Aaron Venable Brown (August 15, 1795 – March 8, 1859) was a Governor of Tennessee and Postmaster General in the Buchanan administration. He was also the law partner of James K. Polk.
Brown was a native of Virginia, but a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was valedictorian of the class of 1814. He later entered into the practice of law with James K. Polk. He was a member of the Tennessee State Senate from 1821 to...
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Aaron Venable Brown (August 15, 1795 – March 8, 1859) was a Governor of Tennessee and Postmaster General in the Buchanan administration. He was also the law partner of James K. Polk.
Brown was a native of Virginia, but a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was valedictorian of the class of 1814. He later entered into the practice of law with James K. Polk. He was a member of the Tennessee State Senate from 1821 to 1827 and of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1831 to 1835, and a member of the United States House of Representatives for three terms, 1839 to 1845. He won the Democratic nomination for governor in 1845 and was elected.
When the Mexican-American War began, largely through the actions of his old friend Polk, who was now President, Brown issued a call for 2,600 volunteers. When approximately 30,000 men answered this call, Tennessee's reputation as the Volunteer State was forever secured.
Like his friend Polk, Brown was also defeated...
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