John Smith (July 30, 1824) was one of the first two

U.S. senator 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 power ...

s from the state of

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. He reluctantly resigned from the Senate under charges of alleged complicity in the

Burr conspiracy The Burr conspiracy was a plot alleged to have been planned by Aaron Burr in the years during and after his term as Vice President of the United States under US President Thomas Jefferson. According to the accusations against Burr, he attempted to ...

. Little is known of his early life. There are conflicting reports on the location of his birth, with some sources saying he was born in the

Province of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (hist ...

, and others saying

Hamilton County, Ohio Hamilton County is located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 830,639, making it the third-most populous county in Ohio. The county seat and largest city is Cincinnati. The county ...

(which did not exist until 1790); the identity of his parents are unknown. He prepared for the ministry, and was pastor of the Baptist Church at

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

, Miami Purchase, Northwest Territory, during the 1790s which some sources credit as the first Baptist Church in modern Ohio. He then began a profitable business supplying military posts near

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

. He also ran multiple grain mills. In 1799 Smith along with his agent

Reuben Kemper Reuben Kemper (February 21, 1771 – January 29, 1827) was an American pioneer and filibuster. Kemper and West Florida Born in Fauquier County, Virginia, Kemper and his brothers Nathan and Samuel settled in Feliciana Parish, near Baton Rouge, ...

were the first US-based merchants to ship to Baton Rouge, taking nearly $10,000 worth of goods, primarily fine clothing and house furnishings. He was a member of the Northwest Territorial legislature 1799–1803 and a delegate to the Ohio state constitutional convention in 1802. He was a leader of a group that supported statehood in opposition to the Territorial Governor

Arthur St. Clair Arthur St. Clair ( – August 31, 1818) was a Scottish-American soldier and politician. Born in Thurso, Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office. During ...

. Upon the admission of Ohio as a State into the Union, he was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

to 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 po ...

and served in the 8th, 9th and

10th 10 (ten) is the even natural number following 9 and preceding 11. Ten is the base of the decimal numeral system, by far the most common system of denoting numbers in both spoken and written language. It is the first double-digit number. The re ...

Congresses (1803–1808). While in the Senate, Smith continued his profitable trading ventures in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

and

West Florida West Florida ( es, Florida Occidental) was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. As its name suggests, it was formed out of the western part of former S ...

and pursued numerous land investment ventures. In 1805, former Vice President

Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...

sought his support in organizing a military expedition against

Spanish Florida Spanish Florida ( es, La Florida) was the first major European land claim and attempted settlement in North America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, ...

. Although Smith claimed he had no interest in Burr's plot to force secession of Spanish territories, he agreed to provide supplies for the proposed expedition. When President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

later issued an alert, charging that Burr's actual purpose was an invasion of Mexico, Smith responded patriotically by financing weapons to defend against the Burr expedition and delivering those weapons to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. These travels caused him to miss weeks of Senate sessions and led the Ohio legislature to charge him with dereliction of duty and to demand his resignation. Although Smith ignored that demand, he found his troubles increasing as a court in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, indicted him in mid-1807 for participating in Burr's conspiracy. As he traveled to Richmond, he learned that the charges against him were dropped after the court acquitted Burr on a technicality. But on December 31, 1807, a Senate committee chaired by

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States ...

recommended that Smith be expelled from the Senate. A trial was held in 1808, with Adams leading the attack. Smith was defended by

Francis Scott Key Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779January 11, 1843) was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet from Frederick, Maryland, who wrote the lyrics for the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner". Key observed the British bombardment ...

and

Robert Goodloe Harper Robert Goodloe Harper (January 1765January 14, 1825), was an American politician and a federalist. He was a member of the United States Senate from Maryland, serving from January 1816 until his resignation in December of the same year. He also ...

, who argued that Smith may have been naive, but was not a traitor. The expulsion resolution fell one vote short of the required two-thirds majority. Smith resigned on April 25, the last day that Congress was in session for the year. Smith had enjoyed a close friendship with President

early in his Senate career, though that relationship was ruined, along with Smith's political career, by his implication in the Burr treason. Smith was forced into bankruptcy and later moved to St. Francisville, Louisiana, where he served as a Methodist preacher. The ''History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County Ohio'', published in 1894, indicates that Smith died in

on June 10, 1816, although this is apparently incorrect, since an obituary and later sources agree on his death in 1824 in St. Francisville, Louisiana.

References

External links and sources

Online Text of ''History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County Ohio''
published 1894

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, John 1735 births 1824 deaths Democratic-Republican Party United States senators History of Ohio Northwest Territory House of Representatives Northwest Territory officials Ohio Constitutional Convention (1802) Ohio Democratic-Republicans People from St. Francisville, Louisiana United States senators from Ohio

See also

References

External links and sources