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Thomas Amos Rogers Nelson (March 19, 1812 – August 24, 1873) was an American attorney, politician, and judge, active primarily in
East Tennessee East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 coun ...
during the mid-19th century. He represented Tennessee's 1st Congressional District in the 36th U.S. Congress (1859–1861), where he gained a reputation as a staunch pro-Union southerner. He was elected to a second term in 1861 on the eve of the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...
, but was arrested by
Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
authorities before he could take his seat. As early as the 1830s, Nelson had gained a reputation as an effective Whig Party campaigner, but due to family considerations, he did not run for office until 1859. In December of that year, Nelson gained international renown for an explosive anti-
secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...
speech he delivered before Congress. As president of the
East Tennessee Convention The East Tennessee Convention was an assembly of Southern Unionist delegates primarily from East Tennessee that met on three occasions during the Civil War. The convention most notably declared the secessionist actions taken by the Tennessee sta ...
, Nelson campaigned to keep Tennessee in the Union, but maintained a neutral position after his arrest. After the war, Nelson opposed the radical initiatives of his long-time friend, Governor William G. Brownlow, and used his position on the state supreme court to overturn many of Brownlow's policies. Nelson served on the defense team of President
Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...
during Johnson's impeachment trial in 1868, and was elected to the
Tennessee Supreme Court The Tennessee Supreme Court is the highest court in the state of Tennessee. The Supreme Court's three buildings are seated in Nashville, Knoxville, and Jackson, Tennessee. The Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, and four justice ...
in 1870.Thomas Alexander, "Strange Bedfellows: The Interlocking Careers of T.A.R. Nelson, Andrew Johnson, and W.G. (Parson) Brownlow," East Tennessee Historical Society ''Publications'', No. 24 (1952), pp. 68-91.


Early life

Nelson was born on Eskridge Farm in rural
Roane County, Tennessee Roane County is a County (United States), county of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 2010 United States Census, census, the population was 53,404. Its county seat is Kingston, Tennessee, Kingston. Roane County is included in the Knox ...
, the second son of farmer and land agent David Nelson and his wife, Phoebe White Nelson. In 1826, at the age of just 14, he delivered a speech in defense of Native American rights before the First Presbyterian Church in
Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...
. He graduated from East Tennessee College (now the
University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...
) in 1828, and studied law in Knoxville under Thomas L. Williams. After his admission to the bar in 1832, he moved to Elizabethton to practice law. In Elizabethton, Nelson took an active role in the promotion of Whig ideals. He was appointed acting district attorney in 1833, and campaigned on behalf of Whig presidential candidate
Hugh Lawson White Hugh Lawson White (October 30, 1773April 10, 1840) was an American politician during the first third of the 19th century. After filling in several posts particularly in Tennessee's judiciary and state legislature since 1801, thereunder as a Tenn ...
in 1836. Around 1839, Nelson met William G. "Parson" Brownlow, and encouraged him to start a pro-Whig newspaper. In subsequent decades, this newspaper, commonly called
Brownlow's Whig The ''Whig'' was a polemical American newspaper published and edited by William Gannaway Brownlow, William G. "Parson" Brownlow (1805–1877) in the mid-nineteenth century. As its name implies, the paper's primary purpose was the promotion a ...
, grew to become one of the most influential and controversial papers in the Southern United States. Brownlow's rival,
Landon Carter Haynes Landon Carter Haynes (December 2, 1816 – February 17, 1875) was an American politician who served as a Confederate States senator from Tennessee from 1862 to 1865. He also served several terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives, incl ...
, read law with Nelson in the late 1830s. Around 1840, Nelson moved his practice to Jonesborough in Washington County, where he would remain for two decades. On October 29, 1840, he debated rising Democratic politician
Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...
to a draw as the two campaigned for
William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causin ...
and
Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...
, respectively. In 1846, Nelson successfully defended Brownlow from a
libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
charge in a well-publicized trial prosecuted by future
Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
judge
West Humphreys West Hughes Humphreys (August 26, 1806 – October 16, 1882) was the 3rd Attorney General of Tennessee and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, the United States District Co ...
. Whig officials consistently encouraged Nelson to run for office, but Nelson always declined, stating that officeholders' salaries were inadequate to support his family. In 1851, Nelson was appointed commissioner to China, but again declined the appointment due to inadequate salary. Later that year, East Tennessee representatives in the state legislature made a vigorous push to have Nelson appointed to the U.S. Senate, but the legislature chose James C. Jones instead.


Congressional term, 1859 - 1861

In 1859, Nelson ran against Haynes for Tennessee's 1st Congressional District seat. After a fierce campaign that saw the candidates debate one another several dozen times, Nelson edged Haynes by a narrow margin. On December 7 of that year, in response to a series of pro-secession speeches by Southern
Fire-Eaters In American history, the Fire-Eaters were a loosely aligned group of radical pro-secession Democrats in the antebellum South who urged the separation of the slave states into a new nation, in which chattel slavery and a distinctive "Southern ci ...
before the House of Representatives earlier that day, Nelson delivered a powerful pro-Union speech that provoked "loud applause" from the House floor and gallery.
Oliver Perry Temple Oliver Perry Temple (January 27, 1820 – November 2, 1907) was an American attorney, author, judge, and economic promoter active primarily in East Tennessee in the latter half of the 19th century.Mary Rothrock, ''The French Broad-Holston Country: ...
,
Mary Boyce Temple Mary Boyce Temple (July 6, 1856 – May 16, 1929) was an American philanthropist and socialite, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was the first president of the Ossoli Circle, the oldest ...
(compiler), ''Notable Men of Tennessee'' (New York: The Cosmopolitan Press, 1912), pp. 142-143.
Responding to Nelson, Virginia congressman Roger Pryor mocked the fact that Nelson mentioned only the Union and not the Constitution, as though he adored the former more than the latter. Nelson shot back:
"If I mistake not, it is the common sentiment of the secessionists of the South, that they talk about the Constitution, but say nothing about the Union. When I talk about the Union, what do I talk about? I talk about that thing which is the result of the American Constitution."
After further debate, Pryor was visibly stumped, and Nelson was hailed as a hero by the House's pro-Union faction. The ''Baltimore Patriot'' reported that Nelson's speech "fell like a thunderbolt on the House," while the pro-Democrat '' Louisville Courier'' warned that the Fire-Eaters may have awakened "the wrong passenger." ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' (of London) called Nelson's speech "the highest product of American oratory." The secession issue dominated the remainder of Nelson's congressional term. He spoke against both abolitionism and secession, and was a member of the House Committee of 33 on reconciliation.


Civil War

As the secession debate reached a fevered pitch in the wake of
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
's election in November 1860, Nelson campaigned vigorously to keep Tennessee in the Union. On April 27, 1861, pro-Union and pro-Confederate factions held simultaneous rallies at opposite ends of Gay Street in Knoxville, and Nelson spoke alongside Andrew Johnson at the pro-Union rally.Robert McKenzie, ''Lincolnites and Rebels: A Divided Town in the American Civil War'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), pp. 71, 82, 194, 203. In subsequent weeks, Nelson, Johnson, Brownlow and
Horace Maynard Horace Maynard (August 30, 1814 – May 3, 1882) was an American educator, attorney, politician and diplomat active primarily in the second half of the 19th century. Initially elected to the House of Representatives from Tennessee's 2nd Cong ...
canvassed East Tennessee, delivering hundreds of speeches and encouraging the region's residents to reject secession. While Tennessee voted to secede on June 8, most counties in East Tennessee remained solidly pro-Union. On May 30, Nelson was named president of the East Tennessee Convention, which met to discuss forming a separate state in East Tennessee. At the convention's June meeting, Nelson proposed a resolution that would create such a state, and violently resist Confederate occupation, if necessary. Other delegates, led by
Oliver Perry Temple Oliver Perry Temple (January 27, 1820 – November 2, 1907) was an American attorney, author, judge, and economic promoter active primarily in East Tennessee in the latter half of the 19th century.Mary Rothrock, ''The French Broad-Holston Country: ...
and John Netherland, rejected this as too extreme, and adopted a resolution petitioning the legislature for separation without threatening violent resistance. Nevertheless, the legislature rejected the petition, and dispatched Confederate troops to occupy the region. Nelson was reelected to Congress in 1861, and attempted to travel to Washington, D.C., to take his seat. While passing through Kentucky, however, he was captured by Confederate authorities, and jailed in
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
. Confederate president
Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...
ordered Nelson released, however, after Nelson agreed not to oppose the Confederate government, and Nelson returned to his home in Jonesborough. He published an article in the '' Knoxville Register'' in 1862 expressing his opposition to the
Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the eff ...
, but nevertheless followed
Ambrose Burnside Ambrose Everts Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the American Civil War and a three-time Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successfu ...
's Union forces to Knoxville in late 1863. While in Knoxville, Nelson wrote several poems about his wartime experiences, one of which was published as ''Secession, Or Prose in Rhyme and East Tennessee, A Poem''. In April 1864, at a meeting of the revived East Tennessee Convention, Nelson led a faction which called for a return to the Union, but still rejected the abolition of slavery. This brought him into conflict with Brownlow and Maynard, who both supported Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation. Nelson supported
George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey and as Commanding General of the United States Army from November 1861 to March 186 ...
in the presidential election of 1864.


Later life

In the late-1860s, Nelson continued to oppose the
Radical Republican The Radical Republicans were a political faction within the Republican Party originating from the party's founding in 1854—some six years before the Civil War—until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Reconstruction. They ca ...
policies of his long-time friend Brownlow, who was now governor, and aligned himself with Johnson, now president. After the House voted to impeach Johnson in 1868, Johnson asked Nelson to join his defense team at his impeachment trial in April of that year. For nearly two days, Nelson gave a point-by-point refutation of the impeachment charges, and the Senate voted to acquit Johnson on May 16. Back in Tennessee, Nelson signed a petition calling on the state's judges to ignore Brownlow's attempts to
disenfranchise Disfranchisement, also disenfranchisement (which has become more common since 1982) or voter disqualification, is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing someo ...
former Confederates. Brownlow blasted most of the petition's signers, but remained cordial in his disagreements with Nelson. In 1870, Nelson was elected to the Tennessee Supreme Court, and helped overturn many of the decisions of his Radical Republican predecessors. On September 27, 1871, Nelson's son, David, shot and killed Alabama attorney James Holt Clanton on Gay Street in Knoxville. Nelson convinced his son to surrender, and posted his $25,000 bond (which was signed by Brownlow, who was now a senator). Nelson resigned his position on the state supreme court to focus on his son's trial. On May 30, 1873, David Nelson was acquitted of the charge of murder. Nelson delivered the dedicatory address at the opening of Staub's Theatre in Knoxville on October 1, 1872,East Tennessee Historical Society, Lucile Deaderick (ed.), ''Heart of the Valley: A History of Knoxville, Tennessee'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1976), p. 464. and spent his last years advising local politicians and teaching Sunday school at Knoxville's Second Presbyterian Church. He contracted
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
in late August 1873, and died on August 24. He is interred in an unmarked grave in Old Gray Cemetery.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Thomas Amos Rogers 1812 births 1873 deaths People from Roane County, Tennessee Tennessee Whigs Opposition Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Tennessee Oppositionists Tennessee Unionists Tennessee Democrats Politicians from Knoxville, Tennessee Justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court Tennessee lawyers Members of the defense counsel for the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson Southern Unionists in the American Civil War University of Tennessee alumni People from Elizabethton, Tennessee 19th-century Tennessee state court judges Members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves American proslavery activists American prisoners and detainees 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives