To James Madison from Jenkin Whiteside, [ca. January 1810]
From Jenkin Whiteside
[ca. January 1810]
Sir
As it is important to the interest of the United States and the inhabitants of the Territory of Louisiana, that a Suitable character Should be Selected for Governor of that Territory,1 I have taken the Liberty of naming to you Anthony Butler esquire2—a Gentleman possessing Superior qualifications for that place to any that I have heard spoken of as candidates for it. Mr Butler formerly lived in South Carolina, where he practised Law and Served some time in their Legislature—he now lives in the vicinity of Russellville, Kentuckey but intends Settling in Louisiana or Orleans Territory—he is rich and connected by marriage with Several wealthy & influencial people. Mr Butler possesses handsome Talents, good information, agreeable manners & knowledge of men, and has no propensity for intrigueing or Speculating.
I know that Mr Butler will accept of that appointment if placed in his power and discharge the duties of it with ability & in a Satisfactory manner, but he never will resort to any means to obtain it, further than to make known his consent to accept of it. Knowing the many complaints that have been made against Territorial Governors and beleiving that Mr Butler merits the appointment in preference to any other man, who would accept of it, I have deemed it my duty to introduce him to your consideration, that you may have a greater number to Select from and an opportunity to appoint one, whose conduct would not merit censure.
I have no personal or interested motive in recommending Mr Butler—he is not connected with me in any manner, was never in any particular habits of intimacy with me and is not a citizen of the State I represent. I beleive Genl, Sumpter knows Mr Butler—Major Freeman and Coll. Weakley are acquainted with him—it you wish any further information of his character I can procure the opinion of Several Gentlemen, who have no personal object in recommending him. I have the honor to be with much cons⟨ide⟩ration your most ⟨obt⟩
Jenkin Whiteside3
RC (DNA: RG 59, LAR, 1809–17, filed under “Butler”). Undated; conjectural date supplied based on evidence in nn. 1 and 3. Damaged by removal of seal.
1. For the suicide of Louisiana Territory governor Meriwether Lewis, see JM to Thomas Jefferson, 30 Oct. 1809, 2:48–49 and n. 4; for JM’s decisions on filling the governorship, see ibid., 81 n. 1, 224 and n., 228 and n.
2. Anthony Butler served under Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812 and was a member of the Kentucky legislature, 1818–19, before moving to Mississippi. In 1829 Jackson appointed Butler chargé d’affaires in Mexico with the goal of annexing Texas. Having made extensive land speculations in the region, Butler had a financial stake in its acquisition by the United States. His diplomacy proved inept, however, and on 7 Mar. 1834 he wrote Jackson recommending that either Mexican officials be bribed or U.S. forces invade Texas. On the letter bearing this advice, the president wrote “A. Butler: What a Scamp” and ordered his recall; by 1 Dec. 1835 Butler was out of office. Later a Texas resident, he was the one passenger lost when the steamboat General Pike burned at Point Coupee, Louisiana (Debra J. Allen, Historical Dictionary of U.S. Diplomacy from the Revolution to Secession [Lanham, Md., 2012], 47; Joe Gibson, “A. Butler: What a Scamp!,” Journal of the West 11 [1972]: 236, 238, 244–46; New Orleans Daily Picayune, 19 Apr. 1849).
3. Jenkin Whiteside (1772–1822), a Pennsylvania native, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and read law with John Marshall in Richmond. He earned renown as an attorney in Nashville, Tennessee, and on 11 Apr. 1809 was appointed to the U.S. Senate from that state to replace Daniel Smith, who had resigned. In the second session of the Eleventh Congress, which began on 27 Nov. 1809, he did not take his seat in the Senate until 4 Jan. 1810. He resigned on 8 Oct. 1811 and resumed practicing law in Nashville (Kenneth McKellar, Tennessee Senators as Seen by One of Their Successors [Kingsport, Tenn., 1942], 121–23; 11th Cong., 2d sess., 473, 521).