Peter Burnett
| Peter Hardeman Burnett | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 1st Governor of California | |
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In office December 20, 1849 – January 9, 1851 |
|
| Lieutenant | John McDougall |
| Preceded by | Bennet C. Riley |
| Succeeded by | John McDougall |
| 5th Supreme Judge of the Provisional Government of Oregon | |
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In office September 6, 1845 – December 29, 1846 |
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| Preceded by | James Nesmith |
| Succeeded by | Jesse Quinn Thornton |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 15, 1807 Nashville, Tennessee |
| Died | May 17, 1895 (aged 87) San Francisco, California |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Harriet Rogers |
| Profession | Author, lawyer, politician, failed general store owner, failed saw mill owner, failed farmer and failed distiller |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Signature |  |
Peter Hardeman Burnett (November 15, 1807 – May 17, 1895) was an American politician and the first Governor of California as a state in the U.S., serving from December 20, 1849, to January 9, 1851, and the first to resign from office. Burnett was governor for almost one year before California's admission in 1850.
Born in Nashville, Tennessee, but raised in rural Missouri, Burnett did not receive any formal education aside from elementary school, but educated himself in law and government. After owning a general store, he turned to his law career; in defending a group of Mormons — including Joseph Smith — who were accused of treason, arson and robbery. Burnett requested a change of venue for the court proceedings, and during transportation to the next venue, the defendants escaped.
In 1843, Burnett became part of the exodus of Easterners moving Westward, moving his family to the Oregon Country (now modern-day Oregon) to take up farming in order to solve growing debts in Missouri, an agricultural endeavour that failed. While in the Oregon Country, Burnett began his forays into politics, getting elected to the provisional legislature between 1844 and 1848. In 1844, he completed construction of Germantown Road between the Tualatin Valley and what became Portland. It was during his time in Oregon that Burnett, a traditional Southern Protestant, began to question the practices of his faith, drifting his religious views more to Roman Catholicism. By 1846, Burnett and his family made the complete transition from Protestant to become Catholic.
While in the Legislature, and later as Provisional Supreme Judge, Burnett simply signed Oregon's first exclusion laws, the importation of African-Americans slaves, who needed to be set free after three year, or be returned to the turmoil of a Missouri free state/slave state problems. The fact that he was not into flogging was proven when as a wagon master that had been fired by his wagon train for saving everyone at Fort Laramie, and by saving a native from being whipped at the Whitman mission.
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