Thomas Jefferson Rusk | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President pro tempore of the United States Senate | |
| In office March 14, 1857 – July 29, 1857 | |
| Preceded by | James M. Mason |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin Fitzpatrick |
| United States Senator fromTexas | |
| In office February 21, 1846 – July 29, 1857 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | James P. Henderson |
| Member of the Republic of Texas House of Representatives fromNacogdoches County | |
| In office 1837–1838 | |
| Preceded by | John Kirby Allen |
| Succeeded by | David S. Kaufman |
| 1st Texas Secretary of War | |
| In office March 17, 1836 – November 13, 1837 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | William S. Fisher |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1803-12-05)December 5, 1803 |
| Died | July 29, 1857(1857-07-29) (aged 53) |
| Cause of death | Suicide by gunshot |
| Party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse | Mary Frances "Polly" Cleveland Rusk |
| Profession | Politician, lawyer, judge |
Thomas Jefferson Rusk (December 5, 1803 – July 29, 1857) was an early political and military leader of theRepublic of Texas, serving as its firstsecretary of war and as a general at theBattle of San Jacinto. He was later a U.S. politician and served as a senator from Texas from 1846 until his suicide. He served as thepresident pro tempore of the United States Senate in 1857.
Rusk was born inPendleton, South Carolina, to John Rusk, astonemason, and Sterritt Rusk. After beingadmitted to thebar in 1825, Rusk began his law practice inClarkesville, Georgia. In 1827, he married Mary F. (Polly) Cleveland, the daughter ofGeneral Benjamin Cleveland, grandson of Col.Benjamin Cleveland of King's Mountain fame. Rusk became a business partner of his father-in-law after the marriage. He lived in the gold region ofGeorgia and made sizable mining investments. In 1834, however, the managers of the company in which he had invested embezzled all the funds and fled toMexican Texas. Rusk pursued them toNacogdoches, but never recovered the money.
Rusk decided to stay in Texas and became a citizen of Mexico in 1835, applied for a headright[clarification needed] inDavid G. Burnet's colony, and sent for his family. After hearing Nacogdoches citizens denounce the despotism of Mexico, Rusk became involved in the independence movement. He organized volunteers from Nacogdoches and hastened to Gonzales, where his men joinedStephen F. Austin's army in preventing the Mexicans from seizing theircannon. They proceeded toSan Antonio, but Rusk left the army before theSiege of Béxar.
The provisional government named himinspector general of the army in the Nacogdoches District. As a delegate from Nacogdoches to theConvention of 1836, Rusk not only signed theTexas Declaration of Independence, but also chaired the committee to revise the constitution of theRepublic of Texas. Thead interim government, installed on March 17, 1836, appointed Rusk as secretary of war. When informed thatthe Alamo had fallen and the Mexican army was moving eastward, Rusk helpedPresident David Burnet to move the government toHarrisburg.
After the Mexicans killed allJames W. Fannin's Texan army atGoliad, Burnet sent Rusk with orders for GeneralSam Houston to make a stand against the enemy. Rusk participated with bravery in the defeat ofSanta Anna on April 21, 1836, in theBattle of San Jacinto. From May to October 1836, he served as commander-in-chief of theArmy of the Republic of Texas, with the rank ofbrigadier general. He followed the Mexican troops westward as they retired from Texas to be certain of their retreat beyond theRio Grande. Then, he conducted a military funeral for the troops killed at Goliad.
The men of Texas deserved much credit, but more was due the women. Armed men facing a foe could not but be brave; but the women, with their little children around them, without means of defense or power to resist, faced danger and death with unflinching courage. |
| — Thomas Jefferson Rusk[1] |
In the first regularly elected administration, President Houston appointed Rusk secretary of war, but after a few weeks, Rusk resigned to take care of pressing domestic problems.[clarification needed] At the insistence of friends, however, he represented Nacogdoches in the Second Congress of the Republic (1837–1838). Rusk was amason. He joinedMilam Lodge No. 40 (Later Milam Lodge #2) in Nacogdoches in 1837 and was a founding member of theGrand Lodge of Texas, organized inHouston on December 20, 1837.
As chairman of the House Military Committee in 1837, he sponsored amilitia bill that passed over Houston's veto, and Congress elected Ruskmajor general of themilitia. In the summer of 1838, he commanded the Nacogdoches militia, which suppressed theCórdova Rebellion. In October, when Mexican agents were discovered among theKickapoo Indians, Rusk defeated those Indians and their Indian allies. He captured maraudingCaddo Indians in November 1838 and risked an international incident when he invaded United States territory to return them to the Indian agent inShreveport, Louisiana.
On December 12, 1838, the Texas Congress elected Ruskchief justice of the republic'sSupreme Court. He served until June 30, 1840, when he resigned to resume his law practice. Later, he headed the bar of the Republic of Texas.J. Pinckney Henderson, later the firstgovernor of the state of Texas, and he formed a law partnership in 1841.
Early in 1843, Rusk was called upon once again to serve as a military commander. Concern over the lack of protection on the frontier caused Congress, in a joint ballot on January 16, 1843, to elect Rusk major general of the militia of the Republic of Texas, but he resigned in June when Houston obstructed his plans for aggressive warfare against Mexico. Rusk then turned his energies to establishingNacogdoches University (operated 1845–1895).[2] He served as vice president of the university when the charter was granted in 1845 and president in 1846.[2]
Rusk supported Sam Houston and the growing movement toannex Texas to the United States. He was president of the republic'sConvention of 1845, which accepted the annexation terms. The first Texas state legislature elected Houston and him to theUnited States Senate in February 1846. Rusk received the larger number of votes and the longer term of office.
Rusk and Houston forgot past differences as they worked to settle the southwest boundary question in favor of Texas' claim to the Rio Grande. Rusk supported the position of US PresidentJames K. Polk on the necessity of theMexican War and the acquisition of California. In the debate over theCompromise of 1850, Rusk refused to endorsesecession, proposed by some in the caucus of Southern congressmen. He vigorously defended Texas' claims to the land used to create theNew Mexico Territory in 1850, arguing for financial compensation for Texas.
As an early advocate of a transcontinental railroad through Texas, Senator Rusk made speeches in the Senate and throughout Texas in support of a southern route. TheGadsden Purchase received his support. Rusk was in favor of theKansas–Nebraska Act. PresidentJames Buchanan offered him the position ofUnited States postmaster general in 1857, but he turned it down. (Buchanan gave the post toAaron V. Brown.)
While Rusk attended to duties in Washington, DC, his wife died oftuberculosis on April 23, 1856. Five of their seven children were still living at the time. During a special session in March 1857, he was electedpresident pro tempore of the United States Senate.
Missing his wife and ill from atumor at the base of his neck, Rusk killed himself by a self-inflicted gunshot wound on July 29, 1857.[3] He was 53 years old.[4]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by (none) | Secretary of War of theRepublic of Texas 17 March 1836 – April 1836 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of War of theRepublic of Texas 22 October 1836 – November 1837 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of theRepublic of Texas 13 December 1838 – 30 June 1840 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by (none) | U.S. senator (Class 1) from Texas February 21, 1846 – July 29, 1857 Served alongside:Sam Houston | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | President pro tempore of the United States Senate March 14, 1857 – July 29, 1857 | Succeeded by |
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