Frederick Bates (June 23, 1777 – August 4, 1825), brother of Edward Bates and James Woodson Bates, was an American politician. Born in 1777 in Belmont, Virginia, Bates started his career as a Justice of the Territorial Supreme Court for Michigan Territory in Detroit, Michigan. He received a significant promotion when the Aaron Burr conspiracy was uncovered. In February 1807, while in Washington, President Jefferson appointed Bates to be Secretary...
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Frederick Bates (June 23, 1777 – August 4, 1825), brother of Edward Bates and James Woodson Bates, was an American politician. Born in 1777 in Belmont, Virginia, Bates started his career as a Justice of the Territorial Supreme Court for Michigan Territory in Detroit, Michigan. He received a significant promotion when the Aaron Burr conspiracy was uncovered. In February 1807, while in Washington, President Jefferson appointed Bates to be Secretary of the Louisiana Territory as well as a recorder of land titles. He held this position until 1812. Bates helped determine whether conflicting Spanish, French, and American land claims would be upheld.
Jefferson had already decided on the returning explorer and fellow Virginian Meriwether Lewis as governor of the huge new Louisiana Territory, which approximately equaled the size of the existing United States, but as Bates preceded Lewis to St. Louis, Bates became a powerful political force in the new territory and a political rival of Lewis...
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