Thomas Hart Benton

Politics and Public Service, 1782-1858

Thomas Hart Benton was born in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and moved to Tennessee in 1809. He studied law and was later elected to the state senate. During the War of 1812, Benton raised a contingent of volunteers and served on Andrew Jackson's staff. Later, Benton got into a bloody fight with Jackson, prompting the former to leave Tennessee.

Benton moved to Missouri and became a newspaper editor, was active in public affairs and in 1821, was elected as the state’s first Senator. He made his mark by representing popular western causes—liberal land policy, road construction, and opening new territories to settlement.

Benton became very conservative on monetary matters. He opposed the Second Bank of the United States and earned the nickname “Old Bullion” for his advocacy of “hard money” over “soft money.” Benton was a foe of land speculators, preferring that purchasers of western lands be actual settlers. He strove to gain Congressional support for his programs of preemption and graduation.

Benton was in general a supporter of Andrew Jackson (the two were reconciled) and an opponent of John C. Calhoun.

Opposition to slavery, an unpopular position in Missouri at the time, cost Benton his Senate seat. From 1853 to 1855, he served in the House, but lost a reelection bid due largely to his opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854). Benton lost a race for the governorship of Missouri in 1856.