Nathaniel Pope
Nathaniel Pope | |
|---|---|
United States District Court for the District of Illinois | |
| In office March 3, 1819 – January 23, 1850 | |
| Appointed by | James Monroe |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Drummond |
| Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from the Illinois Territory's at-large district | |
| In office December 2, 1816 – November 30, 1818 | |
| Preceded by | Benjamin Stephenson |
| Succeeded by | John McLean (Representative) |
| Secretary of the Illinois Territory | |
| In office April 24, 1809 – December 16, 1816 | |
| Governor | Ninian Edwards |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Phillips |
| Governor of Illinois Territory | |
Acting | |
| In office April 24, 1809 – June 11, 1809* | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Ninian Edwards |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 5, 1784 Louisville, Virginia, U.S. (now Kentucky) |
| Died | January 23, 1850 (aged 66) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Resting place | Bellefontaine Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican |
| Education | Transylvania University |
| *Pending Edwards' arrival. | |
Nathaniel Pope (January 5, 1784 – January 23, 1850) was an American government leader in the early history of the
Early life and education
Born on January 5, 1784, in
Early career
Admitted to the bar, Nathaniel Pope entered private practice in Ste. Genevieve, Louisiana Territory (now Missouri) and across the Mississippi River in Kaskaskia, Indiana Territory (that became Illinois Territory from March 1, 1809) from 1804 to 1809.[1] When the Illinois Territory was created President James Madison appointed Kentucky politician John Boyle as the Territorial Governor and Pope as the Territorial Secretary. Although Boyle resigned after three weeks (in order to become Kentucky's Chief Justice) and was succeeded by Ninian Edwards (a lawyer and Maryland politician who was related to Pope's mother and had moved to Kentucky and now the Illinois Territory), Nathaniel Pope served from 1809 to 1816.[1] He was acting Governor of the Illinois Territory in 1809.[1] He was an Illinois Territorial Militia officer in 1812.[1] Pope was a Democratic-Republican[3]
Congressional service
Pope was elected on September 5, 1816, as a Delegate to the United States House of Representatives for a term of two years, serving in the 14th and 15th United States Congresses from December 2, 1816, to November 30, 1818.[4][5] He was a register for the United States General Land Office in Edwardsville, Illinois Territory (State of Illinois from December 3, 1818) from November 30, 1818, to March 3, 1819.[5][1]
Notable legislation
Pope was instrumental both in securing the new territory's admission as the 21st State on December 3, 1818 (the statehood resolution passed regardless of the creative counting to achieve the former minimum of 60,000 persons) as well as in adjusting the new state's northern boundary from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan extending it north to the 42° 30' parallel. Adding the land now included in the thirteen northern counties became very important for Illinois' development, because it included what was to become its largest city (Chicago), although it also slowed Wisconsin's qualification for admission to the Union.[6] Furthermore, Pope drafted the statehood resolution to ensure that 2% of land sales would be used to fund roads and 3% to fund schools, unlike the previous statehood resolutions which required 5% to be used to fund roads.[6]
Federal judicial service
Pope was nominated by President
Unsuccessful campaign
Pope was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1824.[5]
Honor
Pope County, Illinois, was named for Pope, as was the recently closed Nathaniel Pope Elementary School in North Lawndale, Chicago, Illinois.[citation needed]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Nathaniel Pope at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ Rev. G.W. Beale, "Col. Nathaniel Pope and his Descendants" in Genealogies of Virginia Families from the William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine (Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1982), vol. IV pp. 153-155
- ^ Lusk, David W. (1887). Politics and Politicians of Illinois. Springfield, IL: H. W. Rokker. p. 377.
- ^ A Biographical Congressional Directory. U.S. Congress. 1903. p. 69.
- ^ a b c d United States Congress. "Nathaniel Pope (id: P000432)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- ^ a b "Nathaniel Pope — J. Ill. S. H. S. 3:7‑21 (1911)". penelope.uchicago.edu.
- ISBN 978-0300090109– via Google Books.
Sources
- "Nathaniel Pope:From Connections and Factional Politics to Champion of Statehood" from Illinois History, December 1993
- United States Congress. "Nathaniel Pope (id: P000432)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Nathaniel Pope at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
Further reading
- Angle, Paul M. McClelland. Nathaniel Pope from 1784 to 1850, A Memoir. [Springfield, Ill.]: Privately printed, 1937. OCLC 5844104
- Bloom, Jo Tice. "Peaceful Politics: The Delegates from Illinois Territory from 1809 to 1818." The Old Northwest 6 (Fall 1980): 203–15.
- Illinois (Ter.) Laws, Statutes, etc. Laws of the Territory of Illinois, revised and digested, under the authority of the legislature. By Nathaniel Pope. Kaskaskia: Printed by Matthew Duncan Printer to the Territory, 1815.
External links
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