Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-05-29

. WIG 10 lTdElG u CONSTITUTION Il
Tennessee preparatory to her &C
. mission into the Union, we find tn
name of Andrew Jackson associate
with the honorable names of Joh
McNairy, James Robertson, ThoS
Hardeman and Joel Lewis, as on
OF the five delegates that Davidso
: county sent to the Knoxville con
vention to lay the foundation of on
future state. And when it was re
solved by the convention to ilppOin
two members from each county t
draft a constitution, Judge McNair,
and Andrew jackson represented
Davidson county on that committee
Soon after the formation of her con
StitutiOn, Tennessee was admitted
into the Union, and her name wa
enrolled among the sisterhood o
states. Upon her admission sh'
was entitled to only one representa-
tive in congress, and Andrew Jack
son was elected by the people Il
4 that position. Crowned with this
honor of the young commonwealth
he mounted his horse for an eight
hundred-mile Journey through what
was then little better than bowling
wilderness, to Philadelphia, to rep.
resent his people in the national
councils. His brief career as mem
Der of congress was marked by
Watchful devotion to the interests
of his constituents, and fearless and
independent action on all measures
that came up for consideration. Be
| fore his term as a member of the
house of representatives expired a
! vacancy occurred in the senate, and
he was appointed to represent the
state in the senate of the United
States. This was a high honor to
confer upon one who, less than ten
years before that time, had come
among the people who thus hoDored
| him as a briefleSs, ffiendless young
lawyer. He was only thirty years
old when he took his seat in the
senate. These high positions to
which he was so soon elevated after
his arrival here are unmistakable
evidences of the fact that he had
made deep impression upon the
public mind and affected a firm
lodgment in the popular heart. Yet
he was not man of any great
learning or eloquence. In these re-
spects he doubtless had superiors
among his acknowledgements bet
ter qualified to shine in all these
positions than himself. But there
was that about him which marked
him as Il man to be trusted and
leader to be safely followed, and
the people, with that keen, intuitive
insight into the real character of
public men, discovered and appro-
priated it. He seems not to have
liked the duties and modes of pro-
cedure of the senate. 1t is not
strange that he did not. In few
months after his appointment he
resigned the position. He would,
in all probability, never have risen
to any great eminence in that body
if he had remained a member of it.
1t was an arena unsuited for the de-
velopment and display of the gifts
with which nature had endowed
him. 1t was simply impossible for
him to consent to remain in place
where he could hope to reach and
maintain nothing more than the
common level of mediocrity. 1t
was wholly foreign to his nature to
sit down quietly and day by day
watch his intense individuality sink
in the dead sea of senatorial dignity.
Soon after his retirement from the
senate, he was elected by the legis-
lature to a seat on the bench of the
supreme court of the state. The
people seemed unwilling to dispense
with his services altogether, and
determined to have the benefit of
his labors in some public capacity. /
No reports of his decisions have
come down to us as the first volume
supreme court of Tennessee COM
mences with the decisions of Judge
Overton, Jaekson's successor. That
Judge Jackson brought any great
amount of law learning to the per-
fOrmance of his dCties while on the
bench, cannot be safely assumed,
but that he displayed a clear judg-
ment and a high sense of right can
not be fairly questioned.
Member Ofthe constitutional con-
Venti0n, "a representative in congress,
a senator of the United States, a
judge of the supreme court of the
state; these were high positions and
worthy the ambition of the best
men in the state. But Jackson had
not yet reached the theater where
the genius with which the God of
nature had so richly endowed him
could fitly expand its wonderful
power. True, on a field where he
was not peculiarly qualified to eX-
Gel, he had won the prize of honor
from the men by whom he was sur
rounded. But these positions and
honOrs did not possess for him the
attractions they have for most men,
and their uncongeniality doubtless
had much to do in his retiring to
the shades of the Hermitage, in
tending thereby to shake hands
with public life forever. How little
we know what the future has in
store for us! If this conviction of
his had been verified, we would not
be here to-day engaged in these
august ceremonies. His services
already rendered to.the state would
have preserved his name among
her archives and rescued it from OBJ
liViOn, but few save the students of
her history would have known that
such a man as Andrew Jackson ever
lived.
But the time and the occasion
were approaching which would call
for the man, and in that call the
name of Andrew Jackson would be
heard.
In June, 1912, war was declared
against Great Britain. Gen. jack
son Che had been elected a major
general of militia) rendered his SER
vices; with twenty-five hundred
men, to the government. Their
services were promptly accepted,
and in November Gov. Blount was
requested to send fifteen hundred
men to reinforce Gen. Wilkinson at
New Orleans. The governor at
once issued orders to Gen. Jackson,
and the work of preparation COM
menced to transport the troops to
their point of destination. Jackson
issued to his troops one of those
stirring addresses, which, consider
ing the times and circumstances
that called them forth, whatever
critics may say of their literary
merits, are models of their kind. |
Nothing shows more clearly his
thorough comprehension of the in
stincts and character of the men he
commanded, than the addresses he
issued to them from time to time,
as the occasion or emergency sug-
gested. After receiving this order
to repair with his troops to the rein
forcement of Wilkinson, he was all