Joseph Desha
Joseph Desha | |
---|---|
Thomas Metcalfe | |
Constituency | 6th district (1807–1813) 4th district (1813–1819) |
Member of the Kentucky Senate | |
In office 1802–1807 | |
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives | |
In office 1797–1798 | |
In office 1799–1802 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Monroe County, Pennsylvania, British America | December 9, 1768
Died | October 11, 1842 Georgetown, Kentucky, U.S. | (aged 73)
Political party | Democratic-Republican |
Spouse | Margaret Bledsoe |
Children | 13, including Isaac B. Desha |
Relatives | Robert Desha (brother) |
Profession |
|
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | Kentucky militia |
Years of service | 1793–1794 1813 |
Rank | Major general |
Battles/wars | |
Joseph Desha (December 9, 1768 – October 11, 1842) was a
In 1807, Desha was elected to the first of six consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. A
Although popular when elected, Desha's reputation was damaged by two controversies during his term. The first was his role in the ouster of
Early life and career
Joseph Desha was born to Robert and Eleanor (Wheeler) Desha in
Like most frontier settlers, the Desha family frequently found themselves in conflict with American Indians after moving to Tennessee, and between the ages of 15 and 22, Joseph Desha volunteered in several military campaigns against them.[6] In one such campaign, two of his brothers were killed while fighting alongside him.[7] Following the war, Desha lived with William Whitley in the town of Crab Orchard, Kentucky.[8] He married Margaret "Peggy" Bledsoe in December 1789.[4] The couple had thirteen children over the course of their marriage.[9] In 1792, the family moved to Mason County, Kentucky, where Desha worked as a farmer.[1] In 1794, he served in the Northwest Indian War under Lieutenant William Henry Harrison.[10] He participated in General "Mad" Anthony Wayne's rout of the Indians at the August 20 Battle of Fallen Timbers.[11]
Desha entered politics in 1797, when he was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the
Service in the House and the War of 1812
Desha was elected without opposition to the first of six consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1807.
Early in his career, Desha advocated an adequate army to defend American territory from Great Britain and France.[9] He supported President Thomas Jefferson's Embargo Act of 1807 and related enforcement legislation.[18] He was considered a war hawk, and House Speaker Henry Clay, a fellow Kentuckian and leader of the War Hawks in the House, selected him to serve on the House Foreign Relations Committee during the Twelfth Congress (1811–13).[18] Consistent with Clay's expectations, Desha consistently supported the war measures brought before the House, including bills to arm merchant ships, increase the number of regular troops in U.S. Army, and authorize President James Madison to accept volunteer units for military service.[18] Proclaiming his dissatisfaction with Macon's Bill Number 1, he maintained that all embargoes and sanctions would fail as long as "the British have a Canada or a Nova Scotia on the continent of America", although he acknowledged the high cost in both money and lives that annexation of Canada would entail.[19] On June 4, 1812, he voted in favor of a declaration of war on Great Britain, officially beginning the War of 1812.[18]
Desha returned to Kentucky after the congressional session.[18] He responded to Governor Isaac Shelby's call for volunteers to serve in William Henry Harrison's campaign into Upper Canada.[18] He was commissioned a major general and given command of the 2nd Division of Kentucky militia.[18] The 3,500-man division, composed of the 2nd and 5th Brigades and the 11th Regiment, assembled on the Ohio River at Newport, Kentucky.[18] They joined Harrison in forcing the British retreat from Detroit and held the Indian allies of the British off his left flank during the American victory at the Battle of the Thames on October 5, 1813.[18] According to historian Bennett H. Young, Desha's old friend William Whitley had a premonition of his own death the night before the battle and gave his rifle and powderhorn to Desha, asking him to convey it to his widow, along with a message of his affection.[8] Whitley was indeed killed in the fighting the following day.[8]
Desha resumed his service in Congress at its next term.
Desha gradually became more conservative after his return to the House, consistently resisting expansion of the
During the
Desha served as
Gubernatorial election of 1820
Desha was one of four candidates who sought the governorship of Kentucky in 1820.
Although Desha was clearly aligned with the Relief faction, the faction's leader was
Gubernatorial election of 1824
With Adair constitutionally ineligible to seek a second consecutive term, Desha was the first candidate to publicly declare his intention to seek the governorship in 1824.[15] He began his campaign in late 1823 and faced little opposition until Christopher Tompkins declared his candidacy in May 1824.[33] Tompkins was a little-known judge from Bourbon County who vehemently held to the principles of the Anti-Relief faction.[34] Colonel William Russell, a military veteran of 50 years, also sought to carry the mantle of the Anti-Relief faction.[35] While not as eloquent or well-versed in the faction's rhetoric, he had few political enemies and his military career brought him great respect among the electorate.[35]
While Tompkins and his supporters primarily campaigned through the state's newspapers, most of which supported the Anti-Relief faction, Desha traveled the state making stump speeches.[34] Offering no specific platform, he focused exclusively on the idea that he opposed "judicial usurpation" and believed "all power belonged to the people".[36] He was generally acknowledged as the candidate of the Relief Party, but historian Arndt M. Stickles has noted that he used Anti-Relief rhetoric in some counties.[37] Desha attacked Tompkins' record as a judge, claiming that he had consistently supported the Second Bank of the United States and the current Court of Appeals.[36] This, Desha said, put him in direct and open opposition to the state's farmers and ensured that, if he were elected, the state would be governed by the judicial branch, not the governor.[36] Desha claimed the state's newspapers persecuted him the same way the Anti-Relief party persecuted debtors.[38] He also charged that Tompkins was not the true choice of the Anti-Relief party, but only gained its support by being the first candidate with that position to announce his candidacy.[36] Backers of Russell, who consistently ran a distant third in voter support, agreed with this claim, saying Tompkins had joined the race before a date that had been previously agreed on among Anti-Relief candidates, giving him an unfair advantage over Russell.[39]
Anti-Relief partisans opened many lines of attack against Desha. They said his refusal to articulate a specific campaign platform showed that he was trying to be all things to all people.
Although Desha was universally acknowledged as the leading candidate during the early months of the campaign, as election day approached, some began to doubt whether he could withstand the withering attacks of the Anti-Relief Party.[39] The Frankfort Argus, a pro-Desha newspaper, remained confident, however, predicting that the Relief candidate would win by a margin of 4-to-1.[39] On election day, Desha secured a comfortable victory, receiving 38,378 votes, nearly 60% of the votes cast, and carrying large majorities even in some strongly Anti-Relief counties.[37] Tompkins garnered 22,499 votes, with his support concentrated mostly in Central Kentucky.[1][39] Russell finished third with 3,900 votes.[1] Desha and his allies in the General Assembly interpreted the victory as a mandate from the voters to aggressively pursue their debt relief agenda.[9]
Governor of Kentucky
On November 4, 1824, just months after the election, the state capitol building was destroyed by a fire.[42] Some furnishings and records were saved, but the four-year-old building was a total loss.[42] When Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette toured the United States in 1825, a new capitol had not yet been constructed and the governor's mansion was too small to host a proper reception, so the governor had to entertain the dignitary at Weisiger's Tavern.[43]
Desha's major accomplishment as governor was in the area of internal improvements.
Old Court – New Court controversy
Kentucky historian Thomas D. Clark wrote that Desha "made rash promises to relieve the horde of bankrupt voters ... promises on which he had to deliver."[46] His first address to the legislature was critical of the judiciary in general, especially the Supreme Court's recent decision in the case of Green v. Biddle which held that land claims granted by Virginia in the District of Kentucky prior to Kentucky becoming a separate state took precedence over those later granted by the state of Kentucky if the two were in conflict.[47] Encouraged by Desha's strong stance against the judiciary, Relief partisans set about removing the judges on the Court of Appeals who had earlier struck down their debt relief legislation.[30] The first punitive measure proposed against the offending judges was to reduce their salaries to 25 cents per year, but this course was quickly abandoned.[30] Next, legislators attempted to remove the judges by address, but they found they lacked the necessary two-thirds majority in both houses to effect this removal.[48]
Finally, on December 9, 1824, the Kentucky Senate passed a measure repealing the legislation that created the Kentucky Court of Appeals and establishing a new
On January 10, 1825, Desha appointed four justices to the new court.
Although Desha and his entire administration campaigned on behalf of New Court candidates during the legislative elections of 1825, Old Court supporters regained the state House and evenly split the Senate between Old and New Court supporters.[50][57] Desha's message to the newly reconstituted General Assembly remained critical of banks and the judiciary, but urged legislators to seek a compromise to resolve the court question.[58] Stickles records that Desha was sincere in his desire for a compromise, albeit one that would save face for the New Court Party.[59] He promised that, if the legislature would again authorize appointment of a new set of judges, he would appoint them equally from both parties.[60] Another plan would have expanded the court to six judges, with three appointed from each party.[61] One legislator proposed that all members of both courts resign, along with Desha, lieutenant governor Robert B. McAfee, and all the legislators in the General Assembly, essentially allowing the state government to reset itself.[50] This bill passed the House but was killed in the Senate.[50] The House passed a measure to restore the Old Court, but the Senate deadlocked on the measure and McAfee, the presiding officer in the Senate, cast the tie-breaking vote to defeat it.[50]
By 1826, the economic climate in the state had improved significantly.[50] Seeing the resultant upsurge in Old Court support, two of the four New Court justices resigned.[62] Desha offered the appointments to three different individuals, all of whom ignored or rejected them.[62] John Telemachus Johnson finally accepted the appointment in April 1826, and the New Court met with only three justices during its 1826 term.[62] In the August 1826 elections, the Old Court Party won majorities of 56–44 in the House and 22–16 in the Senate.[63] Desha again encouraged the legislators to compromise to resolve the court impasse.[63] The Old Court majorities in both houses, however, completely repudiated the New Court, passing a bill to restore the Old Court and overturn all legislation related to the New Court.[50] Desha vetoed the bill, and scolded the legislators for passing a blatantly partisan bill as opposed to a compromise measure.[64] The General Assembly overrode Desha's veto on January 1, 1827.[50] In a conciliatory move, the Senate confirmed Desha's appointment of George M. Bibb, a New Court partisan, to a position on the re-empowered Old Court after John Boyle resigned to accept a federal judgeship in November 1826.[65]
Pardon of Isaac Desha
Governor Desha's reputation was further tarnished because of a pardon issued to his son. On November 2, 1824, Isaac B. Desha had brutally murdered Francis Baker, a Mississippian who was visiting Kentucky. On November 24, 1824, John Rowan, one of the governor's allies in the General Assembly, introduced legislation ordering the Fleming County Circuit Court to convene a special session on January 17, 1825, for Isaac Desha's trial and providing that the accused should have the option to request a change of venue to Harrison County at that time.[66][67] Miles from the scene of the murder, Harrison County was the governor's home county, and he possessed a great deal of influence with officials there.[42] Governor Desha appeared before the legislative committee considering the bill on November 26 and asked that they report it favorably to the full legislature.[66] This was done, and the bill was approved on December 4, 1824.[66]
At his trial in December, Isaac Desha requested the change of venue; the case was transferred to Harrison County and scheduled for early January.
Despite the best efforts of his father to secure a favorable venue, judge, and defense team, on January 31, 1825, the jury convicted Isaac Desha of murder and sentenced him to hang.[42][72] Rowan immediately requested a new trial upon grounds of jury interference, and Shannon granted the request on February 10.[69] Jury selection proved problematic, occupying at least parts of four terms of the Harrison County Circuit Court.[73] In September 1825, a jury was finally empaneled.[73] The judge, Harry O. Brown, had been temporarily appointed to his position by Governor Desha to fill a vacancy.[74][75] Desha was again found guilty, and sentenced to hang on July 14, 1826.[76] Judge Brown overturned the verdict because the prosecution had not proven that the murder took place in Fleming County, as alleged in the indictment against Desha.[74][75] The state argued that this was of no consequence, since a change of venue had already been granted, but the judge's ruling stood, and Governor Desha's reputation took a further hit.[74]
In July 1826, Isaac Desha, free on
Following his release, Isaac Desha traveled to Texas under an alias, where he robbed and killed another man.[74] He was identified based on family resemblance and the silver pipe that had earlier saved his life.[74] After being arrested, he confessed to both murders.[74] He died of a fever the day before his trial in August 1828.[77]
Conflict with Horace Holley
Another controversial issue during Desha's tenure was his disdain for Horace Holley, president of Transylvania University. From the time Holley assumed the post of president in 1818, the university had risen to national prominence and attracted well-qualified and well-respected faculty members such as Constantine Samuel Rafinesque, Daniel Drake, Charles Caldwell, William T. Barry, and Jesse Bledsoe.[78] However, Holley's New England Unitarian beliefs were too liberal for the tastes of many in Kentucky.[1] Many called Holley an infidel and charged that he was a drinker and a gambler.[79] He was criticized for spending time at the horse races and for furnishing his home with nude classical statues.[80]
Desha was drawn into the Holley controversy during the 1824 presidential election.[81] When no candidate achieved a majority of the electoral votes cast, the contest was resolved by the U.S. House of Representatives. Desha and the New Court partisans in the General Assembly instructed the state's congressional delegation to cast their votes for Andrew Jackson, but the delegation, led by House Speaker Henry Clay, defied these instructions and voted instead for John Quincy Adams.[81] Because of this vote, Clay, a trustee for Transylvania and supporter of Holley, became Desha's political enemy.[81] Desha's hostility for Transylvania and Holley worsened when, in the aftermath of the Isaac Desha trial, a student at Transylvania delivered a speech critical of the governor in the university's chapel.[42] Although Holley was present for the speech, Transylvania historian John D. Wright Jr. wrote that he did not know the student's topic beforehand and after hearing the speech, made no effort to condone its content.[82] It was Holley's practice, however, to allow students to speak openly about current political matters, regardless of which position they took.[82] Desha maintained that, because Holley had not silenced the student, he was at fault for tacitly condoning disrespectful criticism of the state's chief executive.[83]
Desha vehemently attacked Transylvania and Holley in his annual message to the General Assembly in November 1825.[82] He claimed that the university had not made wise use of the public funding allocated to it by previous Assemblies, noting in particular that Holley's salary as president exceeded his own.[82] Finally, Desha claimed that under Holley, Transylvania had become too elitist and could not be otherwise, given the high cost of attendance.[79][82] Holley, who had traveled to Frankfort to speak with Desha and the legislature, was present for Desha's speech.[84] Afterward, he decided instead to return to Lexington and tender his resignation.[84] Sympathetic members of the university's board of trustees convinced Holley to remain for another year.[85] Kentucky historian James C. Klotter opined that, with Holley's departure, "perhaps the state's best chance for a world-class university had passed."[80]
Gubernatorial legacy and transition
The numerous controversies of Desha's term severely damaged his reputation.[86] Harrison recorded that a visitor to Kentucky remarked in 1825, "[Desha] is said by some to possess talents; I have never been furnished with evidence."[86] Harrison further noted that "[b]y 1828, many Kentuckians would have agreed with that assessment."[86]
Desha supported William T. Barry, the Democratic-Republican gubernatorial nominee, to succeed him.
Due to a constitutional quirk, Metcalfe's term was scheduled to begin eight days before the expiration of Desha's.[88] Desha charged that Metcalfe was not allowing him to finish out his term and threatened not to vacate the governor's mansion until his term officially ended.[88] Clark records as legend that, after drinking heavily at a local tavern, Metcalfe and some of his supporters formed a mob and went to the governor's mansion to evict him by force.[88] Accounts in the local newspapers of the time instead record that the Deshas left the mansion peacefully without intervention by Metcalfe.[87]
Later life and death
At the expiration of his term as governor, Desha retired from public life to his farm in Harrison County.[3] During the final years of his life, Desha and his wife Margaret moved to Georgetown, Kentucky, where one of his sons, a physician, lived. Desha died at his home in Georgetown, Kentucky, on October 11, 1842, and was buried on the grounds.[12] The state erected a monument over his grave.[12] In 1880, both Desha's body and the monument were moved to Georgetown Cemetery.[12]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Harrison, p. 264
- ^ Cisco, p. 170
- ^ a b c "Kentucky Governor Joseph Desha". National Governors Association
- ^ a b c d e Morton, p. 14
- ^ a b c "Desha, Joseph". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- ^ Allen, p. 90
- ^ Allen, p. 91
- ^ a b c Young, p. 119
- ^ a b c d Powell, p. 28
- ^ Tucker, p. 191
- ^ Young, p. 118
- ^ a b c d Young, p. 120
- ^ a b c Trowbridge, "Kentucky's Military Governors"
- ^ "Congress slaveowners", The Washington Post, 2022-01-13, retrieved 2022-07-07
- ^ a b c d Doutrich, p. 23
- ^ a b c Geisst, p. 16
- ^ Geisst, p. 17
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Heidler and Heidler, p. 152
- ^ White, p. 66
- ^ a b c Quimby, p. 288
- ^ Quimby, pp. 288–289
- ^ Risjord, p. 184
- ^ a b Wills, p. 372
- ^ a b c Risjord, p. 160
- ^ a b c Schoenbachler, p. 35
- ^ Schoenbachler, p. 36
- ^ Risjord, p. 200
- ^ a b c Doutrich, p. 15
- ^ a b Doutrich, p. 14
- ^ a b c Harrison and Klotter, A New History of Kentucky, p. 110
- ^ Doutrich, p. 19
- ^ Doutrich, p. 21
- ^ Doutrich, pp. 24–25
- ^ a b Doutrich, pp. 23–24
- ^ a b Doutrich, p. 24
- ^ a b c d e Doutrich, p. 27
- ^ a b Stickles, p. 43
- ^ Doutrich, p. 26
- ^ a b c d Doutrich, p. 28
- ^ Doutrich, p. 27–28
- ^ a b c d e Doutrich, p. 25
- ^ a b c d e Clark and Lane, p. 22
- ^ Clark and Lane, pp. 23–24
- ^ a b c Johnson and Parrish, p. 18
- ^ Harrison and Klotter, p. 126
- ^ Clark and Lane, p. 21
- ^ Stickles, pp. 44–45
- ^ Bussey, p. 30
- ^ Harrison and Klotter, pp. 110–111
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harrison and Klotter, p. 111
- ^ a b Stickles, p. 59
- ^ Schoenbachler, p. 106
- ^ a b Stickles, p. 60
- ^ Stickles, p. 61
- ^ Stickles, p. 62
- ^ Allen, p. 88
- ^ Stickles, p. 81
- ^ Stickles, pp. 89, 92
- ^ Stickles, p. 92
- ^ Stickles, pp. 92–93
- ^ Stickles, p. 93
- ^ a b c Stickles, p. 108
- ^ a b Stickles, p. 102
- ^ Stickles, p. 104
- ^ Stickles, pp. 108–109
- ^ a b c d Johnson, p. 38
- ^ Parish, p. 50
- ^ Johnson, pp. 38–39
- ^ a b Johnson, p. 39
- ^ a b Parish, pp. 49–50
- ^ Parish, p. 52
- ^ Parish, p. 60
- ^ a b Parish, p. 61
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Thies, Murder and Inflation
- ^ a b c d Parish, p. 62
- ^ a b Johnson, p. 40
- ^ Muir, p. 321
- ^ Harrison and Klotter, p. 152
- ^ a b Bussey, p. 31
- ^ a b Klotter, "What If..."
- ^ a b c Wright, p. 110
- ^ a b c d e Wright, p. 111
- ^ Clark and Lane, p. 23
- ^ a b Wright, p. 112
- ^ Wright, p. 116
- ^ a b c Harrison and Klotter, p. 112
- ^ a b Morton, p. 15
- ^ a b c Clark and Lane, p. 24
Bibliography
- Allen, William B. (1872). A history of Kentucky: embracing gleanings, reminiscences, antiquities, natural curiosities, statistics, and biographical sketches of pioneers, soldiers, jurists, lawyers, statesmen, divines, mechanics, farmers, merchants, and other leading men, of all occupations and pursuits. Louisville, Kentucky: Bradley & Gilbert.
- Bussey, Charles J. (2004). "Joseph Desha". In ISBN 0-8131-2326-7.
- ISBN 0-8131-2253-8.
- Cisco, Jay Guy (2009). Historic Sumner County, Tennessee: With Genealogies of the Bledsoe, Cage and Douglass Families and Genealogical Notes of Other Sumner County Families. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-8063-5127-8.
- "Desha, Joseph". Biographical Directory of the United States. United States Congress.
- Doutrich, Paul E. III (January 1982). "A Pivotal Decision: The 1824 Gubernatorial Election in Kentucky". Filson Club History Quarterly. 56 (1).
- Geisst, Charles R. (2004). Wall Street: A History: From Its Beginnings to the Fall of Enron. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-517061-0.
- ISBN 0-8131-1772-0. Archived from the originalon April 15, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
- ISBN 0-8131-2008-X.
- Heidler, David Stephen; Jeanne T. Heidler (2004). "Desha, Joseph". Encyclopedia of the War of 1812. ISBN 1-59114-362-4.
- Johnson, Leland R.; Charles E. Parrish (1999). Engineering the Kentucky River: The Commonwealth's Waterway (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 29, 2008. Retrieved March 26, 2008.
- Johnson, Lewis Franklin (1916). "The Assassination of Francis Baker by Isaac B. Desha, in 1824". Famous Kentucky Tragedies and Trials: A Collection of Important and Interesting Tragedies and Criminal Trials which Have Taken Place in Kentucky. Louisville, Kentucky: Baldwin Law Book Company, Incorporated.
- Klotter, James C. (April 2005). "What If..." Kentucky Humanities. Kentucky Humanities Council. Archived from the original on January 16, 2006. Retrieved March 26, 2008.
- "Kentucky Governor Joseph Desha". National Governors Association. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
- Morton, Jennie C. (January 1904). "Governor Joseph Desha of Distinguished Huguenot Ancestry". Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society. 2 (4).
- Muir, Andrew Forest (October 1956). "Isaac Desha, Fact and Fancy". Filson Club History Quarterly. 30 (4).
- Parish, John Carl (1909). John Chambers. Iowa City, Iowa: State Historical Society of Iowa. Archived from the original on 2005-03-08.
- Powell, Robert A. (1976). Kentucky Governors. Danville, Kentucky: Bluegrass Printing Company. OCLC 2690774.
- Quimby, Robert S. (1997). The U.S. Army in the War of 1812: An Operational and Command Study. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Press. ISBN 0-585-22081-6.
- Risjord, Norman K. (1965). The Old Republicans: Southern Conservatism in the Age of Jefferson. New York City: Columbia University Press. OCLC 559308071.
- Schoenbachler, Matthew G. (2009). Murder & Madness: The Myth of the Kentucky Tragedy. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-2566-4.
- Stickles, Arndt M. (1929). The Critical Court Struggle in Kentucky, 1819–1829. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University.
- Thies, Clifford F. (February 7, 2007). "Murder and Inflation: the Kentucky Tragedy". Ludwig von Mises Institute. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
- Trowbridge, John M. "Kentucky's Military Governors". Kentucky National Guard History e-Museum. Kentucky National Guard. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
- Tucker, Spencer (2012). Encyclopedia of the War Of 1812: A Political, Social, and Military History. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-956-6.
- White, Patrick C. T. (1965). A Nation on Trial: America and the War of 1812. New York City: John Wiley & Sons. OCLC 608865759.
- ISBN 978-0-618-87266-4.
- Wright, John D. Jr. (2006). Transylvania: Tutor to the West. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-9167-X.
- Young, Bennett Henderson (1903). The battle of the Thames, in which Kentuckians defeated the British, French, and Indians, October 5, 1813, with a list of the officers and privates who won the victory. Louisville, Kentucky: J. P. Morton. Archived from the original on March 8, 2005. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
External links