Newton Cannon

Not to be confused with Newton's Cannon or Newton's cannonball.

Newton Cannon (May 22, 1781 – September 16, 1841) was an American politician who was a member of the Tennessee State Senate from 1811 to 1812 and 1829 to 1830, the U.S. House of Representatives from 1814 to 1817 and 1819 to 1823, and Governor of the U.S. state of Tennessee from 1835 to 1839.^[1][2]

Early life

Born in Guilford County, North Carolina, Cannon was the son of Minos Cannon, who served as a soldier in the Continental Army. The family moved to the area that later became Williamson County, Tennessee, around 1790.^[2][3]

Following a common school education, Newton Cannon tried several occupations as a young man, working as a saddler, merchant and surveyor, and undertaking the study of law, before eventually becoming a planter in Williamson County.^[2][4]

Political career

Cannon entered political office in 1811, representing Williamson, Rutherford, Maury, Bedford, Lincoln, and Giles counties in the state senate in the 9th Tennessee General Assembly (1811-1812).^[2][5] He served in the Creek War of 1813 as a colonel in the Tennessee Mounted Rifles.^[6]

In 1813 he was a candidate for United States House of Representatives, losing the election to Felix Grundy. He won election to the seat as a Democratic Republican the following year, however, in a special election held after Grundy resigned. Cannon was later re-elected to a full term in the House, serving from September 16, 1814, to March 3, 1817. In 1819 he accepted an assignment from President James Monroe to negotiate a treaty with the Chickasaw.^[6] He was again elected to the U.S. House for the 16th Congress and won re-election to the 17th Congress, serving from March 4, 1819, to March 3, 1823.^[1][2][7]

Cannon first sought the Tennessee governorship in 1827, losing to Sam Houston. Subsequently he returned to the General Assembly as a state senator, representing Rutherford and Williamson counties in the 18th General Assembly (1829-1830).^[2][5] He was elected as a delegate to the Tennessee Constitutional Convention of 1834, at which he served as chairman of the Committee of the Whole. When he ran for governor again in 1835, he won easily, defeating incumbent William Carroll. Carroll had been a popular governor, but he was seeking a fourth consecutive two-year term in spite of a provision of the state constitution that limited a governor to three terms.^[2][8] Carroll maintained that the gubernatorial term limit in the state's original constitution no longer applied because the 1834 constitution replaced the original constitution, but Cannon argued that the 1834 constitution was a revision rather than a replacement for the original constitution.^[9] Cannon's view apparently prevailed with the voters. Cannon's election was also aided by division among Tennessee Democrat-Republicans over the U.S. Presidential candidacy of Tennessee Hugh Lawson White in opposition to the national party's choice of Martin Van Buren.^[2][7]

An opponent of the policies of Andrew Jackson, Cannon was the first member of the Whig Party to be elected governor of Tennessee. He became the first governor to benefit from increased powers given to the office by the state constitution of 1834. As governor, in 1836 he convened the first special session of the legislature in state history. Cannon was re-elected to a second term as governor in 1837. In his second term as governor, both houses of the General Assembly were controlled by Whigs, and the legislature approved proposals to create a new state bank and to expand state support for internal improvements such as roads, railroads, and canals.^[2][6][7] An advocate for public education, Cannon designated some revenues from the state bank to pay for schools.^[2][10] Cannon was publicly criticized for his implementation of the new laws.^[2] He failed to win a third term as governor, losing the election of 1839 by just 2,500 votes to a Jackson supporter, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives James K. Polk, who later was to become President of the United States.^[1][2] Cannon had initially been favored in the 1839 election, but he lacked skill in public speaking and Polk outshone him as a campaigner.^[2][7] Cannon wanted to run against Polk in 1841, but Whig leaders instead nominated James C. Jones, thinking that Cannon would not be able to defeat Polk.^[7]

Opposition to Andrew Jackson

Throughout his political career, Newton Cannon was known for his personal and political antagonism toward Andrew Jackson, whose policies he consistently opposed. Three different supposed interactions between the two men all have been suggested as explanations for the origin of Cannon's antipathy to Jackson.^[7][10] The earliest of these interactions involved a horse track known as Clover Bottom that Jackson owned^[11] together with a pair of brothers, William and Patten Anderson. Cannon is purported to have lost substantial amounts of money and other possessions from gambling at Clover Bottom, and is said to have blamed Jackson and the Andersons for his losses, suspecting them of fixing races.^[7][10] The second encounter occurred in 1812, when Cannon served on a jury in a trial for one of three brothers who were accused of murder in the death of Patten Anderson. After the jury returned a verdict of not guilty, Jackson is said to have shaken his fist at Cannon, saying "I'll mark you, young man." Perhaps the most compelling explanation is Cannon's disapproval of General Jackson's military leadership when he served as a detachment leader under Jackson's command during the Creek War. Cannon is said to have believed that Jackson had deliberately exposed Cannon and his men to unnecessary dangers.^[7][10]

Death and burial

Cannon died in Nashville at the age of 60 in 1841, just two years after his last candidacy for governor. He was interred in a cemetery on the grounds of his estate in Williamson County near Allisona.^[1]

Family

Cannon was married twice. In 1813, he married Leah Pryor Perkins. She died in 1816. In 1818, he married Rachel Starnes Willborn.^[12]

He was the father of ten children.^[6] A daughter, Rachel Adeline Cannon Maney, was for many years an owner of the Oaklands estate in Murfreesboro.^[13] The Civil War journals of a grandson, also named Newton Cannon, were published in 1963 as The Reminiscences of Newton Cannon: First Sergeant, 11th Tennessee Cavalry, C.S.A.^[14]

Legacy

Cannon County, Tennessee, which was established during Cannon's governorship, is named in his honor.^[15]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Newton Cannon at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} Jonathan M. Atkins. "Newton Cannon", in Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture (online edition). Last accessed June 3, 2011.
3. ^ John Trotwood Moore and Austin Powers Foster (1923), Tennessee: the volunteer state, 1769-1923, The S. J. Clarke publishing company. Page 25.
4. ^ Portrait of Newton Cannon, Tennessee Portrait Project website, accessed May 27, 2011
5. ^ ^{a b} Diane Black, Tennessee Senators, Territorial General Assembly 1794 to 106th General Assembly, 2009-10, Tennessee State Library and Archives.
6. ^ ^{a b c d} Governor's Information: Tennessee Governor Newton Cannon, National Governors Association website, 2004. Accessed May 31, 2011.
7. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Mark Eaton Byrnes (2001), James K. Polk: a biographical companion, ABC-CLIO, ISBN 1576070565, ISBN 9781576070567. Pages 29-30.
8. ^ Jonathan M. Atkins. "William Carroll" in Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture (online edition). Last accessed June 3, 2011.
9. ^ Jonathan M. Atkins (1997), Parties, politics, and the sectional conflict in Tennessee, 1832-1861. University of Tennessee Press. Page 12.
10. ^ ^{a b c d} Robert S. Brandt (1995), Touring the middle Tennessee backroads, John F. Blair, Publisher. ISBN 0895871297, ISBN 9780895871299. Pages 181-182.
11. ^ Tara Mitchell Mielnik. "Early Horse Racing Tracks", in Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture (online edition). Last accessed June 3, 2011.
12. ^ Elbert Watson (1964), Governor Newton Cannon Papers, Tennessee State Library and Archives, accessed May 30, 2011
13. ^ History of Oaklands Plantation, Oaklands Historic House Museum website, accessed May 31, 2011
14. ^ Williamson County Historical Society, accessed May 31, 2011
15. ^ Carroll Van West. "Cannon County", in Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture (online edition). Last accessed June 3, 2011.

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Felix Grundy	U.S. Representative for Tennessee's 5th Congressional District 1814-1817	Succeeded by Thomas Claiborne
Preceded by George Washington Lent Marr	U.S. Representative for Tennessee's 4th Congressional District 1819-1823	Succeeded by Sam Houston
Political offices
Preceded by William Carroll	Governor of Tennessee 1835-1839	Succeeded by James K. Polk

Persondata
Name	Cannon, Newton
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	May 22, 1781
Place of birth
Date of death	September 16, 1841
Place of death	Nashville, Tennessee