John Bell (Tennessee politician)

John Bell
Photograph of Bell by Mathew Brady
United States Senator from Tennessee
In office November 22, 1847 – March 4, 1859
Preceded by	Spencer Jarnagin
Succeeded by	Alfred O. P. Nicholson
16th United States Secretary of War
In office March 5, 1841 – September 11, 1841
President	William Henry Harrison John Tyler
Preceded by	Joel R. Poinsett
Succeeded by	John C. Spencer
12th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office June 2, 1834 – March 4, 1835
President	Andrew Jackson
Preceded by	Andrew Stevenson
Succeeded by	James K. Polk
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 7th district
In office March 4, 1827 – March 4, 1841
Preceded by	Sam Houston
Succeeded by	Robert L. Caruthers
Member of the Tennessee Senate
In office 1817–1819
Personal details
Born	(1796-02-18)February 18, 1796 Nashville, Tennessee
Died	September 10, 1869(1869-09-10) (aged 73) Dickson County, Tennessee
Resting place	Mount Olivet Cemetery Nashville, Tennessee
Political party	Democratic-Republican (1817–1828) Democratic (1828–1835) Whig (1835–1854) American (1854–1860) Constitutional Union (1860–1861)
Spouse(s)	Sally Dickinson (m. 1818; her death 1832) Jane Erwin Yeatman (m. 1835; his death 1869)
Alma mater	Cumberland College
Profession	Law
Signature

John Bell (February 18, 1796 – September 10, 1869) was an American politician, attorney, and planter. One of Tennessee's most prominent antebellum politicians, he served in the House of Representatives from 1827 to 1841, and in the Senate from 1847 to 1859. He was Speaker of the House for the 23rd Congress (1834–1835), and briefly served as Secretary of War during the administration of William Henry Harrison (1841). In 1860, he ran for president as the candidate for the Constitutional Union Party, a third party which took a neutral stance on the issue of slavery.

Initially an ally of Andrew Jackson, Bell turned against Jackson in the mid-1830s and aligned himself with the Whig Party, a shift which earned him the nickname, "The Great Apostate." He consistently battled Jackson's allies, namely James K. Polk, over issues such as the national bank and the election spoils system. Following the death of Hugh Lawson White in 1840, Bell became the acknowledged leader of Tennessee's Whigs.

Although a slaveowner, Bell was one of the few southern politicians to oppose the expansion of slavery in the 1850s, and campaigned vigorously against secession in the years leading up to the American Civil War. During his 1860 presidential campaign, he argued that secession was unnecessary since the Constitution protected slavery, an argument which resonated with voters in border states, helping him capture the electoral votes of Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia. After the Battle of Fort Sumter in April 1861, Bell abandoned the Union cause and supported the Confederacy.