James Miller (politician)

James Miller

James Miller (born April 25, 1776 in Peterborough , New Hampshire Colony , † July 7, 1851 in Temple , New Hampshire ) was an American politician and general. He was governor of the Arkansas Territory between 1819 and 1824 .

Early years

James Miller attended a school in Amherst, Massachusetts and Williams College. After studying law, he worked as a lawyer in Greenfield, New Hampshire, between 1803 and 1808. Due to some military experience he had gained in the militia, he was inducted into the regular US Army as a major in 1808 . In 1811 he was in Indiana fighting the Indians. In the British-American War of 1812 he was first taken prisoner by the British and was then released as part of a prisoner exchange. In 1814, he distinguished himself in the Battle of Lundy's Lane, becoming not only known as a war hero, but also promoted to brigadier general. James Miller remained in the Army until 1819, when he was named the first governor of the new Arkansas Territory by President James Monroe .

The Arkansas Territory

The Arkansas Territory was part of the Louisiana Territory , the area Thomas Jefferson bought from the French in 1803. After the current state of Louisiana was formed in 1812 , the rest of the area was renamed Missouri Territory to avoid confusion. In 1819, the Arkansas Territory was formed from southern parts of the Missouri Territory. The new territory existed between July 4, 1819 and June 15, 1836. On this day, the state of Arkansas, which emerged from the territory, joined the union. The territory's capital was the Arkansas Post Office until 1821. Then the capital was moved to Little Rock . The boundaries of the territory in the east, south and north were largely identical to the later state of Arkansas, only in the west were areas of what is now Oklahoma . The white population in the area was just under 400 in 1799. By 1836 the number had risen to 60,000.

Arkansas Territory governor

James Miller initially took a lot of time before he left for his new home. It was not until September 1819 that he made his way from New England to Arkansas. He wanted to avoid the hot summer in the south. After a few detours, he reached his new capital, Arkansas Post, on December 26, 1819. In the meantime, Robert Crittenden , who had been appointed State Secretary of the Territory, had taken on official business and built up his own political power. Miller, who was also an Indian agent in his territory, felt uncomfortable in Arkansas from the beginning, longed to return to New England and was therefore on home leave more often. During this time he was represented by Crittenden, who was able to further expand his power base in the territory. Even so, he managed to lay the foundations for a functioning administration in Arkansas. Courts and prisons sprang up, an electoral law was passed, and the capital was moved from the Arkansas Post to Little Rock. As an Indian agent, he was unsuccessful. He did not succeed in regulating the land claims of the Indians among themselves, which in 1821 led to a war between the Cherokee Indians and the Osage . In addition there were the land claims of the white settlers. Ultimately, Miller resigned on December 27, 1824.

Another résumé

On his return to New England he was elected to the US House of Representatives for New Hampshire , but did not take this mandate. Instead, he became the head of customs in the port of Salem, Massachusetts . He held this position from 1825 to 1849 and gave up his post after a stroke. He died after another attack on July 7, 1851 in Temple, New Hampshire.

Web links

• Online biography in the Arkansas Encyclopedia (English)
• Online biography of Governors of Arkansas (English)
• James Miller in the database of Find a Grave (English)