Expulsion of William Blount
- When
- 1797–1799
- Where
- United States Senate
- Episodes
- 2
In July 1797, Senator William Blount of Tennessee was expelled from the United States Senate after a letter outlining a land conspiracy reached President John Adams and the Senate. He became the first federal official to face impeachment, though the Senate later dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction.
Episodes
- Blount's Letter Presented to the Senate
President Adams forwarded Blount's conspiracy letter to the Senate, where it was presented on July 3, 1797, while Blount was out walking.
- Impeachment Dismissed for Lack of Jurisdiction
The Senate convened as a Court of Impeachment on December 17, 1798, and on January 11, 1799, voted 14 to 11 to dismiss the impeachment for lack of jurisdiction.
Background and detail
Background. Blount, a signer of the Constitution and former governor of the Southwest Territory, was selected as one of Tennessee's initial United States Senators in 1796. He received the appointment, alongside William Cocke, on March 30, 1796, and then headed to Philadelphia to campaign for Tennessee's statehood.
The Conspiracy Uncovered. In April 1797, Carey was at the Tellico Blockhouse near Knoxville when he gave a government agent a letter from Blount outlining the conspiracy. President Adams, determining that the actions of the Tennessee senator constituted a crime, sent the letter to the Senate, where it was presented on July 3, 1797, while Blount was out for a walk.
Aftermath. Upon returning to Knoxville in September 1797, Blount was paraded triumphantly through the city by a military procession led by James White and James Stuart. He remained popular in Tennessee and was elected to Knox County's state senate seat in October 1798, following James White's resignation.
People involved
- William Blount · United States Senator from Tennessee, expelled
- John Adams · President who forwarded Blount's letter to the Senate
- Carey · Courier who disclosed Blount's conspiracy letter to a government agent
Sources
- William Blount Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-26
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.