Political Career
Active in the Democratic Party, Yell moved to the Arkansas Territory in 1831 to head the federal land office in Little Rock. The federal government offered him the governorship of the Florida Territory the following year, but he declined.
He was a strong supporter and personal friend of President James K. Polk. Just prior to taking office in 1835, Polk sent Yell to Texas to advocate for its annexation to the union. In 1835, he was appointed by the James K. Polk administration as an Arkansas territorial judge. He is reported to have single-handedly retrieved a criminal from a local saloon and physically brought him to his court.
Yell was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1836, after Arkansas was admitted to the Union. He served one term, from 1836 to 1839. While in Washington, he was a strong supporter of Texan statehood and favored a stronger military. Around this time that Yell formed the first Masonic lodge in Arkansas at Fayetteville.
In 1840, Yell was elected governor of Arkansas. He focused on internal improvements, as infrastructure was needed to benefit planters and farmers. He also worked to better control banks and supported public education.
Yell resigned his post as governor to run again for Congress in 1844, and won the seat. Yell is reported to have been the consummate campaigner. At one stop during the campaign, he is said to have won a shooting match, donated meat to the poor, and bought a jug of whiskey for the crowd.
Soon after he took his seat in Congress, the Mexican-American War began. Yell returned to Arkansas and formed the 1st Arkansas Volunteer Cavalry. Several of his men later achieved notability in Arkansas, including the future governor John Selden Roane, and future Confederate generals Albert Pike, Solon Borland, and James Fleming Fagan. His cavalry compiled a record of insubordination. During the Mexican-American War, Yell was commissioned as a Brigadier General in the United States Army.
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