Jesse David Bright

Democrat Senator of Indiana

Senator
Indiana
December 1, 1845 - March 3, 1851
Senator
Indiana
December 1, 1851 - March 3, 1857
Senator
Indiana
December 7, 1857 - February 5, 1862

Congresses Served

Senate Terms

January 1, 1812 (63 years old)

Birthday

January 1, 1875

Death

Served as the ninth Lieutenant Governor of Indiana and a U.S. Senator from Indiana.
Held the position of President pro tempore of the Senate on three occasions.
Was the only senator from a Northern state to be expelled for being a Confederate sympathizer and opposed the Civil War.
Had a rivalry with Governor Joseph A. Wright, a leader of Indiana’s Republican Party.
Born into a German family and moved to Madison, Indiana, in 1820.
Studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1831, and began practicing in Madison.
Elected as a judge of the probate court of Jefferson County, Indiana, in 1834 and served as a United States Marshal for the district of Indiana from 1840 to 1841.
Served in the Indiana Senate from 1841 to 1843 before becoming Lieutenant Governor of Indiana.
Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1844 and reelected in 1850 and 1856, serving until 1862.
Chaired several Senate committees and was known for his effective committee work rather than oratory skills.
Declined the post of Secretary of State offered by President James Buchanan in 1857.
Expelled from the Senate in 1862 for acknowledging Jefferson Davis as President of the Confederate States and facilitating the sale of arms to the Confederacy.
Moved to Covington, Kentucky, after expulsion and served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1867 to 1871.
Was a presidential elector on the Democratic ticket in the 1868 presidential election and president of the Raymond City Coal Company from 1871 to 1875.
Died in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1875 and was interred in Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.