Aaron V. Brown | |
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| 17thUnited States Postmaster General | |
| In office March 6, 1857 – March 8, 1859 | |
| President | James Buchanan |
| Preceded by | James Campbell |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Holt |
| 11thGovernor of Tennessee | |
| In office October 14, 1845 – October 17, 1847 | |
| Preceded by | James C. Jones |
| Succeeded by | Neill S. Brown |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTennessee's6th district | |
| In office March 4, 1843 – March 4, 1845 | |
| Preceded by | William B. Campbell |
| Succeeded by | Barclay Martin |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTennessee's10th district | |
| In office March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1843 | |
| Preceded by | Ebenezer J. Shields |
| Succeeded by | John Ashe |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Aaron Venable Brown (1795-08-15)August 15, 1795 |
| Died | March 8, 1859(1859-03-08) (aged 63) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Mount Olivet Cemetery |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Burrus(Deceased 1844) Cynthia Pillow Sanders(1845–1859) |
| Relatives | Gideon Pillow(Brother-in-law) |
| Education | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill(BA) |
| Signature | .png) |
Aaron Venable[1] Brown (August 15, 1795 – March 8, 1859) was anAmerican politician. He served as the 11thGovernor of Tennessee from 1845 to 1847, and asUnited States Postmaster General from 1857 until his death in 1859. He also served three terms in theUnited States House of Representatives, from 1839 to 1845. During theMexican–American War, Brown's statewide call for 2,800 volunteers was answered by over 30,000, helping solidify the state's reputation as the "Volunteer State".[2][3]
Brown was born inBrunswick County, Virginia, one of eleven children of Aaron and Elizabeth Melton Brown.[2] His father was a Methodist minister.[4] Brown attended Westrayville Academy inNash County, North Carolina, and graduated from theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1814, where he was valedictorian of his class.[2] He studied law with Judge James Trimble inNashville, Tennessee,[4] and wasadmitted to the bar in 1817. In 1818, he moved toGiles County, Tennessee, and became the law partner of future presidentJames K. Polk.[2]
Brown was a member of theTennessee Senate from 1821 to 1825 and from 1827 to 1829. He also served two terms in theTennessee House of Representatives, from 1831 to 1835.[2] In 1839, he defeated incumbentEbenezer J. Shields for the10th District congressional seat, and won reelection to this seat in 1841.[5] In 1843, he was redistricted to the6th District, which he represented in Congress for a single term.[4] As a congressman, he lobbied for the annexation ofTexas in 1843.[4]
After his third term in Congress, Brown initially planned to retire and focus on his business affairs, but he accepted theDemocratic nomination for governor in 1845. The incumbent,James C. Jones, a popular Whig, was not seeking reelection, and the Whigs instead nominated SenatorEphraim H. Foster. In the general election, Brown lostEast Tennessee andWest Tennessee, but won enough votes in populousMiddle Tennessee to carry the election by 1,400 votes out of 115,000 cast.[4]
When theMexican–American War began, largely through the actions of his friend and former law partner, Polk, who was now president, Brown issued a call for 2,800 volunteer soldiers for the war effort. Over 30,000 answered the call, solidifying the state's reputation as the "Volunteer State", a reputation that had been gained when Tennesseans answered a similar call during theWar of 1812.[2][6] While initially popular, support for the war gradually declined, and Brown was defeated in his reelection bid byNeill S. Brown (no relation) in 1847.[4]
Brown was a slaveholder.[7] In 1850, He was a delegate to theNashville Convention, which was a gathering of delegates from slave-holding states to consider a course of action should the federal government attempt to ban slavery. Brown and his brother-in-law,Gideon Pillow, coauthored a resolution calling for the support of theCompromise of 1850. This motion was voted down, but the convention did put aside, at least temporarily, the issue of secession.[4]
Brown was a delegate to theDemocratic National Convention in 1852 whereFranklin Pierce andWilliam R. King were nominated. In 1854, he delivered an address to the University of North Carolina's literary societies.
Brown attended the 1856 Democratic National Convention, where he was considered a possible vice-presidential nominee.[4] The following year, newly elected presidentJames Buchanan appointed him Postmaster General, a position in which he served until his death.[8]
Brown died on March 8, 1859, and is interred at Nashville'sMount Olivet Cemetery.
Brown married his first wife, Sarah Burrus, at an undetermined date,[2] and they had six children.[4] Following her death, he married Cynthia Pillow Sanders, the sister ofGideon Pillow and widow of John W. Sanders, and they had one son.Hill McAlister, a great-grandson of Brown, served as Governor of Tennessee in the 1930s.[4][9]
USSAaron V. Brown, a revenue cutter, was named after him.[10]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTennessee's 10th congressional district 1839–1843 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTennessee's 6th congressional district 1843–1845 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Tennessee 1845, 1847 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Tennessee 1845–1847 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Postmaster General 1857–1859 | Succeeded by |
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