vcczar Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 Sen. Thomas Hart Benton (MO-D) is clearly the most significant Senator during his time after the Clay, Webster, Calhoun triumvirate. He arguably should be part of a quartet. He was in JFK's Profiles in Courage and was also written about by Theodore Roosevelt. He died in 1858, but most certainly would have stayed with the Union during the Civil War. If MO was controlled completely by the Confederacy, he would have been like Sam Houston, a Unionist that stated in his state but didn't support the Confederacy. There are two more potential actions that could be included -- he authored the first homestead act, but it doesn't give a year for this. The first successful one passed after he died. There were other acts that are akin to a homestead, but they aren't called that. The other potential action is that he was arguably the leading pusher for Manifest Destiny, even at the expense of Native Americans. At some point, I may find some sort of major speech on this topic to put as an action, but that will take more investigating. I note that Benton was a slaveholder when he announced that he was anti-slavery. This is because I can find no information on him ever freeing his slaves, so I have to assume he opposed slavery but never released his slaves. This isn't too rare. Clay and Jefferson both opposed slavery but didn't release their slaves in their lifetimes, likely because it was a source of income. Money trumps morality in flawed people. His actions: Benton, Thomas Hart 1824 Supports Clay; refuses Clay's push for support of Adams over Jackson in contested election Benton, Thomas Hart 1825 Breaks w/ admin over agenda, becomes a leader of anti-Adams coalition Benton, Thomas Hart 1829 champion of South-West coalition Benton, Thomas Hart 1829 denounces Sen. Foote's land policy resolution Benton, Thomas Hart 1832 adviser to Jackson regarding bank policy Benton, Thomas Hart 1832 Advises reducing tariff to resolve nullificaton crisis Benton, Thomas Hart 1833 Leading opponent of censure of Jackson by Senate Benton, Thomas Hart 1836 graduation scheme to distribute land Benton, Thomas Hart 1836 advises pres during financial panic, leading to Specie Circular; "Old Bullion" Benton, Thomas Hart 1837 Takes lead in expunging Jackson's censure in the Senate Benton, Thomas Hart 1842 Leads opposition to Webster-Ashburton Treaty Benton, Thomas Hart 1844 against 1844 Texas annexation plan, although he strongly supports annexation Benton, Thomas Hart 1844 Survives, but is wounded, during USS Princeton explosion that killed 2 cabinet members. Benton, Thomas Hart 1845 his own plan for negotiated TX annexation Benton, Thomas Hart 1845 Senate Military Affairs Committee Chair, serving through Mexican War Benton, Thomas Hart 1846 Main role in setting Oregon boundary in Oregon Treaty Benton, Thomas Hart 1846 angles to get named Mexico peace delegate Benton, Thomas Hart 1848 moves to change Oregon bill Benton, Thomas Hart 1848 attacks proslavery Demo faction, considering Calhoun almost treasonous Benton, Thomas Hart 1849 Declares himself anti-slavery, despite being a slaveholder Benton, Thomas Hart 1849 Major role in Comp of 1850 Benton, Thomas Hart 1850 Nearly shot by Sen. Foote of MS during heated debate over Compromise Benton, Thomas Hart 1850 Opposes final Compromise of 1850 as too pro-slavery Benton, Thomas Hart 1854 A leading opponent of KS-NE Act, which cost him reelection Benton, Thomas Hart 1856 Defeated in bid for Gov of MO as anti-slavery Democrat Benton, Thomas Hart 1856 Endorses Buchanan over son-in-law Fremont in pres election Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 13 Author Share Posted September 13 There's enough that could make him unfavorable, but I think he's quite courageous from 1848 on. It's the kind of reasoning that I'll probably justify giving John Kasich a favorable grade (if he has enough actions). If Benton's career stopped in 1847, he's be unfavorable to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeP47 Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 4 hours ago, vcczar said: There's enough that could make him unfavorable, but I think he's quite courageous from 1848 on. It's the kind of reasoning that I'll probably justify giving John Kasich a favorable grade (if he has enough actions). If Benton's career stopped in 1847, he's be unfavorable to me. Yeah, like, I wouldn't fault someone for saying he didn't go far enough, but hey, he almost got shot, I'll give him props for that, and he does appear to be doing more than a lot of people especially from MO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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