Henry S. Foote
| Henry S. Foote | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 19th Governor of Mississippi | |
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In office January 10, 1852 – January 5, 1854 |
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| Preceded by | James Whitfield |
| Succeeded by | John J. Pettus |
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United States Senator from Mississippi |
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In office March 4, 1847 – January 8, 1852 |
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| Preceded by | Joseph W. Chalmers |
| Succeeded by | Walker Brooke |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Henry Stuart Foote February 28, 1804 Fauquier County, Virginia |
| Died | May 20, 1880 (aged 76) Nashville, Tennessee |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Winters Rachel (Boyd) Smiley |
| Alma mater | Washington College |
| Profession | Politician, Lawyer |
Henry Stuart Foote (February 28, 1804 – May 20, 1880) was a United States Senator from Mississippi from 1847 to 1852 and elected on a Unionist ticket as Governor of Mississippi from 1852 to 1854. His strong leadership on the Senate floor helped secure passage of the Compromise of 1850, which for a time averted a civil war in the United States. A practicing attorney, he published two memoirs related to the American Civil War years, as well as a book on Texas prior to its annexation, and a postwar book on the legal profession and courts in the South.
Henry S. Foote was born on February 28, 1804 in Fauquier County, Virginia. He was the son of Richard Helm Foote and Catherine (Stuart) Foote. He pursued classical studies in 1819 and graduated from Washington College (now Washington and Lee University). He later studied the Law and was admitted to the bar in 1823.
In 1825, he moved to Alabama, where he began his law practice in Tuscumbia. Meanwhile, he also established a newspaper. He became a co-founder and trustee of LaGrange College, later known as the University of North Alabama. Shortly after, he moved to Mississippi, where he practiced law in the state capital, Jackson, and in the river towns of Natchez, Vicksburg, and Raymond, which were centers of business associated with the cotton and slave trades. He also visited the state of Texas and wrote a two-volume book about it.
He was elected by the Mississippi legislature as a Democrat to the United States Senate, where he played a key role in securing the Compromise of 1850. During Senate debates over the projected compromise resolutions, Thomas Hart Benton refused to support the compromise and became enraged by Foote's verbal attacks. According to the historian James Coleman, during heated Senate debates over the projected compromise resolutions, Foote drew a pistol on Benton after Benton charged him. Other members wrestled Foote to the floor; they took the gun away and locked it in a drawer. The incident created an uproar that prompted an investigation by a Senate committee.
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