Thomas Dickens Arnold

Thomas Dickens Arnold (born May 3, 1798 in Spotsylvania County , Virginia , †  May 26, 1870 in Jonesborough , Tennessee ) was an American politician . Between 1831 and 1833 and again from 1841 to 1843 he represented the state of Tennessee in the US House of Representatives .

Career

In 1808, Thomas Arnold came with his parents to Knox County , Tennessee, where he received a private education. At the age of 14 he participated as a drummer in the British-American War of 1812 . He later worked as a teacher in various counties in Tennessee. After a subsequent law degree and his admission as a lawyer in 1820, he began to work in Knoxville in his new profession.

In the 1820s, Thomas Arnold joined the movement against later President Andrew Jackson and first became a member of the National Republican Party and then in the mid-1830s of the then-founded Whig Party . In the congressional elections of 1830 Arnold was elected as a National Republican in the second constituency of Tennessee to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , where he succeeded Democrat Pryor Lea on March 4, 1831 . Until March 3, 1833 he was able to complete a legislative period in Congress . This was determined by the discussions about President Jackson's policies. It was about the controversial enforcement of the Indian Removal Act , the conflict with the state of South Carolina , which culminated in the nullification crisis , and the banking policy of the president. On May 14, 1832, Arnold survived an assassination attempt by a man named Morgan A. Heard.

In 1836 Thomas Arnold became Brigadier General of the Tennessee State Militia. He later moved to Greeneville . In 1840 he was re-elected to Congress as a Whigs candidate in the first district of Tennessee, where he succeeded William Blount Carter on March 4, 1841 . This allowed him to spend another legislative period in the US House of Representatives until March 3, 1843. This was shaped by the discussions about a possible annexation of the Republic of Texas , which had been independent of Mexico since 1836 . In addition, the dispute between the new President John Tyler and the Whigs also weighed on the work of Congress. During this time, Arnold was Chairman of the Committee on Claims .

After leaving Congress, Thomas Arnold returned to work as a lawyer. Politically, he no longer appeared. He died on May 26, 1870 during a trial in Jonesborough and was buried in Greeneville.

Web links

• Thomas Dickens Arnold in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Thomas Dickens Arnold in the database of Find a Grave (English)