John
Bell was
born in Nashville, Tennessee, on 15th February, 1797. A member of
the Democratic Party he worked as
a lawyer until being elected as a to House of Representatives (1827-41).
He joined the Whig Party and President William
Harrison appointed him as Secretary of War in 1841.
Bell returned to politics when he was elected as U.S. senator for
Tennessee in 1847. Although a large slaveowner, Bell opposed efforts
to expand slavery and voted against the Kansas-Nebraska
bill in 1854.
Southern slaveholders were outraged when in 1860 the Republican
Party nominated Abraham Lincoln as
its presidential candidate in 1860. They looked to the Democratic
Party to defend its interests but when it met in Charleston in
April, 1860, it selected, Stephen A. Douglas,
as its presidential candidate. Unhappy with this decision, Southern
delegates decided to hold another convention in Baltimore
in June, where they selected John Beckenridge
of Kentucky as their candidate. The situation was further complicated
when Bell and other Southerners formed the Constitutional Union Party.
Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 election
with 1,866,462 votes (18 free states) and beat Stephen
A. Douglas (1,375,157 - 1 slave state), John
Beckenridge (847,953 - 13 slave states) and Bell (589,581 - 3
slave states).
Bell initially opposed secession; however, he later gave his full
support to President Jefferson Davis
and the Confederate Army. John Bell died
in Dover, Tennessee, on 10th September, 1869.
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