OVERVIEW:

BORN:
February 18, 1796
Davidson County, Tennessee 

DIED:
September 10, 1869 (age 73)
Stewart County, Tennessee

EDUCATION:
Cumberland College (1814)

POLITICAL PARTY:
Democratic-Republican (1817–1825)
Jacksonian (1825–1835)
Whig (1835–1854)
American (1854–1860)
Constitutional Union (1860–1861)

HIGHLIGHTS:
1816:
Admitted to the Bar,
Began Practicing Law in Franklin, Tenn. 
1817:
Member of the Tennessee Senate 
1827-1841:
Member of the House of Representatives 
1834-1835:
Speaker of the House of Representatives
1841:
U.S. Secretary of War
1847:
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives 
1847-1859:
U.S. Senator from Tennessee,
Elected as a Whig
1860:
Unsuccessful Constitutional Union Candidate for President 

SOURCES:
Biographical Directory of Congress
U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Army Center on Military History
Harper’s Weekly
Tennessee Encyclopedia
Wikipedia 

PORTRAITS: