George Graham Vest (December 6, 1830August 9, 1904) was a U.S. politician. Born in Frankfort,

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 ...

, he was known for his skills in

oration Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

and debate. Vest, a lawyer as well as a politician, served as a Missouri Congressman, a Confederate Congressman during the Civil War, and finally a

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 powe ...

. Vest was best known during his lifetime for his "

a man's best friend A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

" closing arguments from the trial in which damages were sought for the killing of a dog named Old Drum on October 18, 1869. But his greatest legacy is as the apparent originator of the phrase "

history is written by the victors Philosophy of history is the philosophical study of history and its discipline. The term was coined by French philosopher Voltaire. In contemporary philosophy a distinction has developed between ''speculative'' philosophy of history and ''crit ...

.” While its origin is not definitively known, Vest used it to promote the

Lost Cause of the Confederacy The Lost Cause of the Confederacy (or simply Lost Cause) is an History of the United States, American pseudohistorical historical negationist, negationist mythology that claims the cause of the Confederate States during the American Civil Wa ...

Early life and career

Vest graduated from

Centre College Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is ...

Danville, Kentucky Danville is a home rule-class city in Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 Census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes ...

, in 1848 and from the law department of

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

, in 1853. He was admitted to the bar in 1853 and planned to move to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. However, while en route, he stopped in

Pettis County, Missouri Pettis County is a county located in west central U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the population was 42,201. Its county seat is Sedalia. The county was organized January 24, 1833, and named after former U.S. Representative Spen ...

, where he defended a young

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

man accused of murder. Vest's client was acquitted but soon

burned at the stake Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...

by an angry mob. Vest's own life was also threatened, but he nonetheless decided to stay in Missouri permanently, settling in Georgetown. In 1854 he married Sallie Sneed of

. They had three children, two sons and a daughter.

Initial public service

In 1860, after moving to

Boonville, Missouri Boonville is a city and the county seat of Cooper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 7,964 at the 2020 census. The city was the site of a skirmish early in the Civil War, on July 17, 1861. Union forces defeated the Missouri Stat ...

, he was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives and served as a Democratic

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 ...

. As a Missouri representative he was chairman of the Committee on Federal Relations. Vest served in the House until late 1861 during which he wrote the Vest Resolutions in which he denounced coercion of the South. When 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 ...

broke out Vest was a strong advocate of maintaining slavery during the

Missouri secession During the American Civil War, the secession of Missouri from the Union was controversial because of the state's disputed status. Missouri was claimed by both the Union and the Confederacy, had two rival state governments, and sent representativ ...

crisis, and eventually sided with the Confederacy. He proposed the

Secession Ordinance An Ordinance of Secession was the name given to multiple resolutions drafted and ratified in 1860 and 1861, at or near the beginning of the Civil War, by which each seceding Southern state or territory formally declared secession from the United ...

that was passed by the Missouri legislature in October 1861. The following year, he briefly served as

judge advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that provi ...

with the Army of Missouri, commanded by former Governor

Sterling Price Major-General Sterling "Old Pap" Price (September 14, 1809 – September 29, 1867) was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Western and Trans-Mississippi theaters of the American Civil War. Prior to ...

. He served in the House of Representatives of the

Confederate Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the Provisional government, provisional and permanent Legislature, legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned w ...

from February 1862 to January 12, 1865, when he resigned, having been appointed to fill a vacancy in the

Confederate Senate The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned with measures to establish a new nat ...

Old Drum

After the war he returned to Pettis County moving to

Sedalia, Missouri Sedalia is a city located approximately south of the Missouri River and, as the county seat of Pettis County, Missouri, United States, it is the principal city of the Sedalia Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had ...

, and resumed his law practice. It was at this time in 1869 that Vest was asked to represent Charles Burden and Old Drum in the case that would make him famous, ''Burden v. Hornsby''. Vest took the case tried on September 23, 1870, in which he represented a client whose hunting dog, a

foxhound A foxhound is a type of large hunting hound bred for strong hunting instincts, a keen sense of smell, and their bark, energy, drive, and speed. In fox hunting, the foxhound's namesake, packs of foxhounds track quarry, followed—usually on hor ...

named Drum (or Old Drum), had been killed by a sheep farmer, Leonidas Hornsby. The farmer (Burden's brother-in-law) had previously announced his intentions to kill any dog found on his property; the dog's owner was suing for damages in the amount of $150 (), the maximum allowed by law. During the trial, Vest stated that he would "win the case or apologize to every dog in Missouri." Vest's

closing argument A closing argument, summation, or summing up is the concluding statement of each party's counsel reiterating the important arguments for the trier of fact, often the jury, in a court case. A closing argument occurs after the presentation of eviden ...

to the jury made no reference to any of the testimony offered during the trial, and instead offered a eulogy of sorts. Vest's "Eulogy of the Dog" is one of the most enduring passages of

purple prose In literary criticism, purple prose is overly ornate prose text that may disrupt a narrative flow by drawing undesirable attention to its own extravagant style of writing, thereby diminishing the appreciation of the prose overall. Purple prose i ...

in American courtroom history (only a partial transcript has survived): Vest won the case (the jury awarded $50 to the dog's owner) and also won its appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court. A bust of the dog resides in the Missouri Supreme Court building in

Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the princip ...

. In 1958, a statue of the dog was erected on the Johnson County Courthouse lawn containing a summation of Vest’s closing speech, “A man’s best friend is his dog.”

Movie depictions

The speech has been used in movies which are set in Missouri and involve sheep owners who allegedly shoot the dog but are then shot themselves by the dog's owners, who are then tried for murder. * ''

The Voice of Bugle Ann ''The Voice of Bugle Ann'' is a 1936 American drama film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Lionel Barrymore and Maureen O'Sullivan. It was based on a novel of the same name by MacKinlay Kantor. Plot synopsis The countrymen in the hil ...

'' – 1936 * ''Tribute to the Dog'', episode 9, season 13 of ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...

'' (TV series), featuring

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

in the role of George Vest – 1964 * ''The Trial of Old Drum'' – 2000

U.S. Senate

In 1877 Vest moved to

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, where he was elected two years later in 1879 to the United States Senate. He was chairman on the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds (

Fifty-third Congress The 53rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1893, ...

) and served on the Committee on Epidemic Diseases (

Fifty-fourth Congress The 54th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1895, ...

), Committee on Public Health and National Quarantine (Fifty-fourth through Fifty-seventh Congresses). He was re-elected for three more terms in 1885, 1891 and 1897 and remained a

US 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 powe ...

until March 4, 1903, when he retired from public life due to ill health.

Defender of Yellowstone

In 1882, Vest became aware of concession abuses and outright attempts at uncontrolled monopolies being proposed for

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

concessions by the railroads and other businessmen. He introduced and eventually helped pass legislation that required the Secretary of Interior to submit concession and construction contracts to the Senate for oversight thus stifling potential corruption and abuses. Throughout the remainder of his Senate career, Vest was considered the "Self-appointed Protector of Yellowstone National Park."

Death

On August 9, 1904, Vest died at his summer home in

Sweet Springs, Missouri Sweet Springs is a city in Saline County, Missouri, United States, along the Blackwater River. The population was 1,484 at the 2010 census. History Sweet Springs was originally named "Brownsville", and under the latter name was platted in 1838. ...

, the last living Confederate States Senator. He was buried at

Bellefontaine Cemetery Bellefontaine Cemetery is a nonprofit, non-denominational cemetery and arboretum in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1849 as a rural cemetery, Bellefontaine is home to a number of architecturally significant monuments and mausoleums such as the ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

Notes

External links

*, loosely based on the Old Drum case * *
A Tribute to the Best Friend of Man: Eulogy of the Dog
' (Violet Press 2008) A verbatim transcript of the speech read into the Congressional Record in 1916, newly illustrated by Jackie Ehle * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Vest, George Graham 1830 births 1904 deaths Centre College alumni Confederate States of America senators 19th-century American politicians Democratic Party United States senators from Missouri Deputies and delegates to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Missouri Politicians from Frankfort, Kentucky People from Sedalia, Missouri Politicians from Kansas City, Missouri Transylvania University alumni Burials at Bellefontaine Cemetery People from Sweet Springs, Missouri