John Bennett Dawson

John Bennett Dawson (born March 17, 1798 in Nashville , Tennessee , † June 26, 1845 in St. Francisville , Louisiana ) was an American politician . Between 1841 and 1845 he represented the state of Louisiana in the US House of Representatives twice .

Career

John Dawson visited the Center College in Danville ( Kentucky ) and then moved to Louisiana, where he served as planters worked and in the newspaper business. There he also embarked on a political career as a member of the Democratic Party . In 1834 he ran unsuccessfully for governor of Louisiana: with 37 percent of the vote, he was clearly defeated by Edward Douglass White of the Whigs . He was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in the late 1830s . Dawson also became a member of the state militia, in whose ranks he rose to major general. He also became a district judge.

In the 1840 congressional elections , Dawson was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the second constituency of Louisiana , where he succeeded Thomas Withers Chinn of the Whig Party on March 4, 1841 . In 1842 and 1844, he was re-elected to the third district of Louisiana. This enabled him to complete two legislative terms in Congress by March 3, 1845 . His time in the US House of Representatives was initially marked by tensions between the Whigs and President John Tyler . In addition, the question of annexing the Republic of Texas , which has been independent of Mexico since 1836, was discussed. This question led to the Mexican-American War in early 1845 . During his time in the House of Representatives, Dawson was also a postman in New Orleans in 1843 . That was possible at the time because Congress did not meet permanently in Washington, but instead took long breaks between its meetings. John Dawson died on June 26, 1845.

Web links

John Bennett Dawson in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

John Bennett Dawson in the database of Find a Grave (English)

Remarks

↑ The sources contradict each other in part, as it is sometimes said that he was a member of Congress until his death. An election to the 29th Congress, whose session began on March 4, 1845, is not documented.

personal data
SURNAME	Dawson, John Bennett
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American politician
DATE OF BIRTH	March 17, 1798
PLACE OF BIRTH	near Nashville , Tennessee
DATE OF DEATH	June 26, 1845
Place of death	St. Francisville , Louisiana

[1] The sources contradict each other in part, as it is sometimes said that he was a member of Congress until his death. An election to the 29th Congress, whose session began on March 4, 1845, is not documented.