Source
William Blount's early biography suggests a man destined for a renowned role in the early history of the United States. Born into privilege, he served in the Revolutionary War, was one of 39 men to sign the U.S. Constitution, and became one of Tennessee's first two Senators.
At the same time, Blount was dogged with serious financial troubles that caused him to make a unwise decision during his time in office. The result was the destruction of his career in the federal government, the creation of the sergeant-at-arms position in the Senate, and the chamber's first test of the nascent nation's impeachment processes.
Early life
Blount was born near Windsor, North Carolina, on March 26, 1749. He was part of a wealthy colonial family of merchants and planters with extensive property holdings along the Pamlico River. This status enabled him to pursue preparatory studies through private tutors and become active in the family's mercantile business.
Anticipating that the colonies would expand beyond the Appalachian Mountains, Blount began purchasing land in the region. He would ultimately acquire more than a million acres of western properties.
In 1771, a populist movement of settlers in the western part of North Carolina began agitating for better economic parity with eastern residents. Blount joined a militia to counter a group of 2,000 of these "Regulators." While the group was largely unarmed and the confrontation was bloodless, the movement's leaders were subsequently executed (although many of their proposed reforms were later adopted).
During the Revolutionary War, Blount became a purchasing agent. He soon became a paymaster for the Continental troops, serving in this capacity until 1780 and seeing active service at the Battle of Camden in South Carolina on August 16, 1780.
Role in early U.S. government
From 1780 to 1784, Blount was a member of the North Carolina state house of commons. He also served as a member of the Continental Congress in 1782 and 1783. He was briefly out of service in 1785, although he became a special agent for North Carolina at the Hopewell Treaty. Returning to the Continental Congress in 1786 and 1787, he became a delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 and was one of the signatories of the U.S. Constitution. Blount returned to North Carolina to serve in the state senate between 1788 and 1790.
President George Washington then appointed Blount governor of the Territory South of the Ohio River. The territory comprised lands west of North Carolina, including all of present day Tennessee. Blount held this role through 1796, with the associated title of Superintendent of Indian Affairs. He oversaw the Treaty of Holston, signed in July 1791, which resolved a dispute over the boundary Cherokee lands (although militant members of tribe continued to launch attacks on territory).
A depiction of the Treaty of Holston (Source)There were rumors that Blount misappropriated funds while in his official position, but a formal investigation turned up no evidence supporting the allegations. In 1796, he chaired the convention which framed the first state constitution of Tennessee. The process essentially circumvented the usual routine of requesting statehood from Congress, which had opted not to take up the issue due to the belief that the state would oppose the Federalist candidate in the upcoming election.
Tennessee was admitted as a state in June 1796. Blount was elected to one of the two new Senate seats, beginning his term on August 2.
The "Blount Conspiracy"
Blount's term in the Senate began at about the same time that he was facing serious financial difficulties due to his land speculation. He was far from the only who who had thought the lands would be valuable, but instead it proved to be a real estate bubble that prompted the Panic of 1796-1797 when it collapsed. While a 1795 treaty between the United States and Spain had guaranteed Americans free navigation of the Mississippi River, and Great Britain had agreed to the same condition after the Revolution, demand for western lands plummeted due to concerns that France would offer no such guarantee.
Creditors began to bring suits against Blount. Only his protected status as a U.S. senator protected him from arrest.
Meanwhile, Knoxville tavern keeper John Chisholm had developed a questionable scheme to keep southeastern territories in friendlier hands. He hoped to convince Britain to provide Creek and Cherokee Indians with weapons to establish a force that, when united with white frontiersmen, would be able to launch attacks on Florida. In return, Britain would award him the post of superintendent of Indian affairs and keep Pensacola as an open port.
The plan was presented to both the British ambassador to the United States and to the British government. While both rejected it, Blount became involved in the plot and expanded its scope to include an attack on New Orleans, which Blount vowed to personally lead. By transferring the city and Florida to Britain, free navigation of the Mississippi would be guaranteed and the value of western lands would likely rise.
On April 1, 1797, Blount made the ill-advised decision to send a letter, which "thinly disguised his desire to arouse the Creek and Cherokee Indians," to Indian interpreter James Carey. The communication included an instruction to read the letter three times before burning it. Instead, the letter wound up in the hands of David Henley, an Indian agent and rival of Blount's.
Henley shared the letter with President John Adams, who recognized that the proposed scheme would violate the U.S. treaty with Spain and could easily lead to war with both that nation and France. On July 3, Adams sent the letter to Congress along with a message informing lawmakers that Attorney General Charles Lee had given the opinion that Blount had committed a crime and was liable to impeachment. As such, Blount's action would be the first test of the impeachment powers granted to Congress in the Constitution.
Each chamber convened special committees to examine the "Blount Conspiracy." On July 6, the Senate committee voted in favor of expelling Blount, saying his conduct was "entirely inconsistent with his public trust." Blount, who had been absent from Congress during this time, reappeared soon after but refused to answer questions on the matter, instead retaining counsel.
One day after the Senate committee's decision, the House of Representatives voted 41-30 along party lines that a senator was an impeachable figure. They informed the Senate that they planned to draft articles of impeachment against Blount, and asked that he be suspended from his seat in the interim but present to answer the charges.
The Senate opted for a harsher action. On July 8, after two of Blount's colleagues testified that the letter was in his handwriting and Blount's defense counsel made his presentation, the Senate voted 25-1 to expel Blount. Six senators, including Blount, didn't vote on the matter, and the only vote against expulsion was due to technical reasons.
Blount sought to return home to Tennessee after posting a $20,000 bond, but instead diverted to North Carolina to tend to his wife after she was injured in a carriage accident. He was nevertheless ordered on July 10 to appear before Congress to answer to the House's impeachment charges, a demand Blount ignored. The Tennessee legislature named Joseph Inslee Anderson, a federal judge, to serve the remainder of Blount's term.
The issue dragged into the new year. On January 14, 1798, the House voted five impeachment articles against Blount. With the embattled ex-senator still refusing to answer the charges, the Senate voted on February 5 to create the position of sergeant-at-arms for the express purpose of compelling Blount's return. The newly established official was still unsuccessful after arriving in Tennessee, in part because they realized that no one in Knoxville was willing to join the posse to bring Blount back to Washington.
In January 1799, Blount was tried in absentia. The debate largely focused on whether the Senate had the authority to prosecute a senator who had already been expelled. Members narrowly defeated a resolution asserting that Blount was an impeachable officer, leaving it unclear whether senators could not be impeached or if Blount specifically couldn't be impeached because he was no longer in office.
On January 14, the Senate voted 14-11 that it lacked jurisdiction and the case against Blount was dismissed.
Later life
The scandal did little to dent Blount's reputation in Tennessee. In fact, it made him more popular since the state's residents regarded him as fighting for the state's economic interests in the face of a disinterested federal government. During the Senate trial, he was elected to the the Tennessee state senate and chosen as its speaker after fellow state senator James White resigned in order for Blount to step into the role.
The Blount Mansion in Knoxville (Source)
Blount managed to resolve his financial troubles by transferring his assets (including the handsome Blount Mansion, a 200-acre farm, 27 slaves, and all of his land investments) to his half-brother. The transfer enabled him to declare himself bankrupt with no personal assets, thus escaping his creditors. While this ruined Blount's credit, his half-brother was able to retain most of the holdings for Blount's children to inherit.
Blount died in Knoxville on March 21, 1800.
The Blount family remained politically active. Blount's son, William Grainger Blount, served as a Tennessee congressman from 1815 to 1819, while his brother Thomas Blount intermittently served as a North Carolina representative.
Curiously, another member of the Blount family would also take an active role in military operations that sought to accomplish a similar goal to the "Blount Conspiracy." Willie Blount, one of Blount's half-brothers, served as governor of 1809 to 1816. During the War of 1812, he was called on to organize an expedition against West Florida and muster a garrison under Andrew Jackson to defend New Orleans.
Sources: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, Tennessee Bar Association, William Blount Mansion, NCPEdia, "Expulsion Case of William Blount of Tennessee" at Senate.gov, Soldier-Statesmen of the Constitution by Robert K. Wright Jr. and Morris J. MacGregor Jr., The Creek War by Richard Blackmon
Posts
