Pleasant Moorman Miller
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Pleasant Moorman Miller, (unknown birth - 1849) was an American politician who represented
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 ...
in the
United States 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
.


Biography

Miller was born the son of a tavern owner in Lynchburg,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. Miller studied law under Judge Archibald Stewart of Staunton before moving to
Rogersville, Tennessee Rogersville is a town in, and the county seat of, Hawkins County, Tennessee, Hawkins County, Tennessee, United States. It was settled in 1775 by the grandparents of Davy Crockett. It is named for its founder, Joseph Rogers (pioneer), Joseph Roger ...
, in 1796. Following his move from Rogersville to
Knoxville 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's ...
in 1800, where he practiced law with Thomas Emmerson, Miller was married to Mary Louisa Blount, daughter of Tennessee statesman
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 of ...
. He became known as one of the best criminal trial lawyers in Tennessee because of his wit and oratorical skills.


Career

Elected chairman, Miller served as one of the commissioners for the government of Knoxville in 1801 and 1802. He was a leader of the Blount-Jackson political faction, and 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 Eleventh Congress, which lasted from March 4, 1809 to March 4, 1811. He moved to
west Tennessee West Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions (Tennessee), Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that roughly comprises the western quarter of the state. The region includes 21 counties between the Tennessee River, Tennessee and Miss ...
in approximately 1824 and was chancellor of that
division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
in 1836 and 1837. In 1811 Miller was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives and helped secure the creation of the Bank of the State of Tennessee. He resigned in 1812 to serve in the first Seminole War and enlisted again in 1814 in the Creek Indian War. Again elected to the Tennessee House from 1817 to 1823, he emerged as a champion of squatter rights, helped secure passage of legislation stabilizing Tennessee banks and currency during the Depression of 1819, and sponsored major judicial reform. In 1822 he introduced the resolution nominating Andrew Jackson for the presidency. To manage his extensive land holdings and law practice, Miller moved to Jackson; became a tireless organizer of the Whig Party, and was elected by the legislature as the first chancellor of West Tennessee in 1836, he served until resigning in 1837 in order to campaign for Whig candidates.


Death

In 1847 Miller moved to Trenton in Gibson County, where he died in 1849, and is interred at
Trenton, Tennessee Trenton is the county seat and fourth largest city of Gibson County, Tennessee, Gibson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 4,264 at the 2010 census, down from 4,683 in 2000. History Trenton was established in 1824 as a county se ...


References


External links


Tennessee Historical SocietyBiographical Directory of the United States Congress

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Pleasant Moorman 1849 deaths Year of birth missing Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee