The California Gold Rush and the Coming of the Civil War by Leonard L. Richards Page A
Authors: Leonard L. Richards
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medical degree, graduated from Transylvania University in 1828, and moved to Clinton, Mississippi, in 1830. For the next four years, he practiced medicine. Then, in 1834, he quit to become a full-time planter-politician.
Gwin’s decision to pursue politics full-time grew out of his family’s ties with Andrew Jackson. Gwin’s father had been one of Jackson’s subordinates during the War of 1812 and had commanded fourteen hundred sharpshooters at the Battle of New Orleans. In 1831 Jackson invited his old comrade’s son to live in the White House for six months and serve as his private secretary. He later looked to young Gwin and his brother Samuel to build the Jackson party in Mississippi.
The brothers, however, needed a power base in Mississippi. To facilitate that, Jackson decided to make William the U.S. marshal for southern Mississippi and Samuel head of the federal land office. But Jackson couldn’t get these appointments through the Senate. His problem was Senator George Poindexter of Mississippi, who regarded Jackson as a tyrant and had no desire to share political power with Jackson’s cronies. William met secretly with Poindexter and somehow got his blessing. But Poindexter continued to block Samuel’s appointment, making much of the fact that he wasn’t a native Mississippian and accusing him of conniving with land speculators at the expense of the federal government and “honest God-fearing settlers.” Jackson then urged the two brothers to destroy Poindexter by orchestrating his defeat in the state legislature when he came up for reelection in 1836.
As a rival candidate, the brothers settled on Robert J. Walker and helped him take Poindexter’s Senate seat. In the process, they infuriated Poindexter and his backers. The two sides subsequently came together at a banquet honoring the governor. Poindexter launched into a tirade against Jackson. Samuel hissed as Poindexter spoke. Shortly thereafter, Poindexter’s law partner, Judge Isaac Caldwell, challenged Samuel to a duel. The duel took place in Clinton before four hundred witnesses. It was deadly. Samuel’s bullet killed Caldwell immediately. Samuel left the field with a shattered lung and, two and a half years later, died from his wound. 6
Meanwhile, William Gwin became one of the wealthiest politicians in Mississippi. Thanks to Jackson’s appointing him U.S. marshal for Mississippi, he collected $150,000 per year in fees and, after expenses, probably pocketed half that amount. Joining forces with Robert Walker, John A. Quitman, and others, he became involved in a maze of land speculations. Gwin soon had several plantations, plus three that he rented out, and almost two hundred slaves. By 1840, in Warren County alone, he owned a mansion worth $50,000, two lots in the city of Vicksburg valued at $20,000, and two thousand acres on the Mississippi River assessed at $14,000. He also temporarily went back to his old profession, the law, and represented the Chickasaw tribe in a lawsuit against the federal government. He won over $112,000 and charged the tribe half for his services. Over the next several years, some of his land deals went sour and cost him dearly. But in 1849, he was still a rich man, one of the richest in Mississippi. 7
Politically, however, William Gwin was stymied. Elected to Congress in 1840, he had become a confidant of John C. Calhoun’s. Initially, as a good Jackson man, he had deemed the eminent South Carolinian a pariah. But in Washington, he lived in the same boardinghouse as Calhoun and soon fell under Calhoun’s “personal magnetism.” He even tried to get Jackson to support Calhoun for president in 1844. 8 Meanwhile, he decided not to run again for Congress. He yearned for a higher office. He returned to Mississippi and from there teamed up with Robert Walker to stop Martin Van Buren from getting the Democratic presidential nomination. Successful in that effort, he enthusiastically supported James K. Polk for president
Gwin’s decision to pursue politics full-time grew out of his family’s ties with Andrew Jackson. Gwin’s father had been one of Jackson’s subordinates during the War of 1812 and had commanded fourteen hundred sharpshooters at the Battle of New Orleans. In 1831 Jackson invited his old comrade’s son to live in the White House for six months and serve as his private secretary. He later looked to young Gwin and his brother Samuel to build the Jackson party in Mississippi.
The brothers, however, needed a power base in Mississippi. To facilitate that, Jackson decided to make William the U.S. marshal for southern Mississippi and Samuel head of the federal land office. But Jackson couldn’t get these appointments through the Senate. His problem was Senator George Poindexter of Mississippi, who regarded Jackson as a tyrant and had no desire to share political power with Jackson’s cronies. William met secretly with Poindexter and somehow got his blessing. But Poindexter continued to block Samuel’s appointment, making much of the fact that he wasn’t a native Mississippian and accusing him of conniving with land speculators at the expense of the federal government and “honest God-fearing settlers.” Jackson then urged the two brothers to destroy Poindexter by orchestrating his defeat in the state legislature when he came up for reelection in 1836.
As a rival candidate, the brothers settled on Robert J. Walker and helped him take Poindexter’s Senate seat. In the process, they infuriated Poindexter and his backers. The two sides subsequently came together at a banquet honoring the governor. Poindexter launched into a tirade against Jackson. Samuel hissed as Poindexter spoke. Shortly thereafter, Poindexter’s law partner, Judge Isaac Caldwell, challenged Samuel to a duel. The duel took place in Clinton before four hundred witnesses. It was deadly. Samuel’s bullet killed Caldwell immediately. Samuel left the field with a shattered lung and, two and a half years later, died from his wound. 6
Meanwhile, William Gwin became one of the wealthiest politicians in Mississippi. Thanks to Jackson’s appointing him U.S. marshal for Mississippi, he collected $150,000 per year in fees and, after expenses, probably pocketed half that amount. Joining forces with Robert Walker, John A. Quitman, and others, he became involved in a maze of land speculations. Gwin soon had several plantations, plus three that he rented out, and almost two hundred slaves. By 1840, in Warren County alone, he owned a mansion worth $50,000, two lots in the city of Vicksburg valued at $20,000, and two thousand acres on the Mississippi River assessed at $14,000. He also temporarily went back to his old profession, the law, and represented the Chickasaw tribe in a lawsuit against the federal government. He won over $112,000 and charged the tribe half for his services. Over the next several years, some of his land deals went sour and cost him dearly. But in 1849, he was still a rich man, one of the richest in Mississippi. 7
Politically, however, William Gwin was stymied. Elected to Congress in 1840, he had become a confidant of John C. Calhoun’s. Initially, as a good Jackson man, he had deemed the eminent South Carolinian a pariah. But in Washington, he lived in the same boardinghouse as Calhoun and soon fell under Calhoun’s “personal magnetism.” He even tried to get Jackson to support Calhoun for president in 1844. 8 Meanwhile, he decided not to run again for Congress. He yearned for a higher office. He returned to Mississippi and from there teamed up with Robert Walker to stop Martin Van Buren from getting the Democratic presidential nomination. Successful in that effort, he enthusiastically supported James K. Polk for president
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