John Henninger Reagan

John Henninger Reagan (October 8, 1818 – March 6, 1905), was a leading 19th-century American politician from the U.S. state of Texas. A Democrat, Reagan left the U.S. House of Representatives when his state seceded from the Union to join the Confederate States of America. During the American Civil War, he served in the cabinet of Jefferson Davis as Postmaster-General. After the Confederate defeat, he called for cooperation with the federal government and became unpopular, but returned to public office when his predictions of harsh treatment for resistance were proved correct.

Early life

Reagan was born in Sevier County, Tennessee, to Timothy Richard and Elizabeth Lusk Reagan. (Some sources say he was born in the county seat, Sevierville.) He left Tennessee at nineteen and like many from Tennessee traveled in Texas. There he worked as a surveyor from 1839 to 1843, and afterward was a farmer in Kaufman County until 1851. He studied law on his own and was licensed to practice law in 1846, opening an office in Buffalo.

Related Topics:
Sevier County - Tennessee - Sevierville - Texas - 1839 - 1843 - Kaufman County - 1851 - 1846 - Buffalo

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The same year he obtained his license, he was elected a probate judge in Henderson County and in 1847 he went to the state legislature but was defeated for a second term in 1849. He returned to his law practice and was elected a district judge in Palestine, serving from 1852 to 1857. His labors in defeating the American Party (Know-Nothings) in Texas led to his election to Congress in 1857 from Texas's First District.

Related Topics:
Probate judge - Henderson County - 1847 - State legislature - 1849 - Palestine - 1852 - 1857 - American Party - Know-Nothings - First District

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In Congress, he was a moderate and a supporter of the Union, but resigned from Congress on January 15, 1861 and returned to his home state when it became clear that Texas would secede. There he participated in the secession convention that met at Austin on the last day of January. The convention voted for Texas to leave the union and for Reagan to represent the state in the Provisional Confederate Congress, but within the month he was in the cabinet instead.

Related Topics:
Moderate - January 15 - 1861 - Austin - Provisional Confederate Congress

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