Joseph Inslee Anderson (November 5, 1757 – April 17, 1837) was an American soldier, judge, and politician, who served as a

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

from 1797 to 1815, and later as the First

Comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accountancy, accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior- ...

of the

United States Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current U.S. government departments. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and ...

.Charles Anderson,
Pioneer Federal Judge and Classic 'Roman' Senator: Joseph Inslee Anderson
," ''Tennessee Bar Journal'', Vol. 43, No. 11 (November 2007). Retrieved: July 9, 2015. He also served as one of three judges of the

Southwest Territory The Territory South of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Southwest Territory or the old Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796, when it was ...

in the 1790s, and was a delegate to the Tennessee state constitutional convention in 1796. From January to December 1805, Anderson served as President pro tempore of the United States.

Biography

Early life

Anderson was born at White Marsh, near

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, the son of William Anderson and Elizabeth Inslee. He acquired a good education and studied law. In 1776, following the outbreak of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, he enlisted in the 3rd New Jersey Regiment of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

, and rose to the rank of captain and paymaster in less than two years. Anderson fought at the

Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near the Village of Monmouth Court House, New Jersey, Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey and Manalapan, New Jersey, Manalapan, on J ...

, and was with the army during its difficult 1777 wintering at

Valley Forge Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. It was the t ...

. In 1781, he transferred to the 1st New Jersey Regiment, and fought with this unit at the Battle of Yorktown. At the end of the war, Anderson was discharged with the rank of major. Having studied law before the war, he was admitted to the

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

bar, and practiced law in Delaware from 1784 to 1791. He owned slaves. Anderson was a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. He was a member of Military Lodge No. 19 of Pennsylvania and became a member of Lodge No. 36 while in the New Jersey Brigade. After the war, he was the first Senior Warden of Princeton Lodge No. 38 in Princeton, New Jersey.

Early Tennessee politics

In 1791, President

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

appointed Anderson United States

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

of the newly formed

. He served alongside David Campbell and John McNairy. No records of any of the trials presided over by Anderson survive, with the exception of a 1794 murder trial. This trial, conducted at the Tellico Blockhouse, concerned an Indian charged with killing settler Joseph Ish. In 1792, Anderson married Only Patience Outlaw, the daughter of Tennessee pioneer Alexander Outlaw. His wife's dowry included land along the

Nolichucky River The Nolichucky River is a river that flows through western North Carolina and East Tennessee in the southeastern United States. Traversing the Pisgah National Forest and the Cherokee National Forest in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the river's wate ...

in what is now Hamblen County (but was then a part of Jefferson), where the Andersons built their home, Soldier's Rest. In 1796, Anderson and his father-in-law represented Jefferson County at Tennessee's constitutional convention in Knoxville. Resolutions introduced by Anderson and Outlaw included a motion to sever ties with the United States if Tennessee's petition for statehood was rejected, a motion to implement ''

viva voce ''Viva voce'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "with living voice" but most often translated as "by word of mouth." It may refer to: *Word of mouth *A voice vote in a deliberative assembly *An oral exam ** Thesis defence, in academia *Spoken ev ...

'' voting instead of balloting, and a motion to establish a

unicameral legislature Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

, all of which were rejected. Anderson swore in the new state's first legislature later that year.

United States Senate

In 1797, Anderson was elected by the

Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Tennessee Senate, Senate and a Tennessee House of Representa ...

to fill the vacancy in the Senate created by that body's expulsion of the seat's original occupant,

William Blount William Blount ( ; April 6, 1749March 21, 1800) was an American politician, landowner and Founding Father who was one of the signers of the Constitution of the United States. He was a member of the North Carolina delegation at the Constitution ...

. That term was scheduled to expire on March 3, 1799; however, on December 12, 1798, the Tennessee General Assembly elected Anderson to the state's other (Class 1) Senate seat, which had been vacated by

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

, and was temporarily held by Daniel Smith.Phillip Langsdon, ''Tennessee: A Political History'' (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 29-30, 39-41. Anderson was re-elected to this seat in 1803, and again in 1809. In the latter election, he defeated retiring governor

John Sevier John Sevier (September 23, 1745 September 24, 1815) was an American soldier, frontiersman, and politician, and one of the founding fathers of the State of Tennessee. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, he played a leading role in Tennes ...

by a vote of 23 to 16. Anderson voted against a Senate proposal to have Blount arrested in 1797. He opposed the

Alien and Sedition Acts The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 were a set of four United States statutes that sought, on national security grounds, to restrict immigration and limit 1st Amendment protections for freedom of speech. They were endorsed by the Federalist Par ...

, federal intervention into the issue of slavery, the rechartering of the national bank, and the usage of military force in the

Quasi-War The Quasi-War was an undeclared war from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic. It was fought almost entirely at sea, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States, with minor actions in ...

. He voted in favor of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. In the Eighth Congress (1803–1804), he served as the Senate's president pro tempore.

Later life

After retiring from the Senate, Anderson was appointed Comptroller of the U.S. Treasury, the first to hold that office, by President

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

, and served in that office from 1815 until 1836. He died in Washington on April 17, 1837, and was interred in the

Congressional Cemetery The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street in Washington, D.C., in the Hill East neighborhood on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American ...

Legacy

Anderson's son, Alexander Outlaw Anderson, served as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee from 1840 to 1841, and helped organize the government of the State of California in the early 1850s. Another son, William, served in the state legislature, and a nephew, James W. Deaderick, served as a justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Anderson County, Tennessee Anderson County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in the northern part of the state in East Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 77,123. Its county seat ...

, is named for Joseph Anderson, as well as Andersonville.Tara Mitchell Mielnik,
Anderson County
" ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2009. Retrieved: September 15, 2011.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Joseph 1757 births 1837 deaths Military personnel from Philadelphia Politicians from Philadelphia People from colonial Pennsylvania American politicians of Dutch descent Democratic-Republican Party United States senators from Tennessee Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate Southwest Territory officials American Freemasons Delaware lawyers People from Hamblen County, Tennessee Continental Army officers from New Jersey Burials at the Congressional Cemetery United States senators who owned slaves 19th-century United States senators 18th-century United States senators