Thomas Amos Rogers Nelson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Thomas Amos Rogers Nelson
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 1st district |
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| In office March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861 Prisoner of War during 37th U.S. Congress |
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| Preceded by | Albert Galiton Watkins |
| Succeeded by | Nathaniel Green Taylor |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 19, 1812 Roane County, Tennessee, United States |
| Died | August 24, 1873 (aged 61) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Resting place | Old Gray Cemetery Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Political party | Whig Party Opposition Party Unionist Party Democratic Party |
| Spouses | Anne Stuart Mary Jones |
| Children | 11 |
| Alma mater | East Tennessee College |
| Profession | Attorney, Politician, Judge |
Thomas Amos Rogers Nelson (born March 19, 1812 – died August 24, 1873) was an important American lawyer, politician, and judge. He was active mainly in East Tennessee in the mid-1800s. He served in the U.S. Congress from 1859 to 1861, representing Tennessee's 1st Congressional District. There, he became known as a strong supporter of the Union (the United States) even though he was from the South.
Nelson was elected for a second term in 1861, just before the Civil War began. However, he was arrested by Confederate officials and could not take his seat.
Even in the 1830s, Nelson was known as a good campaigner for the Whig Party. But he didn't run for office until 1859 because of his family. In December 1859, Nelson became famous around the world for a powerful speech he gave against states leaving the Union (called secession). He was also the president of the East Tennessee Convention, where he worked to keep Tennessee in the Union. After his arrest, he tried to stay neutral.
After the war, Nelson disagreed with some strong policies of his friend, Governor William G. Brownlow. Nelson used his position on the state supreme court to change many of Brownlow's rules. Nelson also helped defend President Andrew Johnson during Johnson's impeachment trial in 1868. He was elected to the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1870.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Thomas Nelson was born on Eskridge Farm in Roane County, Tennessee. He was the second son of David Nelson, a farmer, and Phoebe White Nelson. When he was just 14 years old in 1826, he gave a speech in Knoxville supporting the rights of Native Americans.
He graduated from East Tennessee College (which is now the University of Tennessee) in 1828. He then studied law in Knoxville with Thomas L. Williams. After he became a lawyer in 1832, he moved to Elizabethton to start his law practice.
In Elizabethton, Nelson actively supported the Whig Party. He was made acting district attorney in 1833. He also campaigned for Whig presidential candidate Hugh Lawson White in 1836. Around 1839, Nelson met William G. "Parson" Brownlow. Nelson encouraged Brownlow to start a newspaper that supported the Whig Party. This newspaper, called Brownlow's Whig, later became very important in the Southern United States.
Around 1840, Nelson moved his law practice to Jonesborough. He stayed there for 20 years. On October 29, 1840, he had a debate with a rising politician from the Democratic Party, Andrew Johnson. They were campaigning for different presidential candidates, and the debate ended in a tie. In 1846, Nelson successfully defended Brownlow in a well-known trial where Brownlow was accused of libel (writing false and harmful things). Whig leaders often asked Nelson to run for office, but he always said no. He felt that the salaries for officeholders were not enough to support his large family.
In 1851, Nelson was offered a job as a commissioner to China, but he turned it down for the same reason. Later that year, some representatives in the state legislature tried to get Nelson appointed to the U.S. Senate. However, the legislature chose James C. Jones instead.
Serving in Congress (1859-1861)
In 1859, Thomas Nelson finally ran for the 1st Congressional District seat in Tennessee. He ran against Landon Carter Haynes. They had a very tough campaign, debating each other many times. Nelson won by a small number of votes.
On December 7, 1859, Nelson gave a very strong speech in the House of Representatives. He spoke against states leaving the Union. His speech received "loud applause" from everyone watching. When another congressman, Roger Atkinson Pryor, criticized Nelson for talking about the Union more than the Constitution, Nelson replied:
"If I am not mistaken, the common feeling of those who want to leave the South is that they talk about the Constitution, but say nothing about the Union. When I talk about the Union, what am I talking about? I am talking about the very thing that comes from the American Constitution."
After more debate, Pryor seemed to have no answer. Nelson was seen as a hero by those in the House who supported the Union. Newspapers praised his speech, calling it powerful and important. The issue of states leaving the Union was the main topic for the rest of Nelson's time in Congress. He spoke against both ending slavery and states leaving the Union. He also served on a special committee that tried to find a way to keep the country together.
The Civil War Years
When the debate about states leaving the Union became very intense after Abraham Lincoln was elected president in November 1860, Nelson worked hard to keep Tennessee in the Union. On April 27, 1861, people who supported the Union and those who supported the Confederacy held rallies in Knoxville. Nelson spoke at the pro-Union rally alongside Andrew Johnson.
In the following weeks, Nelson, Johnson, Brownlow, and Horace Maynard traveled across East Tennessee. They gave many speeches, encouraging people in the region to reject leaving the Union. While Tennessee voted to leave the Union on June 8, most counties in East Tennessee strongly supported the Union.
On May 30, Nelson was chosen as president of the East Tennessee Convention. This group met to discuss forming a separate state in East Tennessee. At the convention's meeting in June, Nelson suggested a plan to create such a state and to fight against Confederate control if needed. Other leaders, like Oliver Perry Temple and John Netherland, thought this was too extreme. They chose a plan to ask the state legislature for separation without threatening to fight. However, the legislature said no and sent Confederate troops to control the region.
Nelson was reelected to Congress in 1861. He tried to travel to Washington, D.C., to take his seat. But while he was in Kentucky, Confederate officials captured him and put him in jail in Richmond. Confederate president Jefferson Davis ordered Nelson to be released. Nelson agreed not to oppose the Confederate government, and he returned home to Jonesborough.
In 1862, he wrote an article in the Knoxville Register saying he was against the Emancipation Proclamation (which declared many enslaved people free). However, he still followed Ambrose Burnside's Union forces to Knoxville in late 1863.
While in Knoxville, Nelson wrote several poems about his experiences during the war. One of them was published as Secession, Or Prose in Rhyme and East Tennessee, A Poem. In April 1864, at a meeting of the East Tennessee Convention, Nelson led a group that wanted to rejoin the Union but still did not support ending slavery. This caused disagreements with Brownlow and Maynard, who both supported Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation. Nelson supported George B. McClellan in the presidential election of 1864.
Later Life and Legal Career
In the late 1860s, Nelson continued to disagree with the strong policies of his old friend Brownlow, who was now the governor. Nelson sided with Andrew Johnson, who was then president. After the House of Representatives voted to try to remove Johnson from office in 1868, Johnson asked Nelson to join his defense team. For almost two days, Nelson explained why the charges against Johnson were wrong. The Senate then voted to find Johnson not guilty on May 16.
Back in Tennessee, Nelson signed a request asking the state's judges to ignore Brownlow's attempts to prevent former Confederates from voting. Brownlow criticized most of the people who signed the request, but he remained friendly with Nelson. In 1870, Nelson was elected to the Tennessee Supreme Court. He helped to change many of the decisions made by the judges who came before him.
In 1871, Nelson's son, David, was involved in a serious incident in Knoxville. Nelson convinced his son to turn himself in and helped him get out of jail by paying a large amount of money. Brownlow, who was now a senator, also helped with this. Nelson resigned from his position on the state supreme court to focus on his son's trial. In May 1873, David Nelson was found not guilty.
Thomas Nelson gave a speech at the opening of Staub's Theatre in Knoxville on October 1, 1872. He spent his last years giving advice to local politicians and teaching Sunday school at Knoxville's Second Presbyterian Church. He became sick in August 1873 and passed away on August 24. He is buried in an unmarked grave in Old Gray Cemetery.
