Hugh Lawson White

Infobox Senator
name=Hugh Lawson White


jr/sr=United States Senator
state=Tennessee
party=Democratic-Republican, Whig, Democratic
term_start=October 28, 1825
term_end=January 13, 1840
preceded=Andrew Jackson
succeeded=Alexander O. Anderson
date of birth=October 30, 1773
place of birth=Iredell County, North Carolina, USA
date of death=death date and age|1840|4|10|1773|10|30|
place of death=Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
spouse=
profession=Politician, Lawyer, Judge, Banker

Hugh Lawson White (October 30, 1773 – April 10, 1840) was a prominent American politician during the first third of the 19th century. He succeeded General Jackson and served in the United States Senate, representing Tennessee, from 1825 until his resignation in 1840, and was a Whig candidate for President in 1836.

Military service and law

He had served in Tennessee in 1792-93 against the Native Americans. He began to practice law in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1796, and became a judge in 1801. In 1829-30, Senator White was the author of the bill to remove the Native Americans west of the Mississippi. His independent nature and his stern rectitude earned for Judge White the appellation "The Cato of the United States."

Politics

He was at first a strong supporter of President Jackson, but their relationship floundered after the Legislature of Tennessee nominated him for President in 1835. In the election of 1836, he won in Tennessee by more than 10,000 votes. Altogether, he won a total of 26 electoral votes.

Senator White resigned on January 13, 1840 after the General Assembly of Tennessee instructed him to vote for the Sub Treasury Bill, or Independent Treasury Bill. He had been a banker and the president of the Bank of Tennessee from 1812 to 1827. Alexander O. Anderson replaced him in the Senate on February 26, 1840. On April 20, 1840, in the Senate, Senator Anderson announced the death of Hugh L. White. He is interred at First Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Knoxville.

White County, Arkansas was named in his honor.

External links

* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8037500 Hugh Lawson White] at Find A Grave
* [http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/imagegallery.php?EntryID=W050 Hugh Lawson White at the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/hughlawsonwhite00scottrich "A memoir of Hugh Lawson White judge of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, member of the Senate of the United States, etc., etc" by Nancy Scott]

###@@@KEY@@@###U.S. Senator box
state=Tennessee
class=2
before=Andrew Jackson
after=Alexander O. Anderson
alongside=John Eaton, Felix Grundy, Ephraim H. Foster and Felix Grundy
years=October 28, 1825 – January 13, 1840succession box
title=President pro tempore of the United States Senate
before=Littleton W. Tazewell
after=George Poindexter
years=December 3, 1832 – December 15, 1833succession box
title=Whig Party presidential candidate
before="(none)"
after=William Henry Harrison
years=1836 (lost)⁽¹⁾s-ref|The Whig Party ran regional candidates in 1836. White ran in the Southern states, William Henry Harrison ran in the Northern states, and Daniel Webster ran in Massachusetts.