John DeWitt Clinton Atkins (June 4, 1825 – June 2, 1908) was an American slave owner, politician and a member of both 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and

Confederate Congress 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 na ...

from

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 ...

Biography

Johnathan Atkins was born at Manly's Chapel, Tennessee, in Henry County the son of Johnathan Atkins and Sarah (Manley) Atkins. He attended a private school in Paris, Tennessee, graduated from

East Tennessee University The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

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' ...

in 1846. John studied law, and was admitted to the bar, but John did not practice, instead of engaging in agricultural pursuits. He owned slaves. John married Elizabeth Bacon Porter on November 23, 1847. After her death in 1887, John married Flora Crawford on June 24, 1890.

Career

Johnathan Atkins was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1849 to 1851. John served in the

Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue rega ...

from 1855 to 1857. John was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Thirty-fifth Congress by Tennessee's 9th congressional district. John served from March 4, 1857 to March 3, 1859, but John was not a successful candidate for re-election to the

Thirty-sixth Congress The 36th 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, 1859, ...

. During 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 ...

, Johnathan Atkins served as lieutenant colonel of the Fifth Tennessee Regiment in the Confederate Army in 1861. John was a delegate to the

Confederate Provisional Congress The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, also known as the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America, was a congress of deputies and delegates called together from the Southern States which became the governing body ...

in November 1861. John then was elected to the

First Confederate Congress The 1st Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, met from February 18, 1862, to February 17, 1864, during the first two years of Jefferson Davis's presidency, a ...

and was reelected in 1863 to the

Second Confederate Congress The 2nd Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, met from May 2, 1864, to March 18, 1865, during the last year of Jefferson Davis's presidency, at the Virginia ...

. During the last days of the war in February 1865 as the South neared defeat, Atkins urged the Confederate government to purchase "one hundred thousand slaves" and give them to each Confederate soldier to increase their strength on the battlefield. Following the war, J. D. Atkins was elected as a

to the Forty-third and the four succeeding Congresses by

Tennessee's 7th congressional district The 7th congressional district of Tennessee is a congressional district located in parts of Middle and West Tennessee. It has been represented by Republican Mark E. Green since January 2019. Current boundaries The district is located in both W ...

, and then by the 8th congressional district after reapportionment. John served from March 4, 1873, to March 3, 1883. The Tennessee Historical Commission describes him as key to defeating

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

, saying he was "instrumental in obtaining removal of Federal troops from the South." During the Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Congresses, John was the chairman of the

United States House Committee on Appropriations The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Comm ...

. John was not a candidate for renomination in 1882. Johnathan Atkins again engaged in agricultural pursuits near Paris, Tennessee in Henry County. John was appointed United States Commissioner of Indian Affairs by President

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

on March 21, 1885, and John served until June 13, 1888, when John resigned. During his tenure as commissioner, Johnathan Atkins forbade the use of Native languages in reservation schools, stating in 1887 that "instruction of the Indians in the vernacular is not only of no use to them but it is detrimental to the cause of their education and civilization". He was an unsuccessful Democratic nomination for

United States 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 ...

in 1888. John returned to agricultural pursuits; retired from active pursuits in 1898, and moved to Paris, Tennessee.

Death

Johnathan Atkins lived there in retirement until his death on June 2, 1908 (age 82 years, 364 days). John is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

at City Cemetery in Paris, Tennessee. A family friend who developed Atlanta's Atkins Park neighborhood named it in honor of the colonel.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, John Dewitt Clinton 1825 births 1908 deaths People from Henry County, Tennessee Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Deputies and delegates to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Tennessee Democratic Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Democratic Party Tennessee state senators American slave owners 19th-century American politicians University of Tennessee alumni Confederate States Army officers People of Tennessee in the American Civil War