Biographical Notes
Thomas Hart Benton
In 1844 William Henry Harrison was elected president with John Tyler as his Vice-president on the Whig ticket. Van Buren was defeated and Benton and the Democrats went into opposition. In April 1841 Harrison died and Tyler assumed the presidency. Shortly after that, Congress passed legislation repealing the Independent Treasury act and its hard money provisions. Benton's daughter, Jessie, fell in love with Lieutenant John Charles Fremont, but her parents felt that they were too young for marriage. Fremont was sent off on a surveying trip. In October, on his return, they married secretly. In 1843 the senate again debated the future of the Oregon Territory with Benton arguing that it was rightfully United States territory. In February 1844 Benton was injured in the explosion of the "Peacemaker" canon aboard the Princeton and Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur was killed. President Tyler appointed John C. Calhoun to replace Upshur. In April 1844, Calhoun negotiated a treaty that would annex Texas to the Union and in his argument for the treaty emphasized the importance of protecting Texans' right to own slaves. Benton supported annexation, but worried that it might provoke war with Mexico unless it was handled carefully and not rushed. Van Buren also questioned "immediate" annexation, while James K. Polk declared his support. Benton introduced a bill that would authorize the president to negotiate with both Texas and Mexico. In the subsequent debate Benton warned that the issue of slavery in Texas might ultimately lead some to advocate disunion. Van Buren's position on Texas lost him the Democratic nomination for president. It went to Polk instead.
In November 1844 Polk was elected president and Benton was reelected to the senate. Texas was annexed. In June 1845 Jackson died. During 1845 and 1846 Benton continued to advocate the absorption of Oregon into the Union. The northern border of the Oregon Territory became an issue. Benton argued for a demarcation along the 49 degree line. Polk agreed and the final treaty was negotiated on that basis. Also in 1845 relations between the United States and Mexico deteriorated and eventually led to war in April 1846. At first reluctant to declare war on Mexico, Benton eventually cooperated with Polk in prosecuting the war. Benton was chairman of the Senate Military Affairs Committee and claimed to be the one who first suggested the plan for the southern campaign against Mexico City. In fact Benton wanted to lead it himself. John C. Fremont became involved in the conquest of California, during which he and Major General Stephan Kearny got into a serious disagreement and Fremont was court-martialed. Benton defended him during the court-martial proceedings, but he was found guilty on all charges and dismissed from the service. President Polk agreed that Fremont was guilty of insubordination, but offered to reinstate him in the army. Fremont refused and Benton was furious with the army and with the president. In January 1848 gold was discovered in California. During 1848 the senate debated the issue of governance in Oregon and California. Slavery quickly became an issue blocking agreement and Benton recommended that the citizens organize their own governments.
In November 1848 the Whig candidate, Zachary Taylor, was elected president. In January 1849 Benton proposed legislation that would create a national road from the Mississippi River to San Francisco Bay. At the same time a group of southern politicians led by John C. Calhoun prepared and signed the so-called Southern Address declaring that the Federal Government had no right to restrict slavery. Benton refused to sign. Within Missouri Benton was faced with severe opposition by pro-slavery advocates. In October 1849 Benton spoke at the St. Louis Railroad Convention in support of his National Road proposal. In the 1850 senatorial debates concerning the legal status of the new lands taken from Mexico, Benton supported President Taylor and opposed the Clay compromise. In the process he parted company with many Democrats and began to isolate himself politically. In January 1851 Benton was defeated and the Whig pro-slavery candidate, Henry S. Geyer, was elected to the Senate in his place. After his defeat, Benton started writing a book but also remained active in the Missouri political scene. On August 2, 1852, he was elected to the House of Representatives and took his seat in Washington in December 1853. In the spring of 1854 the first volume of Benton's book, Thirty Years View, was published. It was criticized by many political leaders but well received by the public. It sold well and Benton made money on it.
Franklin Pierce was elected president in 1852. At first it was thought that Pierce might support Benton for Speaker of the House, but it did not happen. Benton continued to support his national road and to argue against the spread of slavery into territories where it had not previously existed. In April 1853 he asked Edward F. Beale to explore the feasibility of a railroad through Utah to California on his way to take up his duties as Superintendent of Indian Affairs in California. Benton's position on slavery did not sit well with either pro-slavery advocates or abolitionists. Political fallout from the passage of the Nebraska-Kansas bill in 1854 further exacerbated the situation. He was defeated for reelection to the House that year. His wife, Elizabeth, died on September 10, 1854. In 1855 he ran for the senate, but no candidate was able to gain enough votes to be elected. Missouri left the seat vacant for two years. That same year a fire started in the chimney of his house burned all of his papers including the manuscript of the second volume of his book. he immediately set to work to rewrite the destroyed manuscript and in May 1856 he published the second volume. It was judged to be weaker than the first volume and did not sell as well. In 1856 the newly formed Republican Party nominated Charles Fremont for president. Benton supported the Democratic candidate James Buchanan and advised Fremont to reject the nomination. Benton was nominated for Governor of Missouri but lost in the election August 4, 1856. In the next few years Benton devoted himself to lecturing on the dangers of disunion. In 1857 Benton wrote an article attacking Chief Judge Taney opinion in the Dred Scott case. He continued to write to the very end. He died on April 10, 1858. He was buried in St. Louis on April 16, 1858.
