Thomas J. Rusk

Thomas Jefferson Rusk occupies a prominent place in the pantheon of Texas heroes. Born in South Carolina in 1803, Rusk was tutored in the law by one of the great statesman of nineteenth-century America, John C. Calhoun. He came to Texas in 1834 by chance while pursuing criminals, found Nacogdoches much to his liking, and stayed, soon becoming embroiled in local politics. Rusk signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, served as secretary of war during the Texas Revolution, and was a veteran of San Jacinto.

After Texas independence, Rusk was elected to represent Nacogdoches in the republic Congress. He continued to be active in military affairs as well, leading militia contingents against Kickapoo Indians in 1838 and against Chief Bowl's Cherokees at the Battle of the Neches the following year. Incredibly, he did this while serving as chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Rusk also presided over the annexation convention in 1845.

Rusk continued to serve his adopted state after annexation, joining Sam Houston as the first United States Senators from Texas in February 1846. In the Senate Rusk and Houston, who frequently disagreed on issues such as Indian removal, worked together for the benefit of Texas. Both strongly supported the states' claim to the Rio Grande as the border with Mexico, and Rusk joined President James K. Polk in agitating for war in 1846. While congress debated the final borders of Texas, Rusk lobbied hard for the state to maintain its claims along the upper Rio Grande, lands now within the boundaries of New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. Failing to achieve this, he insisted on adequate compensation and convinced the federal government to pay $10 million for denying Texas' claims to those lands.

As chairman of the Senate committee on Post Offices and Roads, Rusk tried to garner support for a southern transcontinental railroad across Texas. In 1853 he traveled the state looking for the best possible route, and the Gadsden Purchase of that year seemed to portend well for his plans. Rusk failed, however, to convince his colleagues to subsidize the southern railroad after the controversial Kansas-Nebraska Act brought the question of slavery into discussions of transcontinental railroad routes.

In 1856 Rusk was a leading contender for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States. Only 53 years old, he was nonetheless one of the most experienced men in the government. He declined to run, though, and fellow Democrat James Buchanan was elected. Rusk declined an offer from the president to become Postmaster General, preferring to continue his service in the Senate. In March 1857 his colleagues elected him President Pro Tempore of that body, an honor few others of the era so richly deserved. But soon thereafter Rusk, miserable after the death of his wife in April 1856, took his own life. Texas, and the United States, lost a hero that day.

Thomas Jefferson Rusk is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Nacogdoches, a municipal facility. To get there, take Main Street to Lanana Street, then go north one block to the cemetery.

For further information see Mary Whatley Clarke, Thomas J. Rusk: Soldier, Statesman, Jurist (Austin, 1971). To learn more about East Texas history contact the East Texas Historical Association at Stephen F. Austin State University or visit the ETHA web site at http://leonardo.sfasu.edu/etha/.