Hugh Lawson White
Hugh Lawson White (October 30, 1773 – April 10, 1840) was a prominent American politician during the first third of the 19th century. After filling in several posts particularly in Tennessee's judiciary and state legislature since 1801, thereunder as a Tennessee Supreme Court justice, he was chosen to succeed former presidential candidate Andrew Jackson in the United States Senate in 1825. He became a member of the new Democratic Party, supporting Jackson's policies and his future presidential administration. However, he left the Democrats in 1836 and was a Whig candidate in that year's presidential election.[1]
For the Governor of Mississippi, see Hugh L. White.
Hugh White
April 10, 1840 (aged 66)
Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Democratic-Republican (Before 1825)
Democratic (1825–1836)
Whig (1836–1840)
Elizabeth Carrick (1798–1831
Anne Peyton (1832–1840)
James White (Father)
Samuel Carrick (Father-in-law)
Charles McClung (Brother-in-law)
John Overton (Brother-in-law)
John Williams (Brother-in-law)
An ardent strict constructionist and lifelong states' rights advocate, White was one of President Jackson's most trusted allies in Congress in the late 1820s and early 1830s.[2]: 246 White fought against the national bank, tariffs, and the use of federal funds for internal improvements,[2]: 31, 76–77 and led efforts in the Senate to pass the Indian Removal Act of 1830.[2]: 153 In 1833, at the height of the Nullification Crisis, White, as the Senate's president pro tempore, coordinated negotiations over the Tariff of 1833.[2]: 239
Suspicious of the growing power of the presidency, White began to distance himself from Jackson in the mid-1830s, and realigned himself with Henry Clay and the burgeoning Whig Party.[2]: 251–2 He was eventually forced out of the Senate when Jackson's allies, led by James K. Polk, gained control of the Tennessee state legislature and demanded his resignation.[2]: 409–410
Personality and style[edit]
White believed strongly in the principles of strict constructionism and a limited federal government and voted against fellow Jacksonians if he felt their initiatives ran counter to these principles.[11] His independent nature and his stern rectitude earned him the appellation "The Cato of the United States."[12] His congressional colleague, Henry Wise, later wrote that White's "patriotism and firmness" as the Senate's president pro tempore was key to resolving the Nullification Crisis.[2]: 239
White believed that being on the public payroll obligated him to attend every Senate meeting, no matter the issue.[2]: 239–240 Felix Grundy recalled that White once departed Knoxville in the middle of a driving snowstorm to ensure he made it to Washington in time for the Senate's fall session.[2]: 241 Senator John Milton Niles later wrote that White was often "the only listener to a dull speech."[2]: 240 White prided himself on being the most punctual member of the Senate and was usually the first senator to arrive at the Capitol on days when the Senate was in session.[2]: 241 Senator Ephraim H. Foster once told a story about waking up well before sunrise one morning, determined to beat White to the Capitol at least once in his career, and arriving only to find White in the committee room analyzing some papers.[2]: 241