Thomas Hart Benton

Thomas Hart Benton. , Born near Hillsborough, N.C., and in 1801 moved his widowed mother and seven siblings to a 2,500-acre tract on Leiper’s Fork Creek. This settlement was originally called Bentontown, then Hillsboro. Upon this site stood the Benton log home until 1900. He was educated at the University of North Carolina and taught school briefly in Maury County. He studied law and was admitted to the Franklin bar in 1806. He was elected to the Tennessee General Assembly in 1809, sponsoring bills that led to the development of the state’s circuit court system, and to the right of trial by jury for slaves in certain criminal matters. He commanded a regiment in the War of 18 12 under Andrew Jackson, and later went to Washington, D.C., to secure travel pay for soldiers. , By 1815, Benton moved to Missouri - an ongoing feud with Andrew Jackson led to rumors that Tennessee was not big enough for the both of them-and in 1821 was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served for 30 years. He was the first member to serve five terms, and helped to establish the Pony Express, the telegraph system, Interior highways, a transcontinental railroad, and a sound currency, for which he became known as "Old Bullion.” A champion of westward expansion and Manifest Destiny, he stood for the preservation of the Union, and vehemently opposed secession. He died at the age of 76 in 1858, leaving a record of outstanding statesmanship.