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Joseph Anderson Letter

 Collection
Identifier: MS-3306

  • Staff Only

Senator Joseph Anderson wrote this letter to Secretary of War James McHenry in approximately 1800. In it, he provides a summary of a petition that the Tennessee State Legislature sent to Congress asking that the government explain its apparently unjustified actions in East Tennessee. According to Anderson, numerous white settlers have been expelled from their land because government's commissioners surveyed the boundary with the Cherokee Nation incorrectly and U. S. Army officers have inexplicably shut down a ferry across the Clinch River that had been in use for several years without incident.

Dates

  • circa 1800

Conditions Governing Access

Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Conditions Governing Use

The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Extent

0.1 Linear Feet

Abstract

Senator Joseph Anderson wrote this letter to Secretary of War James McHenry in approximately 1800. In it, he provides a summary of a petition that the Tennessee State Legislature sent to Congress asking that the government explain its apparently unjustified actions in East Tennessee. According to Anderson, numerous white settlers have been expelled from their land because government's commissioners surveyed the boundary with the Cherokee Nation incorrectly and U. S. Army officers have inexplicably shut down a ferry across the Clinch River that had been in use for several years without incident.

Biographical/Historical Note

Joseph Inslee Anderson was born near Philadelphia on November 5, 1757. During the Revolutionary War, he served as an officer in the Continental Army. He went on to study law and was admitted to the bar in Delaware. In 1791, Anderson was appointed the United States Judge of the Territory South of the River Ohio and later served as a member of the first Tennessee constitutional convention. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1797 to fill the vacancy caused by William Blount's expulsion and was elected again in 1803 to fill the vacancy caused by Andrew Jackson's resignation. He was re-elected when his term expired and served continuously until 1815, when he became the first Comptroller of the U. S. Treasury. Anderson retired from this post in 1836 and died in Washington, D.C. on April 17, 1837.

Arrangement

Collection consists of a single folder.

Acquisition Note

This collection is property of the University of Tennessee Libraries, Knoxville, Special Collections.

Repository Details

Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository

Contact:
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville TN 37996 USA
865-974-4480