William Blount was born in Bertie County, North Carolina back in 1749 to Jacob and Barbara. He had no formal education instead he was involved in his father’s business at a young age. By the end of the 1760’s his father had acquired several thousand acres teaching his soon the profit of aggressive land speculation.
As tensions grew between Britain and the colonies he aligned himself with the colonies. He was appointed paymaster of the 3rd North Carolina Regiment. In 1780, he was appointed commissary to General Horatio Gates.
In 1782, he was elected to be one of the four delegates to the Continental Congress. He introduced several bills that proved critical in what is now Tennessee. In 1784, he sponsored a bill establishing the city of Nashville. He was appointed governor of the Southwest Territory what is now Tennessee by President George Washington. During the 1780’s-1790’s he acquired over 2.5 million acres much of it bought on credit.
Due to some shady land deals and him concocting a plot to allow Britain to gain control of Florida the Senate impeached him. The following year they determined their actions were not upheld by the Constitution. Now for the rest of the story for you see, the constitutional conundrum of conducting a trial of an impeached senator has not yet been resolved. So, I ask you what else is new? Until tomorrow keep a smile on your face and a penny in your pocket
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