American diplomat (1799?1871)
Andrew Donelson
|
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|
In office
July 18, 1846 ? November 2, 1849
|
President
| James K. Polk
Zachary Taylor
|
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Preceded by
| Henry Wheaton
|
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Succeeded by
| Edward A. Hannegan
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|
In office
November 29, 1844 ? August 9, 1845
|
President
| John Tyler
James K. Polk
|
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Preceded by
| Tilghman Howard
|
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Succeeded by
| Position abolished
|
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|
In office
March 4, 1829 ? March 4, 1837
|
President
| Andrew Jackson
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Preceded by
| John Adams II
|
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Succeeded by
| Abraham Van Buren II
|
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|
|
Born
| (
1799-08-25
)
August 25, 1799
Nashville
,
Tennessee
, U.S.
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Died
| June 26, 1871
(1871-06-26)
(aged 71)
Memphis
, Tennessee, U.S.
|
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Political party
| Democratic
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Other political
affiliations
| Know Nothing
(1856)
Constitutional Union
(1860)
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Spouses
|
Elizabeth Martin Randolph
(
m.
1841; died 1871)
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Children
| 12
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Relatives
| Rachel Jackson
(paternal aunt/adoptive mother)
Daniel Smith Donelson
(brother)
|
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Education
| University of Nashville
United States Military Academy
(
BS
)
Transylvania University
|
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Signature
| |
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|
Andrew Jackson Donelson
(August 25, 1799 ? June 26, 1871) was an American
diplomat
and politician. He served in various positions as a
Democrat
and was the
Know Nothing
nominee for
US vice president
in
1856
.
After the death of his father, Donelson lived with his aunt,
Rachel Jackson
, and her husband,
Andrew Jackson
. Donelson attended the
U.S. Military Academy
and served under his uncle in
Florida
. He resigned his commission, studied law, passed the bar and began his own practice in
Nashville
. He assisted Jackson's presidential campaigns and served as his
private secretary
after Jackson won the
1828 presidential election
. He returned to Tennessee after the end of Jackson's presidency in 1837 and remained active in local politics.
[1]
After helping
James K. Polk
triumph at the
1844 Democratic National Convention
, Donelson was appointed by U.S. President
John Tyler
to represent the United States in the
Republic of Texas
, where Donelson played an important role in the
Texas annexation
. In 1846, President Polk appointed Donelson as Minister to
Prussia
. Donelson left that position in 1849 and became the editor of a Democratic newspaper but alienated various factions in the party. In 1856, the Know Nothings chose Donelson as their vice presidential nominee, and he campaigned on a ticket with former
Whig
President
Millard Fillmore
. The ticket finished in third place in both the electoral and popular vote, behind the Democratic and the
Republican
tickets. Donelson also participated in the
1860 Constitutional Union Convention
.
[1]
Early life
[
edit
]
One of the three sons of Samuel and Mary Donelson, Andrew Jackson Donelson was born in
Nashville, Tennessee
. His younger brother,
Daniel Smith Donelson
, would become the
Confederate
brigadier general
after whom Fort Donelson was later named. Donelson's father died when Donelson was about five. When his mother remarried, Donelson moved to
The Hermitage
, the home of his aunt,
Rachel Donelson Jackson
, and her husband, Donelson's namesake, the future US President
Andrew Jackson
. Rachel and Andrew Jackson took care of all three Donelson sons, including Andrew.
[1]
Donelson attended
Cumberland College
, predecessor to the University of Nashville, in Nashville; joined the
US Military Academy
at
West Point, New York
; and graduated second in his class in 1820. His two years as an officer in the
US Army
were spent as
aide-de-camp
to Andrew Jackson, now a
major general
who was campaigning against the
Seminoles
in
Florida
. After the campaign, Donelson resigned his commission and studied law at
Transylvania University
, in
Lexington, Kentucky
. A year later, he started to practice law in Nashville.
[1]
Democratic politics
[
edit
]
Donelson assisted his uncle during the 1824 and 1828 presidential campaigns. In 1829, he became the
private secretary
to his uncle, who had been inaugurated as
President of the United States
. Donelson's wife, Emily, served as
White House
hostess and unofficial
First Lady of the United States
because Rachel Jackson had died in December 1828. Donelson remained Jackson's private secretary throughout his administration. During Donelson's stay in
Washington
, Donelson had his new home, Poplar Grove (later renamed
Tulip Grove
), constructed on the land he had inherited from his father, which was adjacent to the Hermitage.
[1]
In 1836, Tulip Grove was completed. Donelson moved back to
Nashville
after Jackson's retirement the following year. Donelson helped Jackson sustain the Democratic Party in a variety of ways for the next seven years in services such as writing newspaper editorials defending Democratic principles and helping Democratic candidates campaign for state, local, and national offices.
[1]
In 1844, Donelson was instrumental in helping
James K. Polk
win the Democratic presidential nomination over
Martin Van Buren
and other more notable candidates. US President
John Tyler
appointed Donelson
charge d'affaires
of the United States mission to the Republic of Texas
, probably in the hope that Jackson's nephew would be able to persuade former Tennessee politician
Sam Houston
to endorse the US annexation of Texas. Donelson was successful in that endeavor, and Texas joined the United States on December 29, 1845. Donelson was then made minister to
Prussia
in 1846, a position that he would hold until President Polk's Democratic administration was replaced by the Whig administration of
Zachary Taylor
in 1849. Donelson's constant complaining about his personal finances and his desire for a higher salary probably had more to do with the change than partisan differences.
[1]
Between September 1848 and November 1849, during the time of the
Frankfurt Parliament
, he was the US envoy to the short-lived revolutionary government of
Germany
in
Frankfurt
.
[1]
In 1851, Donelson became the editor of the
Washington Union
, a Democratic newspaper. However, as sectionalism became the dominant issue of American politics, Donelson became unpopular with several factions within the Democratic Party, which forced him out in 1852. He then joined the Know Nothing (American) Party.
[2]
[3]
Vice-presidential nomination and retirement
[
edit
]
In
1856
, Donelson was nominated as the running mate of former President
Millard Fillmore
on the
Know Nothing (American Party)
ticket. Fillmore and Donelson managed to garner over 20% of the popular vote but won only the eight electoral votes of
Maryland
.
[4]
[2]
In 1858, Donelson sold Tulip Grove and moved to
Memphis, Tennessee
. He participated primarily in local politics there, although he was a delegate to the
Constitutional Union party
's
national nominating convention
, which selected his old
Tennessee
nemesis,
John Bell
, as its presidential candidate.
[1]
During the
American Civil War
, Donelson was harassed by both sides of the conflict and lost two of his sons, both serving the
Confederacy
, in the war.
[1]
During
Reconstruction
, he split time between his Memphis home and his plantation in
Bolivar County, Mississippi
. In his correspondence with his wife, he groused about the need to pay wages to Black workers who had once been enslaved.
[1]
He died at the original
Peabody Hotel
, Memphis, in June 1871 and is buried in
Elmwood Cemetery
.
[1]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Donelson married his first cousin,
Emily Tennessee Donelson
, in 1824. Emily became President Jackson's acting
First Lady
, but she died of
tuberculosis
in December 1836. They had four children: Andrew Jackson Donelson Jr. (1826?1859), Mary Emily Donelson (1829?1905), John Samuel Donelson (1832?1863), and Rachel Jackson Donelson (1834?1888).
[1]
In 1841, Donelson married his second cousin, Elizabeth (Martin) Randolph (1815?1871). Elizabeth was the widow of Meriwether Lewis Randolph (1810?1837), a son of
Martha Jefferson Randolph
, and a grandson of
Thomas Jefferson
.
[1]
Donelson and his second wife had eight children: Daniel Smith Donelson (1842?1864), Martin Donelson (1847?1889), William Alexander Donelson (1849?1900), Catherine Donelson (1850?1868), Vinet Donelson (1854?1913), Lewis Randolph Donelson (1855?1927), Rosa Elizabeth Donelson (1858?1861), and Andrew Jackson "Budie" Donelson (1860?1915).
[1]
Two of Donelson's sons died in the
Civil War
. John Samuel died at the
Battle of Chickamauga
, and Daniel Smith was murdered by an unknown assailant.
[5]
[1]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
Cheathem, Mark Renfred. (2007).
Old Hickory's nephew : the political and private struggles of Andrew Jackson Donelson
. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.
ISBN
978-0-8071-3565-5
.
OCLC
560597030
.
- ^
a
b
Spence, Richard Douglas (2017). "Chapter 13: Fillmore and Donelson!".
Andrew Jackson Donelson: Jacksonian and Unionist
(Hardcover ed.). Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.
ISBN
978-0826521637
.
- ^
Cheathem, Mark (2003). "
"I Shall Persevere in the Cause of Truth": Andrew Jackson Donelson and the Election of 1856".
Tennessee Historical Quarterly
.
62
: 218?237 – via JSTOR.
- ^
Scarry, Robert J. (2003).
Millard Fillmore
(Kindle ed.). Jefferson, NC: McFarland. pp. 6504?6768.
- ^
Cheathem, Mark R. (2012-09-17).
"The Murder of Lt. Daniel Smith Donelson, C.S.A."
Jacksonian America: Society, Personality, and Politics
. Retrieved
2021-02-14
.
Sources
[
edit
]
- Cheathem, Mark R. (2003). "
"I Shall Persevere in the Cause of Truth": Andrew Jackson Donelson and the Election of 1856".
Tennessee Historical Quarterly
.
62
(3): 218?237.
JSTOR
42627765
.
- Cheathem, Mark R. (2007).
"The High Minded Honourable Man": Honor, Kinship, and Conflict in the Life of Andrew Jackson Donelson"
.
Journal of the Early Republic
.
27
(2): 265?292.
doi
:
10.1353/jer.2007.0021
.
JSTOR
30043498
.
S2CID
144505766
.
- Cheathem, Mark R. (2007).
Old Hickory's Nephew: The Political and Private Struggles of Andrew Jackson Donelson
Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press.
[1]
- Owsley, Harriet Chappell (1982). "Andrew Jackson and His Ward, Andrew Jackson Donelson".
Tennessee Historical Quarterly
.
41
(2): 124?139.
JSTOR
42626276
.
- Satterfield, Robert Beeler. "Andrew Jackson Donelson: A Moderate Nationalist Jacksonian." Ph.D. diss., Johns Hopkins University, 1961.
- Spence, Richard Douglas (2017).
Andrew Jackson Donelson: Jacksonian and Unionist
. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press.
External links
[
edit
]
- U.S. Department of State: Chiefs of Mission to Texas
- Andrew Jackson Donelson: Jackson's Confidant and Political Heir
- Andrew Jackson Donelson
at
Find A Grave
- "Andrew Jackson Donelson's Home in Bolivar County, Mississippi"
.
Jacksonian America: Society, Personality, and Politics blog
. Retrieved
October 2,
2012
.
- "The History"
.
Historic Rock Castle
. Archived from
the original
on March 11, 2005
. Retrieved
February 20,
2006
.
- Ellis, Hugo (2001-06-06).
"Donelson, Andrew Jackson"
.
Handbook of Texas Online
. The Texas State Historical Association
. Retrieved
2006-09-03
.
- Wilson, J. G.
;
Fiske, J.
, eds. (1900).
"Donelson, Andrew Jackson"
.
Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography
. New York: D. Appleton.
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Charge d’Affaires
(1837?1845)
| |
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Minister Plenipotentiary
| | |
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Envoy Extraordinary
and Minister Plenipotentiary
| |
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Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary
| |
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Presidential tickets
that won at least
one percent of the
national popular vote
| |
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Other notable
right-wing parties
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|
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International
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National
| |
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People
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Other
| |
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External links
[
edit
]
- ^
Frank, Andrew K. (2008). "Reviewed work: Old Hickory's Nephew: The Political and Private Struggles of Andrew Jackson Donelson, Mark R. Cheatham".
Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association
.
49
(4): 504?505.
JSTOR
25478613
.