(Excerpt from Affairs in Kansas: Speech of Hon. James C. J...)
Excerpt from Affairs in Kansas: Speech of Hon. James C. Jones, of Tennessee, Delivered in the Senate, February 25, 1856; In Reply to the Speech of Hon. Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts, of February 18, on the Affairs of Kansas Territory I am sure that his Excellency Charles Robin son, the Governor elect of Kansas, will feel himself profoundly indebted to the Senator for the discovery that he is the Miles Standish of Kansas. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(This reproduction was printed from a digital file created...)
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James Chamberlain Jones was born June 7, 1809 and reared near the line of Davidson and Wilson counties, Tennessee, in the immediate neighborhood of Andrew Jackson's home, "The Hermitage. " His parents were Peter and Catherine (Chappell) Jones. His parents died when he was still young, and he was raised by an uncle in Wilson County. He occasionally attended public schools.
James Jones had been educated as a lawyer, but never practiced.
After his marriage in 1829, Jones settled near Lebanon, Tennessee as a farmer. His entrance into public life was as a member of the General Assembly of 1839. He demonstrated such ability as a stump speaker that he was chosen district elector on the Harrison ticket in 1840. To compass the defeat of James K. Polk in his second gubernatorial race in 1841, the Whigs chose Jones to be his opponent, as one fitted to carry over the enthusiasm of the "log-cabin campaign" of 1840. To match the methodical, logical, and well-trained Polk, the Whigs chose his opposite--one whose strong point was ability to fence, and, by the arts of a comedian, mimicry, raillery, and humorous thrusts, to divert the immense crowds that attended the joint debates in nearly every county of the state, Jones was elected by 3, 243 votes--the first native of Tennessee to become governor of the state.
In 1843 Polk and Jones were nominated to renew the contest. Again Polk lost, by 3, 837 votes.
In 1848 Jones was presidential elector for the state at large for Taylor and Fillmore. In 1850 he removed to Memphis and accepted the presidency of the projected Memphis & Charleston Railroad. In creating favorable sentiment and procuring subscriptions from towns and individuals he was successful; his order of ability fitted him for the task. That success aided in his election by a Whig legislature as United States senator, for the term 1851-57.
He was the first senator chosen from that division of the state known as West Tennessee. Neither by his natural endowment nor by his training was he suited to a senatorial career; he was comparatively inconspicuous in that body. He was, however, seriously considered in 1852 for the vice-presidential nomination. So competent an observer as Salmon P. Chase, in February, thought "it pretty certain that Scott and Jones of Tennessee will be the nominees". Jones in the national convention was influential in procuring the nomination of Scott over Fillmore.
He canvassed Tennessee in behalf of Buchanan. Thereafter he worked for the advance of agriculture in the state, addressing the people at fairs, but he made no effort to reënter public life. Dying on his farm near Memphis at the comparatively early age of fifty, he was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in that city.
James Chamberlain Jones was the first senator chosen from that division of the state known as West Tennessee. The most notable achievements of the two administrations of Jones were the commencement of the present state capitol, and the establishment of a school for the blind, at Nashville, and a school for deaf mutes, at Knoxville. Also, while Jones was governor, Nashville, which had been serving as the temporary capital of the state for years was officially selected as the capital city of Tennessee on a permanent basis. Another Jones's achievement was his service as a President of Memphis and Charleston Railroad Company, 1850.
(This reproduction was printed from a digital file created...)
(Excerpt from Affairs in Kansas: Speech of Hon. James C. J...)
While governor James Jones was a Whig and was initially elected to the Senate as a Whig. However, while in that body he switched parties, leaving the moribund Whigs for the Democrats. Toward the close of Jones's term as senator, after the Whig party had disintegrated, Jones in a speech in the Senate (August 9, 1856) announced his support of Buchanan for the presidency: "The Democratic party affords the best, if not last, hope of safety and security to the South. "
In physical appearance, Jones was a thin man who stood 6'2" but weighed only 125 pounds, and because of that he had a nickname "Lean Jimmy". As he was dubbed by his admirers, was tall and swarthy, with a voice deep, flexible, and melodious.
On August 27, 1829, he was married to Sarah Watson Munford of Danville, Kentucky, and as a farmer settled near Lebanon, Tennessee.
