lieutenant death_date children width birth_date signature term_end death_place profession order term_start spouse image name caption birth_place party office religion article_title
christopher harrison 26 july 1834 none 240px 1784 jonathan jennings signature.svg september 12 , 1822 charlestown , indiana lawyer farmer politician 1st december 12 , 1816 ann gilmore hay jonathanjennings.jpg jonathan jennings official based on a small portrait of jennings painted in 1809 portrait . of jonathan jennings by james forbes , readington , new jersey democratic-republican governor of indiana presbyterian jonathan jennings

jonathan jennings

jonathan jennings -lrb- 1784 -- july 26 , 1834 -rrb- was the first governor of indiana and a nine-term congressman from indiana .
born in either hunterdon county , new jersey , or rockbridge county , virginia , he studied law before immigrating to the indiana territory in 1806 .
jennings initially intended to practice law , but took jobs as an assistant at the federal land office at vincennes and assistant to the clerk of the territorial legislature to support himself , and pursued interests in land speculation and politics .
jennings became involved in a dispute with the territorial governor , william henry harrison , that soon led him to enter politics and set the tone for his early political career .
in 1808 jennings moved to the eastern part of the indiana territory and settled near charlestown , in clark county .
he was elected as the indiana territory 's delegate to the u.s. congress by dividing the pro-harrison supporters and running as an anti-harrison candidate .
by 1812 he was the leader of the anti-slavery and pro-statehood faction of the territorial government .
jennings and his political allies took control of the territorial assembly and dominated governmental affairs after the resignation of governor harrison in 1812 .
as a congressional delegate jennings aided passage of the enabling act in 1816 , which authorized the organization of indiana 's state government and state constitution .
he was elected president of the indiana constitutional convention , held in corydon in june 1816 , where he helped draft the state 's first constitution .
jennings supported the effort to ban slavery in the state and favored a strong legislative branch of government .
in august 1816 jennings was elected to serve as the first governor of indiana and re-elected for an additional term .
he pressed for the construction of roads and schools , and negotiated the treaty of st. mary 's to open up central indiana to american settlement .
his opponents attacked his participation in the treaty negotiations as unconstitutional and brought impeachment proceedings against him , a measure that was narrowly defeated by a vote of 15 to 13 after a month-long investigation and the resignation of the lieutenant governor .
during his second term and following the panic of 1819 , jennings encountered financial problems , a situation exacerbated by his inability to keep up with his business interests and run the state government simultaneously .
ineligible for another term as indiana governor under the state constitution , jennings looked for other means of financial support .
shortly before completion of his second term as governor in 1822 , jennings was elected to the u.s. house of representatives , before retiring from public service in 1831 .
in congress jennings promoted federal spending on internal improvements .
jennings had been a heavy drinker of alcohol for much of his life .
his addiction worsened after the death of his first wife , ann , and his development of rheumatism .
jennings 's alcoholism led to defeat in his reelection campaign in 1830 .
in retirement his condition worsened and he was unable to work his farm .
when his finances collapsed , his creditors sought to take his land holdings and charlestown farm .
to protect his friend , u.s. senator john tipton purchased jennings 's farm and permitted him to continue living there .
after jennings 's death , his estate was sold , but it left no funds to purchase a headstone for his grave , which remained unmarked for fifty-seven years .
historians have offered varied interpretations of jennings 's life and impact on the development of indiana .
early state historians , jacob piatt dunn jr. and william wesley woollen , gave jennings high praise and credited him with the defeat of the pro-slavery forces in indiana and with laying the foundation of the state .
more critical historians during the prohibition era , such as logan eseray , described jennings as a crafty and self-promoting politician and focused on his alcoholism .
among the modern historians , randy mills places jennings 's importance between the two extremes , but agreed with woolen 's assessment that the state `` owes him more than she can compute . ''
