Romulus M. Saunders Explained

Romulus Mitchell Saunders
Office1:Judge of the North Carolina Superior Court
Term Start2:1835
Term End2:1840
Term Start1:1852
Term End1:1856
Office3:United States Minister to Spain
President3:James K. Polk
Zachary Taylor
Term Start3:July 31, 1846
Term End3:September 24, 1849
Predecessor3:Washington Irving
Successor3:Daniel M. Barringer
Office4:Chair of the House Judiciary Committee
Term Start4:1844
Term End4:1845
Predecessor4:William Wilkins
Successor4:George O. Rathbun
Office5:13th Attorney General of North Carolina
Term Start5:1828
Term End5:1834
Governor5:John Owen
Montfort Stokes
David Lowry Swain
Predecessor5:Robert H. Jones
Successor5:John Reeves Jones Daniels
Office6:Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina
Term Start6:March 4, 1841
Term End6:March 3, 1845
Constituency6:8th district (1841-1843)
5th district (1843-1845)
Predecessor6:William Montgomery
Successor6:James C. Dobbin
Term Start7:March 4, 1821
Term End7:March 3, 1827
Constituency7:9th district
Predecessor7:Thomas Settle
Successor7:Augustine H. Shepperd
Office8:Speaker of the North Carolina House of Commons
Term Start8:November 15, 1819
Term End8:December 25, 1820
Predecessor8:James Iredell Jr.
Successor8:James Mebane
Office9:Member of the North Carolina Senate from Caswell County
Term Start9:November 18, 1816
Term End9:December 28, 1816
Predecessor9:B. Graves
Successor9:Bartlett Yancey
Office10:Member of the North Carolina House of Commons
Term Start10:November 20, 1848
Term End10:December 27, 1852
Predecessor10:Berry D. Sims
Rufus H. Jones
Successor10:Jacob Mordecai
Nathaniel G. Rand
W.W. Whitaker
Constituency10:Wake County
Term Start11:November 17, 1817
Term End11:December 25, 1820
Predecessor11:W. Watkins
Successor11:Quinten Anderson
Constituency11:Caswell County
Term Start12:November 20, 1815
Term End12:December 21, 1815
Predecessor12:John P. Harrison
Successor12:W. Watkins
Constituency12:Caswell County
Birth Date:March 3, 1791
Birth Place:Caswell County, North Carolina
Death Place:Raleigh, North Carolina
Nationality:American
Father:William Saunders
Mother:Hannah Mitchell Saunders
Party:Democratic
Spouse:
    Children:9
    Education:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

    Romulus Mitchell Saunders (March 3, 1791 – April 21, 1867) was an American politician from North Carolina.

    Early life and education

    Saunders was born near Milton, Caswell County, North Carolina, the son of William and Hannah Mitchell Saunders. His mother died when Romulus was an infant, and his father subsequently moved him to Sumner County, Tennessee. Following his father's death in 1803, uncle James Saunders became legal guardian and brought Romulus back to Caswell County to attend Hyco and Caswell Academies. In 1809, Saunders enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was expelled in March 1810 for firing a pistol on campus and throwing "a stone at the Faculty". Nine years later, Saunders would be elected to the university's board of trustees, where he served for forty-five years.

    Career

    Early career

    After his expulsion, Saunders moved to Tennessee and read law under future Senator Hugh Lawson White. He was admitted to the bar in Nashville in 1812 and returned to Caswell County the same year. In 1815, he was elected to the North Carolina House of Commons and soon after the North Carolina Senate. In 1818 he returned to the House and served as Speaker of the House from 1819 to 1820.

    U.S. House of Representatives

    Saunders was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1820. As a congressman, Saunders was known for his unabashed pro-states' rights opinions. Saunders was such a staunch supporter of William H. Crawford's presidential campaign in the 1824 election that the eventual winner John Quincy Adams referred to the congressman as the most "cankered or venomous reptile in the country".[1] As an admirer of Nathaniel Macon, Saunders was a fiscal conservative, believing that "men in power are apt to think the peoples' money is intended to be expended in such way as their distempered fancy may support".[2] Despite this, Saunders supported internal improvements such as roads and railroads projects.

    State government

    In 1828, Saunders left Congress to become North Carolina Attorney General. He left the post in 1834 after receiving a presidential appointment on the French spoliations claims commission. The state legislature appointed Saunders to the North Carolina Superior Court in 1835 – an office he held until 1840 when he became the Democratic nominee for Governor of North Carolina. After a contentious campaign, Saunders was defeated by Whig nominee John Motley Morehead. During his time in state government, the North Carolina Democratic Party split into two factions. Saunders led the states' rights faction, which believed in the ideas of John C. Calhoun. The more moderate wing was led by Bedford Brown, a fellow Caswell native and political enemy to Saunders. When Democrats gained control of the state legislature in 1842, both Brown and Saunders ran for the U.S. Senate seat. Neither man received a majority of votes, and the seat went to William Henry Haywood Jr.

    Return to Congress

    Saunders returned to Congress following his election in 1840, where he became an outspoken opponent of Martin Van Buren and his allies who opposed the annexation of Texas. At the 1844 Democratic National Convention, Saunders sponsored a resolution requiring a two-thirds vote for the selection of a presidential candidate. This paved the way for the nomination of James K. Polk.

    Minister to Spain

    Perhaps as an act of appreciation for helping him win the Democratic presidential nomination, President Polk appointed Saunders as minister plenipotentiary to Spain in 1846. This coincided with the nation's increasing desire to procure Cuba, not only in the context of manifest destiny but also in the interest of Southern power. Cuba, with some half a million slaves, would provide Southerners with extra leverage in Congress. In the late 1840s, President James K. Polk dispatched Saunders with a mission to offer $100 million to buy Cuba. Saunders however did not speak Spanish, and as then Secretary of State James Buchanan noted "even [English] he sometimes murders". Saunders was a clumsy negotiator, which both entertained and angered the Spanish. Spain replied that they would "prefer seeing [Cuba] sunk in the ocean" than sold. It may have been a moot point anyway, as it is unlikely that the Whig majority House would have accepted such an obviously pro-Southern move. The 1848 election of Zachary Taylor, a Whig, ended formal attempts to purchase the island.[3]

    Return to state government

    Saunders moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, and in 1850 was elected to represent Wake County in the House of Commons. As representative, Saunders became a supporter of constructing the North Carolina Railroad. Saunders again attempted to be appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1852. The legislature could not agree on whom to appoint, and the seat remained open until the appointment of David Settle Reid in 1854. The legislature did, however, reappoint Saunders to the Superior Court. He was a member of a commission to codify North Carolina laws in 1851 along with Bartholomew F. Moore and Asa Biggs.[4]

    Personal life

    Saunders married Rebecca Peine Carter on December 27, 1812. The marriage produced five children: James, Franklin, Camillus, Anne Peine, and Rebecca. Rebecca later died, and Saunders married Anne Heyes Johnson (the daughter of William Johnson) on May 26, 1823. The couple had at least four children: William Johnson, Margaret Madeline, Jane Claudia, and Julia A. Around 1831, the Saunders family purchased the Elmwood estate in Raleigh – the former home of John Louis Taylor. Saunders died there on April 21, 1867, and was buried in the Old City Cemetery.

    References

    Samuel A. Ashe, ed., Biographical History of North Carolina, vol. 3 (1905).Biog. Dir. Am. Cong. (1961).

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. [William J. Cooper, Jr.|Cooper, William J.]
    2. Dictionary of North Carolina Biography: Vol. 5, P-S (The University of North Carolina Press, 1994).
    3. Book: McPherson, James M.. Battle cry of freedom : the Civil War era. 1988. 0-19-503863-0. New York. 15550774.
    4. News: 1939-10-22 . Bartholomew F. Moore . 35 . The News and Observer . 2023-11-11.