Thomas Jefferson Rusk

Thomas Jefferson Rusk

Thomas Jefferson Rusk (* 5. December 1803 in Pendleton , Anderson County , South Carolina ; † 29. July 1857 in Nacogdoches , Texas ) was an American politician of the Democratic Party . From 1846 until his death he was a member of the US Senate for the US state of Texas . He also played an important role during the Republic of Texas .

biography

Rusk was born in Pendleton, South Carolina. There he attended public schools. After completing his law studies , he was admitted to the bar in 1825. He then worked in his own law firm in Clarkesville , Georgia . In 1827 he married Marry F. Cleveland. After the marriage, he joined his father-in-law as a business partner, who invested in mines. In 1834 it became known that other business partners had embezzled funds from the two of them and fled. Rusk then moved to Nacogdoches. He never got his money back.

Rusk decided to stay in Texas. So he became a citizen of Mexico in 1835 . The citizens of Nacogdoches soon decided, due to the arbitrariness of the Mexicans, to separate Texas from Mexico. From then on, Rusk was very much involved in the drive for independence. The Texas Provisional Government appointed Rusk General Inspector of the Army in the Nacogdoches area. Rusk was a member of the 1836 congregation that drafted and signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. He was not a signatory himself, but he chaired the Committee for the Preparation of the Constitution of the Republic of Texas. On March 17, 1836, he was appointed Secretary of War in the government of the Republic of Texas. After it became known that the Texan troops could not hold the Alamo , Rusk was involved in moving the seat of government to Harrisburg . After Rusk proved himself in the Battle of San Jacinto , he became Commander in Chief of the Army of the Republic of Texas from May to October 1836. In October 1836 he was again Secretary of War, this time until November 1837. From 1837 to 1838 he was a member of the Second Congress of the Republic of Texas. Rusk was elected Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas , the supreme court of justice of the young state, by the Texas Congress in 1838 . In 1840 he resigned to work as a lawyer again. In 1841 he entered into a partnership with James Pinckney Henderson , from then on they worked together.

From then on, Rusk made a name for himself as a supporter of the incorporation of Texas into the United States. After Texas became a state, Rusk became the first Class 1 Senator from Texas to serve in the US Senate. There he quickly emerged as a supporter of James K. Polk's policies . Rusk was also a strong supporter of the Kansas-Nebraska Act . 1857 it was US President James Buchanan for United States Postmaster General to appoint, but Rusk refused. Instead, he served as President pro tempore of the United States Senate from March 14 until his death .

His wife had already died of tuberculosis in April 1856, and five of the seven children were still alive at the time. On July 29, 1857, Rusk committed suicide . He was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Nacogdoches. After his death, Rusk County and the city of Rusk were named after him.

Web links

• Thomas Jefferson Rusk in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Thomas Jefferson Rusk in the database of Find a Grave (English)