Thomas Montague Gunter (September 18, 1826 – January 12, 1904) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. Born near McMinnville,

Warren County, Tennessee Warren County is a County (United States), county located on the Cumberland Plateau in Middle Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of the United States of America, U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census ...

, Gunter pursued classical studies and was graduated from Irving College in 1850. He studied law and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1853 and commenced practice in Fayetteville, Washington County, Arkansas, in 1853. During 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 ...

, Gunter served in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

as colonel of the Thirteenth Regiment, Arkansas Volunteers. Gunter served as prosecuting attorney for the fourth judicial circuit from 1866 to 1868. 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, Thomas Gunter disputed the 1872 general election of Republican William W. Wilshire to the Forty-third Congress for the Third Congressional District, and after a lengthy review by the Committee on Elections, he was declared the winner and rightful occupant of the seat, ultimately taking the oath on June 16, 1874. Gunter was subsequently elected to the Forty-fourth Congress for the Fourth Congressional District of Arkansas and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from June 16, 1874, to March 3, 1883. He served as chairman of the Committee on Private Land Claims (Forty-fourth through Forty-sixth Congresses). During his time in Congress, Gunter was a strong proponent of tribal sovereignty. In objection to an 1880 removal agreement with the Utes of Colorado, Gunter proclaimed that "The Government has 'treated' with the Indians as the owners of the soil...In doing this we have always respected the tribe or communal relation. We have given these lands to the 'tribes' not to the individual. The experiment has worked well. The Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles settled in the Indian Territory are now classed as 'civilized tribes.'" In the same speech, Gunter argued that "under the communal system of land ownership we have seen the Indians gradually passing from the nomadic through the pastoral life to a higher civilization." In this moment Gunter opposed the push toward forcing Native peoples to take on individual allotments (which would see most of their lands taken by citizens of the United States). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1882. He resumed the practice of law in

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

, and died there January 12, 1904. He was interred in Evergreen Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunter, Thomas Montague 1826 births 1904 deaths Confederate States Army officers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives