USA > Mississippi > School history of Mississippi; for use in public and private schools > Part 7
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33
6. Major Guion controlled the civil and military affairs of the district from the withdrawal of the Spaniards (March 30, 1798) to the arrival of Governor Sargent (August 6, 1798).
92
HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
EPOCH V UNDER AMERICAN CONTROL (1798-1817)
CHAPTER XIII
FIRST STEP IN TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT (1798-1800)
109. Establishment of the Territory .- On April 7, 1798, President Adams approved an act of Congress which de- clared that " all that tract of country bounded on the west by the Mississippi, on the north by a line drawn due east from the mouth of the Yazoo to the Chattahoochee River, on the east by the Chattahoochee River, on the south by the thirty-first degree of north latitude, shall be and is hereby constituted one district, to be called the Mississippi Territory."*
110. The Georgia Claims .- The State of Georgia claimed all the territory between the thirty-first degree of latitude and the State of Tennessee, with the exception of a narrow strip of land twelve miles wide, which had been given to the United States by South Carolina. The Territory of Mis- sissippi at first embraced a little more than one-third of this claim, or only such part of it as had been held by the Spanish
*This territory embraced a strip of land extending through the present States of Mississippi and Alabama and measuring about three hundred and fifty miles from east to west and about one hundred miles from north to south. It was bounded on the north by that part of the Georgia claims which was not em- braced in the British Province of West Florida, on the east by the State of Georgia, on the south by the Spanish possessions, and on the west by the Mississippi River. Congress reserved the right to divide the Territory into two parts.
93
FIRST STEP IN TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT
government. The white inhabitants of this section had been left without a form of civil government upon the withdrawal of the Spanish authority, and their safety de- manded prompt action by the United States. It was argued by some members of Congress that, although Georgia claimed this country, it would cause unnecessary delay to
TENNESSEE TERRITORY
35.
TWELVE MILE STRIP CEDED BY S.E. 1737 ADDED TO MISS, TY. 18043
CHEROKEE
ATION
NATION
GEORGIA CLAIMS
34°
CEDED TO U.S. 1802
SUNFLOWER A
VAZ00
CHOCTAW.
NATION
GREEK NATION
32.90'
BALE-
MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY
32
AS ORIGINALLY ORGANIZED IN 1788
QHASHINGTON
A:ARAMA R
FORT MUMS
31
31°
SPANISH WESTE FLORIDA
ADDED TO LA. 1812
MISS TTY. 1812
MISS. SOUND
Solo
GULF OF MEXICO
PERDIDO> PENSACOLA
30°
MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY AND ADJACENT CLAIMS
·
wait until the claim could be settled before establishing a territorial government. The act, therefore, was a kind of emergency bill, as it was thought to be unwise to give greater cause for offence to the State of Georgia than the situation demanded. That part of the Georgia claims which was held entirely by the Indians was not embraced in the
·
3
BIG BLACK R.
ADDED TO MISS.TY. 1804
33.
32ª
94
HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
Territory of Mississippi at this time. The rights of Georgia were furtlier protected by a clause in which it was declared that this act should not affect the rights of Georgia with respect to her authority over this country or to her posses- sion of the soil.
Shortly after the establishment of the Territory, Georgia strongly protested against this act of Congress, declaring that her rights had not been properly recognized.
111. First Grade of Territorial Government .- The act which created the Territory of Mississippi provided for a government similar in form to that of the Northwest Terri- tory. The President was authorized to appoint a governor for a term of three years, a secretary for a term of four years, and three judges for a term of "good behavior." The governor and judges, or any three of them, were authorized to adopt and publish in the district such laws of the original States as were necessary and best suited to the district, and report them to Congress from time to time. The governor was directed to appoint and commission all military officers below the rank of general officers and such magistrates and other civil officers as might be necessary before the organization of the general assembly. He was authorized to lay out into counties and townships those parts of the district to which the Indians no longer had any just claim. This form of the government was to last until the population of the Territory should number " five thou- sand free male inhabitants of full age," when a second grade of territorial government should be organized.
112. Slavery in Mississippi .- As slavery had been pro- hibited in the Northwest Territory by law, an effort was made to uproot this institution in Mississippi. After a heated debate in Congress, which was the first to take place under the Federal Constitution on the prohibition of slavery in a Territory, the effort to abolish the institution in Missis-
95
FIRST STEP IN TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT
sippi failed, there being only twelve votes in the House of Representatives in favor of such a law.
113. Administration of Governor Sargent (1798-1800) .- Winthrop Sargent, a native of Massachusetts and a former secretary of the Territory northwest of the Ohio, was the first governor of the Territory of Mississippi. He was a man of ability, but his manner was so repulsive to the inhabitants of the Territory that they soon began to oppose his administration with much bitterness. He returned to Massachusetts, leaving his feeble secretary, Colonel John Steele, to perform the double duties of governor and secre- tary of the Territory.
114. Creation of Counties .- On April 2, 1799, Governor Sargent divided the Territory into two counties, which he named Adams and Pickering after the President and the Secretary of State. These were the first counties to be organized in the State of Mississippi. The dividing line between them was similar to that between the present counties of Adams and Jefferson as far as they extend, and thence due east along a line a little to the north of latitude 31° 30' " to the territorial boundary." On June 4, 1800, a third county, Washington, was formed, which embraced all of that part of the Territory east of Pearl River.
115. Sargent's Laws .- It will be remembered that the governor and the three judges, or any three of them, were authorized to frame for the Territory laws like those of the States then belonging to the Union. These officials went beyond the limits of their authority, however, and made laws that were in many cases against not only the spirit of our institutions, but the Constitution of the United States. Although most of these laws were afterwards annulled by Congress, they made the authors still more disliked by the inhabitants, and two of the indges left the
96
HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
Territory never to return. Only one of the three judges appointed by President Adams was a lawyer.
One of their laws prescribed the death penalty and con- fiscation of property for the crime of treason. They charged eight dollars for licenses to keep a tavern and the same for marriage licenses, and prescribed that the money from these sources should belong to the governor. A fee of four dollars was charged for the passport which they required every person to get before leaving the Territory. Although the judges were paid a salary by the United States, they framed laws that allowed them to collect fees for the very work they had been paid to do.
116. Opposition to Governor Sargent .- These unjust laws increased the opposition to the governor until a general committee, chosen by the people, prepared a memorial, telling of their troubles and praying that Congress would advance the country to the second grade of territorial gov- ernment. Narsworthy Hunter was chosen to present this document to Congress. It has been well said that this was " a stroke for self-government not unlike that which the United States as a whole had made" several years previously Congress condemned the governor's system of unjust fees, and, contrary to the ordinance of 1787, advanced the coun- try to the second grade of territorial government by per- mitting the people to have a legislature before the popula- tion had reached the prescribed number of "five thousand free male inhabitants of full age."*
Summary
1. On April 7, 1798, Congress organized that part of the present States of Mississippi and Alabama situated between latitude 31° and 32° 30' into the Territory of Mississippi without annulling the claims of Georgia to the possession of the same.
*According to the census of 1800, the Mississippi Territory contained 8,850 persons, including 3,489 slaves.
97
SECOND STEP IN TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT
2. The first grade of territorial government provided for a governor, a secretary, and three judges to be appointed by the President of the United States. The governor was authorized to appoint all other officers, civil and military, " below the rank of general officers," and, with the assistance of the judges, to adopt and publish such laws of the "original States " as were suited to the needs of the new Territory.
3. Slavery was legalized, though the importation of slaves from any place without the United States was prohibited.
4. The administration of Governor Sargent (1798-1800) was characterized by a constantly growing opposition to his laws and to his system of fees. This opposition culminated in an appeal to Congress for relief, and in a request that the Territory be advanced to a second grade of territorial government by giving it a legislative assembly.
5. Governor Sargent withdrew from the territory April 4, 1800, leaving his infirm secretary, Colonel John Steele, to perform the duties of secretary and governor.
CHAPTER XIV
SECOND STEP IN TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT (1800-1808)
117. Establishment of a Legislative Assembly .- By an act, approved May 10, 1800, Congress provided for the estab- lishment of a general assembly, or legislature, consisting of the governor, a legislative council, and a house of repre- sentatives. The legislative council was to consist of five members chosen for a period of five years. They were to be selected by Congress from a list of names, nominated by the house of representatives of the Territory. The number of representatives in the assembly was limited to nine-four each from Adams and Pickering counties and one from the newly created county of Washington-until the number of free male inhabitants of full age in the Terri- tory should amount to five thousand. After that time there should be one representative for every five hundred free 7
98
HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
male inhabitants, until the total number should amount to twenty-five, when the number and proportion of representa- tives should be regulated by the legislature. The council and house of representatives were authorized to elect by joint ballot a delegate to Congress, who was to have the right of debating, but not of voting, in that body. The governor was given power to veto legislative acts, and no provision was made for overriding his veto. The act of Congress also provided for the first meeting of the general assembly on September 22, 1800, and for annual meetings thereafter, unless called together oftener by the governor .*
118. Qualifications for Voting and Holding Office .- The governor was required to live in the Territory and to own one thousand acres of land therein during his term of office. Similar requirements were made of the other Territorial officers and voters for the same.
119. Settlement of the Georgia Claim (1802) .- Although Congress made provision in each of the two acts establish- ing the Mississippi Territory for settling the claim of Georgia to the lands therein, that State did all in her power to prevent the organization and recognition of this Terri- tory. In December, 1800, the legislature of Georgia petitioned Congress to repeal the two acts (1798 and 1800) establishing the Mississippi Territory. In 1801 a repre- sentative of Georgia in the National House of Representa- tives protested against the recognition of the Hon. Nars- worthy Hunter, the first congressional delegate chosen by the newly organized general assembly of Mississippi Terri- tory, on the ground that Georgia had legal control over that country. This opposition continued until April 24, 1802, when the commissioners on the part of the United States and of Georgia for adjusting the claim, reached an agree- ment by which the territory in dispute was surrendered to
* See Poore's Charters and Constitutions, Part II., pp. 1051-1052.
99
SECOND STEP IN TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT
the United States for the sum of $1,250,000. The United States agreed to satisfy the claims for land that had been previously granted by Georgia in this region, to extinguish the Indian titles within the State of Georgia, and to admit the Mississippi Territory as a State as soon as its free white population had increased to sixty thousand. Georgia also received from the United States a strip of territory twelve miles wide, which extended along the northern border of the State, and which formerly belonged to South Carolina .*
120. Governor W. C. C. Claiborne .- In 1801 President Jefferson appointed William Charles Cole Claiborne to succeed Winthrop Sargent as governor of the Territory of Mississippi. Governor Claiborne was a Virginian, a descendant of the William Claiborne who had been a prominent character in the colonial history of Maryland. When Governor Claiborne received his appointment he was living in Nashville. Although only twenty-six years of age at that time, he had served as one of the judges of the Superior Court of Tennessee, and had been a member of the national House of Representatives since 1797. When he reached Natchez (November 22, 1801) he was cordially received by the people. In his administration Indian titles to large tracts of land were extinguished, the militia was well organized, lawlessness was put down, and the limits of the Territory were increased. Governor Claiborne was one of the commissioners to receive Louisiana from the French government, and was later appointed governor of the newly acquired territory of Orleans (October 1, 1804). From the time of his departure from Mississippi (December 2, 1803) to the arrival of Governor Williams in January,
* See Abridgments of the Debates of Congress, Vol. II., pp. 217- 221, 331-338, 576-578; Goodspeed's Memoirs of Mississippi, Vol. I., p. 77.
100
HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
1805, Cato West, secretary of the Territory, served as gov- ernor .*
121. Governor Robert Williams (1805-1809) .- Robert Williams, of North Carolina, and Cowles Meadt (coles meed), a native of Virginia, were then appointed governor and secretary, respectively, of the Mississippi Territory. The Republicans in the Territory had recommended one of their own number, Colonel Cato West, for governor, and were displeased with the appointment of Governor Williams. Although a public dinner was given by the most prominent citizens of the territorial capital in celebration of Governor Williams' arrival, his repulsive manner and haughty bearing soon made him unpopular with the inhabi- tants, and developed a spirit of opposition to his administra- tion. The principal event of his term as governor was the arrest and trial of Aaron Burr. The administration of Governor Williams ended with his removal by President Madison, in March, 1809.}
122. Organization of the Militia .- Although great efforts had been made by Governor Sargent to organize the militia, the Territory was found to be entirely defenceless upon the arrival of his successor. The legislature, following Gov- ernor Claiborne's advice, passed a law which resulted in the organization of military companies in every county of the Territory. On December 20, 1801, the governor wrote to the secretary of state :
' We require five hundred muskets and as many rifles,
* See Claiborne's Mississippi, Chapter XXII. For a sketch of the life of Governor Claiborne, see ibid., pp. 250 et seq.
t In early life he went to Georgia, where he soon acquired political distinction. He was living in that State when he re- ceived his appointment as secretary of the Territory of Mis- sissippi. Claiborne's Mississippi, pp. 275-276.
# See Claiborne's Mississippi, pp. 258, 274, 295, 302.
IOI
SECOND STEP IN TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT
which I hope will be sent as early as practicable. Border- ing on a foreign power-separated from the nearest State by a wilderness of six hundred miles-with numerous savage tribes surrounding our settlements, and a slave population nearly equal to the whites, we need an armed militia both for safety and for tranquility.'
When the muskets came he wrote that he found the people of the Territory much prejudiced against them and unwilling " to depend on any arm but the rifle, the weapon of their fathers." In 1802 the militia of the Territory numbered about two thousand, and was well organized .*
123. Suppression of Lawlessness .- In the early history of the Territory, traders from the upper Mississippi descended the river on flatboats to Natchez or New Orleans. After selling their cargoes, they returned home either on horse- back or on foot, since there were no steamboats at that time. As there were but few settlements on the dim trails or paths along which the traders went with their money, the country was filled with bands of robbers. In 1802 the Territory was so much alarmed over the murders and robberies com- mitted by Mason and Harp that Governor Claiborne offered a reward of two thousand dollars for their capture. This resulted in the execution of one and probably of both of them, and of some of the members of their gang. Robbery then ceased and travel became safer.t
124. Philip Nolan .- This early hero of Mississippi was like the western cowboy of a later day. While Spain held possession of Louisiana and Texas, she was very strict in forbidding the trade and travel of citizens of the United States in those countries. Philip Nolan spent much of his time bringing wild horses from the western plains to Mis-
* Claiborne's Mississippi, pp. 223, 231.
t Claiborne's Mississippi, pp. 225-228; Jo Guild's Did Times in Tennessee, pp. 94-99.
102
HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
sissippi for sale, in spite of a Spanish law forbidding it. It was the bravery of this man that first caused the early settlers of Texas to respect the inhabitants of the United States, and thus prepared the way for the annexation of that country to the Union at a later date .* He was finally killed by the Spaniards (1801).
125. Extinction of Indian Claims and Creation of New Counties .- By a treaty made shortly after Governor Clai- borne's arrival in the Territory, the Choctaws gave to the United States all the lands in the old Natchez District which had been ceded to England in 1777. In 1805 the Choctaws ceded to the United States a strip of land north of the thirty-first degree and east of the Natchez District. This grant is marked " First Choctaw Cession " on the map on page 150.t
In Governor Claiborne's administration, Claiborne, Wil- kinson, and Wayne counties were organized, and the name of Pickering was changed to Jefferson.
126. Capital of the Territory .- In 1802 the legislature of the Territory removed the seat of the territorial government to the town of Washington, six miles east of Natchez, the first capital.
127. Territorial Delegates in Congress .- In 1802 Colonel Thomas Green was chosen delegate from the Mississippi Territory to the national House of Representatives to succeed Captain Narsworthy Hunter, who had died at Washington in March of the same year. In the following year the legislature elected Dr. William Lattimore, of Natchez, to represent the Territory in the eighth Congress. He was reelected and served during the following Congress, when he was succeeded by the Hon. George Poindexter.
*Hale's (E. E.) Philip Nolan's Friends; or, Show Your Passports. tGoodspeed's Memoirs of Mississippi. Vol. I., pp. 47 and 48.
103
SECOND STEP IN TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT
128. Enlargement of the Territory .- By an act of Con- gress, passed in 1804, the Territory of Mississippi was extended to the southern boundary of Tennessee. This newly added region embraced two districts-(I) a narrow strip of land twelve miles wide, extending along the southern border of Tennessee from Georgia to the Missis- sippi, which had been ceded to the United States by the State of South Carolina in 1787; (2) that part of the Georgia claim north of the Territory of Mississippi which had been ceded to the United States in 1802. (See map, page 93.)
129. Harry Toulmin .- Congress passed an act in 1804, by which an additional judge was appointed for the Tom- bigbee settlements. Harry Toulmin, a native of England, was selected by the President to fill this position. After coming to America (1793), he lived for some time in Virginia and Kentucky. The year (1805) of his arrival at his new home at St. Stephens, in the present State of Alabama, he was chosen by the general assembly to prepare a digest of the laws of the Mississippi Territory. He graced the judicial bench of Mississippi until the division of the Territory, when, his home being in Alabama, he became a valuable and honored citizen of that Territory and State .*
130. Party Differences .- The fact that Governor Clai- borne was a member of the Republican party attracted to his administration many of the inhabitants of the Territory who had looked upon Governor Sargent-a Federalist-as unsound in his political views. In addition to this, the difference in the policy and personal bearing of the two men accounts for the better feeling which existed throughout Governor Claiborne's administration. The legislature, which convened shortly after Governor Clai- borne's arrival in the Territory, repealed most of Sargent's
See Claiborne's Mississippi, p. 309 (note).
104
HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
laws, and made a code that was almost entirely new. Although Governor Williams belonged to a prominent family of Jeffersonian Republicans in his native State, the mantle of political charity could not cover his personal defects, especially when his appointment was made in spite of the efforts of the inhabitants in behalf of Colonel Cato West, one of the principal leaders of the Republican party in the Territory.
131. Trouble with the Spaniards .- In 1802 and 1803 the Spanish authorities in Louisiana and West Florida showed marked hostility to the United States. Contrary to the treaty between the United States and Spain, the right of landing in New Orleans produce from the United States was taken away. These evidences of hostility were followed by an order which prohibited intercourse between the citizens of the United States and the subjects of Spain. The Spaniards at Mobile tried to prevent the free navigation of the Mobile River. As the result of these prohibitions there was great excitement in the Mississippi Territory, and Governor Claiborne wrote to the secretary of state that the difficulty could be settled if the militia of the Territory were allowed to capture New Orleans. He added, further, that the militia of the western part of the Territory had as much national pride as any men in the United States, and that a regiment on the Tombigbee was burning to resent Spanish interference with the commerce of that section. Before a crisis was reached Spain ceded Louisiana to France, and that power sold it to the United States. In this way war was prevented.
This settlement of the matter, which was so satisfactory to the western part of the Territory, did not help the set- tlers on the Tombigbee. As the products which they received from the Valley of the Mississippi had to be carried down that river into Spanish territory, then up the Mobile
105
SECOND STEP IN TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT
and back into the territory of the United States, these settlers were still forced to pay double duty, often amount- ing to as much as forty-seven per cent. Freight charges were also very high. All of these expenses made a barrel of flour from Kentucky, which sold for only four dollars at Natchez, cost sixteen dollars by the time it reached the Tombigbee settlement by way of New Orleans and Mobile. In 1806 the grand jury of old Washington county addressed to the Federal Government a petition for relief, in which they made use of the following language: 'It is true we are few in numbers, but no two thousand souls hold a more important station in the American confederacy. We are the advance guard of civilization and of republican America. If we become extinct, your influence on the southern savages is gone. The Spanish agents become possessed of an unbroken range of two thousand square miles.'*
132. Expedition and Arrest of Aaron Burr .- In the winter of 1806-'7 the Territory became very much excited over the wild rumors of the mysterious expedition of Colonel Aaron Burr, a former vice-president of the United States. In the absence of Governor Williams from the Territory of Mississippi, Acting-Governor Mead promptly collected the territorial militia (December, 1806). Early in January, 1807, Burr's fleet of nine boats anchored on the shore of Louisiana opposite to Bruinsburg, in Claiborne county. Although Burr declared that he had no intention of waging war against the United States government, Acting-Gov- ernor Mead demanded his surrender to the authorities of the Territory. Burr yielded and gave bond of five thou- sand dollars for his appearance before a called session of the Superior Court of the Territory at the town of Wash- ington (February 2, 1807). On that day Attorney-General
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.