John Adair (January 9, 1757 – May 19, 1840) was an American pioneer, slave trader, soldier, and politician. He was the eighth governor of Kentucky and represented the state in both the U.S. House and Senate. A native of South Carolina, Adair enlisted in the state militia and served in the Revolutionary War, during which he was twice captured and held as a prisoner of war by the British. Following the War, he was elected as a delegate to South Carolina's convention to ratify the United States Constitution.
After moving to Kentucky in 1786, Adair participated in the Northwest Indian War, including a skirmish with the Miami Chief Little Turtle near Fort St. Clair in 1792. Popular for his service in two wars, he entered politics in 1792 as a delegate to Kentucky's constitutional convention. Adair was elected to a total of eight terms in the state House of Representatives between 1793 and 1803. He served as Speaker of the Kentucky House in 1802 and 1803, and was a delegate to the state's Second Constitutional Convention in 1799. He ascended to the United States Senate to fill the seat vacated when John Breckinridge resigned to become Attorney General of the United States in the Cabinet of Thomas Jefferson, but failed to win a full term in the subsequent election due to his implication in a treason conspiracy involving Vice President Aaron Burr. After a long legal battle, he was acquitted of any wrongdoing; and his accuser, General James Wilkinson, was ordered to issue an apology. The negative publicity kept him out of politics for more than a decade.
Adair's participation in the War of 1812, and a subsequent protracted defense of Kentucky's soldiers against General Andrew Jackson's charges that they showed cowardice at the Battle of New Orleans, restored his reputation. He returned to the State House in 1817, and Isaac Shelby, his commanding officer in the War who was serving a second term as governor, appointed him adjutant general of the state militia. In 1820, Adair was elected eighth governor on a platform of financial relief for Kentuckians hit hard by the Panic of 1819, and the ensuing economic recession. His primary effort toward this end was the creation of the Bank of the Commonwealth, but many of his other financial reforms were deemed unconstitutional by the Kentucky Court of Appeals, touching off the Old Court–New Court controversy. Following his term as governor, Adair served one undistinguished term in the United States House of Representatives and did not run for re-election.
Early life
John Adair was born January 9, 1757, in Chester County in the backcountry of the Province of South Carolina, a son of Ulster immigrants Baron William of Lisburn and Mary [Moore] Adair of Ballyclare. Baron William was born in 1729 in Ulster and emigrated to Charleston in 1752, where he soon made his way to the backcountryHarrison in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, p. 1Smith, p. 168 He was educated at schools in Charlotte, North Carolina, and enlisted in the South Carolina colonial militia at the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War."Adair, John". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress He was assigned to the regiment of his friend, Edward Lacey, under the command of Colonel Thomas Sumter and participated in the failed Patriot assault on a Loyalist outpost at the Battle of Rocky Mount and the subsequent American victory at the Battle of Hanging Rock.Fredricksen, p. 2Scoggins, p. 150
During the August 16, 1780, Battle of Camden, Adair was taken prisoner by the victorious British army.Hall, p. 1 He contracted smallpox and was treated harshly by his captors during his months-long imprisonment. Although he escaped at one point, Adair was unable to reach safety because of difficulties related to his smallpox infection and was recaptured by British forces under Colonel Banastre Tarleton after just three days. Subsequently, he was released via a prisoner exchange. In 1781, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the South Carolina militia, and fought in the drawn Battle of Eutaw Springs, the war's last major battle in the Carolinas.
Edward Lacey was elected sheriff of Chester County after the war, and Adair replaced him in his former capacity as the county's justice of the peace. He was chosen as a delegate to the South Carolina convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution. In 1784, Adair married Katherine Palmer.Bussey, p. 26 They had twelve children, ten of them daughters. One married Thomas Bell Monroe, who later served as Adair's Secretary of State and was appointed to a federal judgeship.Morton, p. 13 In 1786, the Adairs migrated westward to Kentucky, settling in Mercer County."John Adair". Dictionary of American Biography Adair was a slaveowner and slave trader.
Service in the Northwest Indian War Enlisting for service as a captain in the Northwest Indian War in 1791, Adair was soon promoted to major and assigned to the brigade of James Wilkinson. On November 6, 1792, a band of Miamis under the command of Little Turtle encountered Adair and about 100 men serving under him on a scouting mission near Fort St. Clair in Ohio. When the Miami attacked, Adair ordered Lieutenant (and later governor of Kentucky) George Madison to attack their right flank while Adair led 25 men to attack the left flank. (Adair had intended for a subordinate to lead the charge, but the officer was killed before Adair could give the order.) The maneuver forced the Miamis to fall back and allowed Adair's men to escape. They retreated to their camp and made a stand, forcing the Miamis to withdraw. Six of Adair's men were killed; another four were missing and five were wounded. Among the wounded were Madison and Richard Taylor, father of future U.S. President Zachary Taylor.Collins, p. 165
Recognizing his bravery and fighting skill, Adair's superiors promoted him to lieutenant colonel. He was assigned to the command of Charles Scott, who would eventually serve as Kentucky's fourth governor. He assisted in the construction of Fort Greeneville in 1794, forwarding supplies to Anthony Wayne during his operations which ended in a decisive victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers.
Early political career
Popular for his military service, Adair was chosen as a delegate to the Kentucky constitutional convention in 1792.Harrison in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, p. 2 Upon the state's admission to the Union, he was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives, serving from 1793 to 1795. He remained active in the Kentucky militia, and on February 25, 1797, he was promoted to brigadier general and given command of the 2nd Brigade of the Kentucky Militia.Trowbridge, "Kentucky's Military Governors" He was promoted to major general and given command of the 2nd Division of the Kentucky Militia on December 16, 1799.
Adair returned to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1798. When Kentuckians voted to hold another constitutional convention in 1799 to correct weaknesses in their first constitution, Adair was chosen as a delegate. At the convention, he was the leader of a group of politically ambitious delegates who opposed most limits on the powers and terms of office of elected officials, particularly on legislators.Harrison and Klotter, p. 77 He was elected to the Kentucky House again from 1800 to 1803. A candidate for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1800, he was defeated in an overwhelming 68–13 vote of the legislature by John Breckinridge, who had been the acknowledged leader of the just-concluded constitutional convention.Harrison in John Breckinridge: Jeffersonian Republican, p. 110 In 1802, Adair succeeded Breckinridge as Speaker of the House by a vote of 30–14 over Elder David Purviance, the candidate preferred by Governor James Garrard.Everman, p. 69 He continued to serve as Speaker for the duration of his tenure in the House. In 1802, the legislature formed Adair County, Kentucky, naming it after the popular Speaker.
In January 1804, Garrard nominated Adair to the position of registrar of the state land office.Everman, p. 78 Adair's was the seventh name submitted by Garrard to the state Senate for the position; his approval by the Senate marked the end of a two-month imbroglio between Garrard and the legislature over the appointment. Later that year, he was a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat then occupied by John Brown.Remini, p. 37 Although Henry Clay supported Brown's re-election, Adair had the support of Felix Grundy. Grundy accused Brown of involvement in a conspiracy to make Kentucky a province of the Spanish government, damaging his popularity. Adair won a plurality, but not a majority, of the votes cast in six consecutive ballots. Clay then threw his support to Buckner Thruston, a more palatable candidate who defeated Adair on the seventh ballot. Grundy's influence in the legislature continued to grow, and when John Breckinridge resigned to accept President Thomas Jefferson's appointment as U.S. Attorney General in August 1805, the Senate chose Adair to fill the vacancy.
Charged with disloyalty Former Vice President Aaron Burr visited Kentucky in 1805, reaching Frankfort, Kentucky, on May 25 and lodging with former Senator John Brown.Harrison and Klotter, p. 85 During the trip, he consulted with many prominent politicians, Adair among them, about the possibility of wresting Mexico from Spain. Most of those he spoke with believed he was acting on behalf of the federal government and intended to expand U.S. holdings in Mexico. Adair believed this too, having received letters from his former commander, James Wilkinson, which appeared to confirm it. In 1806, however, Burr was arrested in Frankfort on charges of treason. Officials claimed he in fact intended to create a new, independent nation in Spanish lands.
Convinced of his innocence, Henry Clay represented Burr, while Joseph Hamilton Daveiss acted as prosecutor.Harrison and Klotter, p. 8 Harry Innes presided over the trial, which commenced November 11. Daveiss had to ask for a postponement because Davis Floyd, one of his key witnesses, was then serving in the Indiana General Assembly and could not be present in court. The court next convened on December 2, and Daveiss again had to ask for a postponement, this time because Adair, another witness, was not present. Adair had traveled to Louisiana to inspect a tract of land he had recently purchased there. On his arrival in New Orleans, he was arrested on the order of his former commander, James Wilkinson, then serving as governor of the Louisiana Territory.
Clay had insisted that the trial proceed in Adair's absence, and, the next day, Daveiss presented indictments against Burr for treason and against Adair as a co-conspirator. After hearing testimony, the grand jury rejected the indictment against Adair as "not a true bill" and similarly dismissed the charges against Burr two days later. After his vindication by the grand jury, Adair counter-sued Wilkinson in federal court.Bussey, p. 27 Although the legal battle between the two spanned several years, the court found that Wilkinson had no solid evidence against Adair and ordered Wilkinson to issue a public apology and pay Adair $2,500 in damages. Adair's acquittal and successful counter-suit came too late to prevent damage to his political career. Because of his association with Burr's scheme, he lost the election for a full term in the Senate in November 1806. Rather than wait for his partial term to expire, he resigned on November 18, 1806.
Service in the War of 1812