Dewitt Clinton Senter
Dewitt Clinton Senter | |
---|---|
Speaker of the Tennessee Senate | |
In office 1867–1869[1] | |
Preceded by | Joshua B. Frierson |
Succeeded by | Philip P.C. Nelson |
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives | |
In office 1855–1861 | |
Member of the Tennessee Senate | |
In office 1865–1869 | |
Personal details | |
Born | McMinn County, Tennessee | March 26, 1830
Died | June 14, 1898 Morristown, Tennessee[2] | (aged 68)
Resting place | Emma Jarnagin Cemetery, Morristown, Tennessee |
Political party | Whig, Republican |
Spouse | Harriet T. Senter (1859) |
Profession | Farmer |
Dewitt Clinton Senter (March 26, 1830 – June 14, 1898) was an American politician who served as the 18th
Senter is perhaps best remembered for undoing many of Brownlow's radical initiatives, most notably the restoring of the right to vote to former
Early life and career
Senter was born in
Senter represented Grainger County in the state House of Representatives from 1855 to 1861.
In January 1865, Senter was elected to the Tennessee Senate, representing Grainger, Claiborne, Anderson, and Campbell counties, and served as the Senate's Chairman of the Committee on Incorporations. That same year, he became president of the Cincinnati, Cumberland Gap and Charleston Railroad, a position in which he served until 1866.[5] In 1867, the state senate elected him Speaker of the Senate.[5]
Governor
Senter initially supported the
Brownlow's radical policies of disfranchisement had left the state divided and had led to the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. In his inaugural address, Senter vowed to aggressively pursue the Klan and quell Klan violence.[5] In May 1869, however, he disbanded the state guard, which had been fighting the Klan, but had become unpopular.[5] He also announced he supported restoring the voting rights of former Confederates.
Since Brownlow was near the end of his term as governor when he resigned, Senter was thrust into a reelection campaign within a few weeks of taking office. His relatively lenient policies toward former Confederates led to a rift in the state's Radical Republican ranks, as many Radicals wanted to continue Brownlow's policies and feared retribution if ex-Confederates and Democrats should once again control the state. At the Radicals' tumultuous convention on May 20, 1869, they were unable to agree on a candidate for governor. In subsequent separate conventions, the Radicals who favored continuing Brownlow's policies nominated
Under Brownlow, the legislature had given the governor the power to appoint county election commissioners, who were charged with ensuring former Confederates did not vote. Using this power, Senter replaced nearly three-fourths of Brownlow's commissioners. While the law still technically forbade ex-Confederates from voting, Senter's new commissioners did not enforce this law. Thus, with large numbers of former Confederates now voting, Senter easily defeated Stokes on election day by a vote of 120,333 to 55,036.[9]
To address issues over voting and disfranchisement, a new state constitutional convention convened in 1870. This convention, among other things, modified the state constitution to allow all men of at least 21 years of age (whether white or black) to vote, though it also instituted a
Along with voting issues, one of Senter's primary concerns was the state's rising debt. In December 1869, Senter called for prison reform, arguing that prisons had become a financial drain on the state. Hoping to encourage immigration into the state and increase property tax revenues, Senter established the Tennessee Immigration and Labor Association in February 1871.[5] He also favored initiatives to help railroads struggling to pay interest on state-issued bonds.[5]
In 1870, Senter used his influence to help establish Hamblen County, which was created from parts of Grainger, Jefferson, and Hawkins counties. Senter's home was located within the new county.[4]
Later life
Senter's policies, which allowed Democrats to regain control of the state, angered the state's Republicans, and effectively ended his political career.[3] He spent his remaining years managing his large farm near Morristown. He died on June 14, 1898, and is buried in Morristown's Emma Jarnagin Cemetery.[9]
Family
Senter married Harriet Senter (a distant cousin) in 1859. She was the daughter of Grainger County's circuit court clerk, P.M. Senter.[5] They had no children.[9]
References
- ^ Historical Constitutional Officers of Tennessee, 1796 - Present, Territory South of the River Ohio, 1790 - 1796. Retrieved: 30 October 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f John Thweatt, Dewitt Clinton Senter, Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2009. Retrieved: 30 October 2012.
- ^ a b c Oliver Perry Temple, Notable Men of Tennessee, From 1833 to 1875, Their Times and Their Contemporaries (New York: Cosmopolitan Press, 1912), pp. 182-185.
- ^ a b "Hamblen's History," Morristown Citizen Tribune, 12 September 2012. Retrieved: 30 October 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Finding Aid for Governor Dewitt Clinton Senter Papers, 1869–1871 Archived 2013-07-12 at the Wayback Machine, Tennessee State Library and Archives website, June 2004. Retrieved: 30 October 2012.
- ^ https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Memorial_and_Biographical_History_of_J/4x9O7kXe94sC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=senter+family+england+tennessee&pg=PA255&printsec=frontcover
- ^ https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_National_Cyclopaedia_of_American_Bio/0XZMAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Dewitt%20Clinton%20Senter%20%20%20england
- ^ Oliver Perry Temple, East Tennessee and the Civil War (Johnson City, Tenn.: Overmountain Press, 1995), p. 361.
- ^ a b c d e f g Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 190-193.
- ^ E. Merton Coulter, William G. Brownlow: Fighting Parson of the Southern Highlands (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 1999), pp. 347.
- ^ William E. Hardy, "The Margins of William Brownlow's Words: New Perspectives on the End of Radical Reconstruction in Tennessee," Journal of East Tennessee History, Vol. 84 (2012), pp. 78–86.
External links
- National Governors Association bio
- Governor Dewitt Clinton Senter Papers, 1869 - 1871, Tennessee State Library and Archives.