John Pope (Kentucky)

John Pope (* 1770 in Prince William County, Virginia; † July 12, 1845 in Springfield, Kentucky) was an American politician who served as Governor of the Arkansas Territory. He also represented the State of Kentucky in both chambers of Congress.

Early years and political rise

The exact date of birth of John Pope is unknown. The sources go but the majority of the year 1770. Even as a child he lost an arm in an accident. He grew up in Kentucky and studied law. After passing the examination and his admission to the bar he practiced in Shelbyville. Pope's long political career began in 1802 with his election to the House of Representatives from Kentucky. In the years 1806-1807 he was elected again in this Parliament chamber.

By the time he became one of the most famous politician in Kentucky and opponent of Henry Clay. Between 1807 and 1813 he represented Kentucky as a member of the Democratic-Republican Party in the U.S. Senate. There he spoke in 1812 against the war with England, the Clay supported vigorously. In the year 1819 Pope Andrew Jackson joined and supported this in the following years. Between 1825 and 1829 Pope was a member of the Senate from Kentucky. After Jackson had in 1829 assumed office as the new U.S. President, he appointed his friend Pope to the new territorial governor of Arkansas.

Territorial Governor

Pope was the end of May 1829 his family in Arkansas. There hitherto Secretary Robert Crittenden had exercised the power. This was however replaced by President Jackson and was now working in the background against the new government. The dispute was and partly guided primarily by Crittenden page hard on unfair manner. But that he had little success in the long term. One of the first measures of the new governor was a change in the management system. State office-holders were no longer appointed but elected. He wanted to bring more democracy in the area and at the same time reduce corruption and nepotism. Pope also encouraged the development of an infrastructure in Arkansas and laid the foundation for the eventual accession to the Union. In order to improve the postal service Pope suggested a weekly service between Little Rock and Memphis in Tennessee and New Orleans in Louisiana. However, Parliament opted for the newly opened overland route.

Pope's tenure in Arkansas ended earlier than he would have expected. In the meantime, he had distanced himself from the policies of President Jackson. He did not agree, especially with the approach Jackson against the Second Bank of the United States. After Jackson had communicated his concerns in a letter, he was in 1835 no longer appointed in this position. In his place appointed Jackson William Savin Fulton to the new and last territorial governor of Arkansas.

Further CV

After the end of his time in Arkansas Pope became a lawyer in Springfield. He moved from Jackson's Democratic party to the Whigs and sat for this party as a representative of the seventh election district of Kentucky 1837-1843 House of Representatives of the United States in Washington.

John Pope died in 1845. He was the uncle of the Civil War general of the same name. His younger brother, Nathaniel (1784-1850) was a congressman for Illinois.