Jonathan Jennings

Jonathan Jennings (1784 – July 26, 1834) was the first Governor of Indiana and a nine-term congressman from Indiana. Born in Readington, New Jersey, he studied law with his brother before immigrating to Indiana in 1806 where he took part in land speculation. He became involved in a personal dispute with the Governor William Henry Harrison that led him to enter politics and set the tone for his early political career. He was elected as the Indiana Territory's delegate to Congress by dividing the pro-Harrison supporters and running as an anti-Harrison candidate. By 1812 he was the leader of the anti-slavery, anti-governor, and pro-statehood faction of the territorial government. He and his political allies triumphed in their goals and took control of the territorial assembly and dominated the affairs of the government after the resignation of Governor Harrison. At the Indiana Constitutional Convention, Jennings was elected President. He was behind the effort to have a ban on slavery constitutionalized and was for the creation of a weak executive branch in favor of a strong legislative branch.

After Indiana was granted statehood, Jennings was elected to serve as the first Governor of Indiana. He pressed for the construction of roads and schools, and negotiated the Treaty of St. Mary's to open up central Indiana to American settlement. His opponents attacked his participation in the treaty negotiations as unconstitutional and brought impeachment proceedings against him; the impeachment measure was narrowly defeated by a vote of 15–13 following a month-long investigation and the resignation of the lieutenant governor. During his second term and following the Panic of 1819, Jennings began to encounter financial problems because to his commitment to accept no salary; the situation was exacerbated by his inability to keep up with his business interests and run the state government simultaneously.

Jennings resigned during his second term as governor upon winning election to the United States House of Representatives. Jennings served another five terms in Congress, promoting federal spending on internal improvements. Jennings had been a heavy drinker of whiskey since his early life. His addiction worsened after the death of his first wife and his development of rheumatism. The problem led to his defeat in his reelection campaign in 1830. His condition was such that he was unable to work his farm; his finances collapsed and his creditors sought to take his land holdings and Charlestown farm. To protect him, his friend Senator John Tipton, purchased his farm and permitted him to continue living there. After his death, his estate was sold by his creditors leaving no funds to purchase a headstone for his grave, which remained unmarked for fifty-seven years.

Historians have had varied interpretations of Jennings’ life and impact on the development of Indiana. Early state historians, like Jacob Piatt Dunn and William Woollen, gave Jennings high praise and credited him with the defeat of the pro-slavery forces in Indiana and with laying the foundation of the state. More critical historians during the prohibition era, like Logan Eseray, described Jennings as a crafty and self-promoting politician and focused on his alcoholism. Modern historians, like Keith Mills, place Jennings’ importance between the two extremes, saying that the “state owes him a debt which could never be calculated.”