Paris C. Dunning
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Paris Chipman Dunning (March 15, 1806 – May 9, 1884) was a Democratic
state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
,
state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...
,
senate president President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for ex ...
pro tempore ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a ''locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence of ...
, the tenth lieutenant governor, and the
ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...
governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of the U.S. state of
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
from December 26, 1848, to December 5, 1849. He is the only person to hold to every elected seat in the state government under the 1816 constitution. His brief term as governor was marked by the calling of a state constitutional convention and overshadowed by the national anti-slavery debate, where Dunning urged state leaders to issue and forward resolutions to Congress expressing opposition to the expansion of slavery. As a delegate to the subsequent convention, he successfully advocated legislative and educational reform. As 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 ...
broke out, he left the Democratic party and declared for the Union, personally raising many companies of soldiers for the war effort. He returned to the state senate during the war, and then resumed his law practice after his term ended. He remained popular in the state, and declined several nominations to run for office after retiring from politics.


Early life


Family and background

Dunning was born in 1806 in Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina, the youngest of the six sons of James and Rachel North Dunning. He attended the nearby Greensboro Academy and graduated at age seventeen. Upon graduation he enrolled in the state university at Chapel Hill to study medicine. After the death of his father, he, his mother, and one older brother moved to
Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...
, where Dunning briefly taught school. There he met Sarah Alexander; the couple married on July 6, 1826, and had four children. He and his wife moved to
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
, for a short time to complete his medical training and then he opened a medical practice in
Rockville, Indiana Rockville is a town in Adams Township, Parke County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 2,607 at the 2010 census. The town is the county seat of Parke County. It is known as "The Covered Bridge Capital of the World". History Rockv ...
. The practice was short lived as he became more interested in law. He returned to his mother and older brother in Bloomington and began to study law in the office of future
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
James Whitcomb James Whitcomb (December 1, 1795 – October 4, 1852) was a Democratic United States senator and the eighth governor of Indiana. As governor during the Mexican–American War, he oversaw the formation and deployment of the state's levies. He l ...
and
Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...
Tilghman A. Howard before being admitted to the bar in 1833. Working in the law office, he met Indiana's Democratic Party leaders, and impressed many of them who saw him as a potential candidate for office.Gugin, p. 107


Public office


Legislator

Dunning was elected to represent
Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...
in the
Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House memb ...
in 1833. He was reelected twice, and served three one years terms, ending in 1836. That year he was elected to the
Indiana State Senate The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms ...
representing Monroe and Brown County. During his years in the Indiana General Assembly, he had voted for the Mammoth Internal Improvement Act that had led the state to bankruptcy in 1841. He served two three year terms before opening his Bloomington law practice in 1840. His exit from elected office was probably related to his support of the improvement act. He continued to be active in the party, and was a
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 ...
in 1844, and cast his vote for
James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...
. In 1846 Whitcomb ran for his second term as governor of Indiana. Whitcomb choose Dunning to run as his Lieutenant Governor, and their ticket won. Dunning served in the position until Whitcomb was elected to the United States Senate in December 1848. Whitcomb resigned from office and Dunning was elevated to his seat.


Governor

Dunning served a brief term, but it was a time of several momentous events in the state. Indiana had just emerged from a period of bankruptcy, and Dunning oversaw the final phase of the process, ensuring the public works were turned over to the state's creditors and that the debt reduction deal was fully carried out. Congress was debating the extension of slavery in the western territories during his term, leading to bitter hostilities between northern and southern leaders. Dunning delivered a speech to the General Assembly in which he condemned the expansion of slavery and called for its gradual elimination. He was the first outspoken anti-slavery governor since William Hendricks, and he recommended the assembly pass a resolution for him to forward to Congress. In response, the assembly passed a strong resolution requesting Indiana's congressional delegation to oppose the expansion of slavery.Gugin, p. 108 Governor Whitcomb had already started a movement in the legislature to call a constitutional convention, and Dunning continued to support the effort to have a ballot initiative to replace the constitution. Dunning left office in 1849 and returned to his law practice.


Later life


Constitutional convention

In 1850, voters approved a ballot to authorize the formation of a constitutional convention to replace the
Indiana Constitution The Constitution of Indiana is the highest body of state law in the U.S. state of Indiana. It establishes the structure and function of the state and is based on the principles of federalism and Jacksonian democracy. Indiana's constitution is su ...
. Dunning was one of the most prominent delegates to attend the convention and took the lead in pushing for several reforms. Among his proposals was a ban on
special legislation Special legislation is a legal term of art used in the United States to refer to legislation that targets an individual or a small, identifiable group for treatment that does not apply to all the members of a given class. A statute is often called ...
, because the legislature had become notorious for passing laws that were only applied to certain counties or towns. Dunning was able to have a clause entered into article 4 of the constitution that required all laws passed by the assembly to be applied uniformly across the entire state, ending the practice.Gugin, p. 109 His position on public schools was also added to article 8 of the constitution. The state's literacy rate had dropped from 90% in 1840, to 80% in 1850, and having served on the board of
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...
between 1841 and 1868, he became aware of the poor condition of public education in the state. His proposals guaranteed equal opportunity for women in public education, something unknown in most of the nation. He also strengthened the free common school cause by requiring the state to fund the public school system, while allowing local school boards to maintain control of their districts' curriculum, hiring, and school arrangements.


Final years

Dunning was nominated by the Democratic party to run for Congress in 1856, but he declined primarily due to the fractured nature of the party at that time. He, along with a large part of the party, was at odds with its state leadership who were sympathetic to the south. In 1860 he did accept a nomination to be a delegate to the party's convention in
Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
, and the second convention held in
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. In both convention he voted in favor of Stephen Douglas, and favored compromise on the slavery issue. When 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 ...
finally broke out in the next year, Dunning publicly declared himself for the Union and set to work raising companies of men for the war effort. In the end, he was personally responsible to the recruitment of nearly two full regiments of men.Gugin, p. 110 In 1861, he left the Democratic party, and was reelected to the state senate as an Independent and supported the Republican governor throughout the war. Governor Oliver P. Morton had a stroke in 1865, and traveled to Europe for treatment and
Conrad Baker Conrad Baker (February 12, 1817 – April 28, 1885) was an American attorney, military officer, and politician who served as state representative, 15th lieutenant governor, and the 15th governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from 1867 to 1873. B ...
became acting governor. Dunning was then elected president pro tempore of the senate to fill Baker's place. Dunning's wife died in 1863 and Dunning remarried to the widow of Allen Ashford on September 17, 1865. When his term in the Senate ended in 1867, he was nominated to run again, but declined. He declined a second offer to run for Congress in 1868, preferring to remain in his law practice. Dunning gained a national reputation as a lawyer, and was committed to criminal law. His reputation was such that his clients were "assured of success when he was on the case." Dunning continued to be active in public affairs, despite refusing to take public office. He continued to be active in his law practice, hearing cases until a week before his death. Dunning died on May 9, 1884, aged 78, in
Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...
, and is buried there in Rose Hill Cemetery.Gugin, p. 111


See also

* List of governors of Indiana


References

Notes Bibliography * * *


External links


Biography and Portrait from Indiana State LibraryParis Dunning at FindAGrave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunning, Paris C. Governors of Indiana Indiana Democrats 1806 births 1884 deaths Methodists from Indiana Indiana state senators Members of the Indiana House of Representatives Lieutenant Governors of Indiana Politicians from Bloomington, Indiana People from Greensboro, North Carolina Indiana lawyers Delegates to the 1851 Indiana constitutional convention Indiana Independents Democratic Party governors of Indiana 19th-century American politicians