Andrew Jackson Donelson
Andrew Donelson | |
---|---|
United States Minister to Prussia | |
In office July 18, 1846 – November 2, 1849 | |
President | James K. Polk Zachary Taylor |
Preceded by | Henry Wheaton |
Succeeded by | Edward A. Hannegan |
United States Chargé d'Affaires to Texas | |
In office November 29, 1844 – August 9, 1845 | |
President | John Tyler James K. Polk |
Preceded by | Tilghman Howard |
Succeeded by | Position abolished |
Private Secretary to the President | |
In office March 4, 1829 – March 4, 1837 | |
President | Andrew Jackson |
Preceded by | John Adams II |
Succeeded by | Abraham Van Buren II |
Personal details | |
Born | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | August 25, 1799
Died | June 26, 1871 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | (aged 71)
Political party | Democratic |
Other political affiliations | Know Nothing (1856) Constitutional Union (1860) |
Spouses | |
Children | 12 |
Relatives | Rachel Jackson (paternal aunt/adoptive mother) Daniel Smith Donelson (brother) |
Education | University of Nashville United States Military Academy (BS) Transylvania University |
Signature | |
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,
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
One of the three sons of Samuel and Mary Donelson, Andrew Jackson Donelson was born in
Donelson attended
Democratic politics
Donelson assisted his uncle during the 1824 and 1828 presidential campaigns. In 1829, he became the
In 1836, Tulip Grove was completed. Donelson moved back to
In 1844, Donelson was instrumental in helping
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
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
He died at the original Peabody Hotel, Memphis, in June 1871 and is buried in Elmwood Cemetery.[1]
Personal life
Donelson married his first cousin,
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
- ^ OCLC 560597030.
- ^ 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
- 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. 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
- 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). . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
External links
- JSTOR 25478613.