James Henderson Blount (September 12, 1837 – March 8, 1903) was an American statesman, soldier and congressman from Georgia. He opposed the annexation of Hawaii in 1893 in his investigation into the American involvement in the political revolution in the

Kingdom of Hawai'i The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the independent islan ...

Early life

Blount was born near Clinton,

Jones County, Georgia Jones County is a county in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,347. The county seat is Gray. The county was created on December 10, 1807, and named after U.S. Representative James Jo ...

. He attended private schools there and in

Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. He graduated from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

at Athens in 1858. He studied law and was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1859. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

he served in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

as a private in the Second Georgia Battalion, Floyd Rifles for two years, and was later

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

for two years.

Political career

Blount served in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

representing the sixth district of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

from 1873 to 1893. He was part of the faction of Southern Democrats known as the

Redeemers The Redeemers were a political coalition in the Southern United States during the Reconstruction era of the United States, Reconstruction Era that followed the American Civil War, Civil War. Redeemers were the Southern wing of the Democratic Par ...

. He was Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Relations (1891–1893).

Hawai'i

After a coup overthrew Queen Lili'uokalani of Hawai'i in early 1893, the new government sought annexation to join the United States. President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

was supportive and sent a treaty to the Senate. His successor, President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

, a Democrat like Blount, opposed annexation and sent Blount, now a private citizen, to investigate. The report he issued on July 17, 1893, is known as the

Blount Report The Blount Report is the popular name given to the part of the 1893 United States House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee Report regarding the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The report was conducted by U.S. Commissioner James ...

. Blount recommended the rejection of annexation and stated that the natives should be allowed to continue their ways. When Blount blamed the U.S. consul for providing assistance for the overthrow, Cleveland proposed to use American military force to overthrow the new government by force and reinstall Liliuokalani as an absolute monarch. When the deposed Queen refused to grant amnesty as a condition of her reinstatement, she was accused of telling an American official she would "behead" the current government leaders and confiscate their property, Cleveland referred the matter to Congress. The U.S. Senate, under Democratic control but angered at being shut out of a major foreign policy issue by Cleveland, then produced its own report, written by Senator

John Tyler Morgan John Tyler Morgan (June 20, 1824 – June 11, 1907) was an American politician was served as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and later was elected for six terms as the U.S. Senator (1877–1907) ...

, a Democrat, and known as the

Morgan Report The Morgan Report was an 1894 report concluding an official U.S. Congressional investigation into the events surrounding the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, including the alleged role of U.S. military troops (both bluejackets and marines) in the ...

. It completely contradicted Blount's findings and found the revolution in Hawaii was a completely internal affair. Following the Turpie Resolution of May 1894, which vowed a policy of non-interference in Hawaiian affairs, Cleveland dropped all talk of reinstating the Queen and went on to officially recognize and maintain diplomatic relations with the

Republic of Hawaii The Republic of Hawaii ( Hawaiian: ''Lepupalika o Hawaii'') was a short-lived one-party state in Hawaii between July 4, 1894, when the Provisional Government of Hawaii had ended, and August 12, 1898, when it became annexed by the United State ...

. Other nations had already recognized the Republic. In 1898 the Republic again sought annexation, which with McKinley's strong support won Congressional approval.

Death

Blount died at the age of 65 in Macon,

Bibb County, Georgia Bibb County is located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, its population was 157,346. Bibb County is geographically located in the Central Georgia (Middle Georgia) region, and is the largest county in the Macon metropolitan a ...

, and was buried at the Rose Hill Cemetery in

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

. He is the namesake to the community of Blount, Georgia.

Notes

References

Retrieved on 2008-02-13
James Henderson Blount - American Rebel Separatist

External links

* *
James Henderson Blount Letters
at the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Blount, James Henderson 1837 births 1903 deaths People from Gray, Georgia United States Department of State officials Confederate States Army officers People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War People associated with the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers University of Georgia alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) American non-fiction writers 19th-century American politicians Writers from Georgia (U.S. state) Deans of the United States House of Representatives