix Grundy (September 11, 1777 – December 19, 1840) was an American politician who served as a congressman and senator from Tennessee as well as the 13th attorney General of the United States.
Biography
Early life
Born in Berkeley Cou ...
, and
John Catron
John Catron (January 7, 1786 – May 30, 1865) was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1837 to 1865, during the Taney Court.
Early and family life
Little is known of Catro ...
, also turned against White and blamed him for the dispute with Jackson.
White stood by his accusations and blasted Jackson for making "useless expenditures" of public money,
and increasing the power of the presidency.
By the late 1830s, Jackson's allies had gained control of the Tennessee state legislature. After White refused their demand that he vote for the
Subtreasury Bill, he was forced to resign on January 13, 1840.
Following a large banquet in Washington, White returned to his native Knoxville. His entry into the city was marked by the firing of cannons and the ringing of church bells, as he paraded through the streets on horseback.
Shortly after his return, White fell ill, and he died on April 10, 1840. A large funeral procession led his casket and
riderless horse
A riderless horse or riderless motorcycle (which may be caparisoned in ornamental and protective coverings, having a detailed protocol of their own) is a single horse or a motorcycle, without a rider, without keys, without a license plate and with ...
through the streets of Knoxville.
He is interred with his family in the
First Presbyterian Church Cemetery
The First Presbyterian Church Graveyard is the oldest graveyard in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Established in the 1790s, the graveyard contains the graves of some of Knoxville's most prominent early residents, including territorial gov ...
.
Personality and style
White believed strongly in the principles of strict constructionism and a limited federal government and voted against fellow Jacksonians if he felt their initiatives ran counter to these principles.
[Jonathan Atkins,]
Hugh Lawson White
" ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2009. Retrieved: September 9, 2011. His independent nature and his stern rectitude earned him the appellation "The
Cato of the United States." His congressional colleague,
Henry Wise, later wrote that White's "patriotism and firmness" as the Senate's president pro tempore was key to resolving the Nullification Crisis.
White believed that being on the public payroll obligated him to attend every Senate meeting, no matter the issue.
Felix Grundy
Felix Grundy (September 11, 1777 – December 19, 1840) was an American politician who served as a congressman and senator from Tennessee as well as the 13th attorney General of the United States.
Biography
Early life
Born in Berkeley Cou ...
recalled that White once departed Knoxville in the middle of a driving snowstorm to ensure he made it to Washington in time for the Senate's fall session.
Senator
John Milton Niles
John Milton Niles (August 20, 1787 – May 31, 1856) was a lawyer, editor, author and politician from Connecticut, serving in the United States Senate and as United States Postmaster General 1840 to 1841.
Biography
Born in Windsor, Connecticut ...
later wrote that White was often "the only listener to a dull speech."
White prided himself on being the most punctual member of the Senate and was usually the first senator to arrive at the Capitol on days when the Senate was in session.
Senator
Ephraim H. Foster
Ephraim Hubbard Foster (September 17, 1794September 6, 1854) was an American politician, who twice served as a United States Senator from Tennessee. During his political career, he was a member of the Whig Party.
Biography
Foster was born nea ...
once told a story about waking up well before sunrise one morning, determined to beat White to the Capitol at least once in his career, and arriving only to find White in the committee room analyzing some papers.
Family and legacy
![Hugh-lawson-white-pocket-watch-tn1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Hugh-lawson-white-pocket-watch-tn1.jpg)
White's father, James White (1747–1820), was the founder of Knoxville, Tennessee. His brothers-in-law included surveyor
Charles McClung
Charles McClung (May 13, 1761 – August 9, 1835) was an American pioneer, politician, and surveyor best known for drawing up the original plat of Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1791. While Knoxville has since expanded to many times its original s ...
(1761–1835), who platted Knoxville in 1791, Judge
John Overton John Overton may refer to:
People
* John Overton (printseller) (1640–1713), seller of prints and maps who succeeded Peter Stent
*John Overton (priest) (1763–1838), English clergyman
* John Overton (judge) (1766–1833), judge at the Superior Co ...
(1766–1833), the co-founder of
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, and Senator
John Williams (1778–1837).
White and his first wife, Elizabeth Carrick, had 12 children, two of whom died in infancy.
Between 1825 and 1831, eight of their surviving ten children died of
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
.
Their lone surviving son, Samuel (1825–1860), served as mayor of Knoxville in 1857.
White's farm lay just west of Second Creek in Knoxville. In the late 19th century, this became a land development area known as "White's Addition."
[Don Akchin and Lisa Akchin, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for Fort Sanders Historic District, March 4, 1980.] The area is now part of the University of Tennessee campus and the
Fort Sanders neighborhood.
White County, Arkansas
White County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 77,076. The county seat is Searcy. White County is Arkansas's 31st county, formed on October 23, 1835, from portions of Independence, Ja ...
was also named in his honor.
Our Rich History
, White County, Arkansas website. Retrieved: September 9, 2011.
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
*
A memoir of Hugh Lawson White
' – a biography of White written by his granddaughter, Nancy Scott
*
, -
, -
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Hugh Lawson
1773 births
1840 deaths
People from Iredell County, North Carolina
People of colonial North Carolina
American people of Scotch-Irish descent
Tennessee Democratic-Republicans
Jacksonian United States senators from Tennessee
Democratic Party United States senators from Tennessee
National Republican Party United States senators from Tennessee
Whig Party United States senators from Tennessee
Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate
Whig Party (United States) presidential nominees
Candidates in the 1836 United States presidential election
Tennessee state senators
United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Tennessee
Justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court
District attorneys in Tennessee
Tennessee lawyers
American slave owners
Politicians from Knoxville, Tennessee
United States senators who owned slaves