Thomas Hart Benton

Thomas Hart Benton was born on March 14, 1782. He was born in Harts Mill, North Carolina. He moved to Tennessee. His brother was Jesse. They got into a fight with Andrew Jackson. They used guns. Andrew Jackson was shot in the shoulder. And he was shot in the arm.

Benton was in the army during the War of 1812. He served under General Andrew Jackson. Benton was very important. He was a leader. He and Andrew Jackson became close friends.

Benton moved to Missouri. He lived in St Louis. He did many things. He was a teacher. He was a lawyer. He was the editor of a newspaper. It was the St. Louis Enquirer.

Benton was elected to the state legislature. In 1821, Missouri became a state. Thomas Hart Benton became Missouri’s first U. S. Senator. He was a senator until 1851. He was the only senator to serve 30 years in a row.

Senator Benton visited Springfield. He was liked very much. People knew he did a lot of things for Missouri. Springfield named Benton Avenue after him.

Senator Thomas Hart Benton died in Washington D.C. on April 10, 1858.

Author: Mark Fitch
Sources:

http://kcsun4.kcstar.com/schools/ThomasHartBentonElementary/senator.html

In http://www.digitalhistory.com, a project of the Kansas City Star

http://www.unitedstates-on-line.com/missouri/bentonmo.htm

Images: Library of Congress