By: Brown S.R. No. 1041
1-1 SENATE RESOLUTION
1-2 WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas takes
1-3 pleasure in recognizing the contribution that noted statesman
1-4 Thomas Jefferson Rusk made to the history and development of
1-5 the great State of Texas; and
1-6 WHEREAS, Thomas J. Rusk, born December 5, 1803, in
1-7 Pendelton District, South Carolina, to Mary Sterritt and
1-8 John Rusk, studied law and was admitted to the bar; he moved to
1-9 Clarksville, Georgia, to practice law and married Mary F. Cleveland
1-10 in 1827; and
1-11 WHEREAS, After concluding a business deal with land
1-12 speculators who then stole his money and traveled to Texas, Rusk
1-13 followed them and settled here; and
1-14 WHEREAS, He organized a company of volunteers in
1-15 Nacogdoches in late 1835 and joined the Texas troops near
1-16 San Antonio but withdrew prior to the seige of Bexar in
1-17 December, 1835; and
1-18 WHEREAS, The provisional government appointed him a
1-19 contractor for the Texas Army, and he traveled east of the
1-20 Trinity River to obtain troops and money for supplies; he was
1-21 Inspector General of the army from December 14, 1835, to
1-22 February 26, 1836; and
1-23 WHEREAS, Rusk signed the Declaration of Independence
2-1 of 1836 as a delegate from Nacogdoches and was elected Secretary
2-2 of War by the convention on March 17, 1836; he left Harrisburg to
2-3 join the army on April 1, 1836, and participated in the battle of
2-4 San Jacinto; and
2-5 WHEREAS, Rusk was brigadier general in command of the
2-6 army from May 4 to October 31, 1836; he was Secretary of War
2-7 under Sam Houston, but he resigned to attend to his business
2-8 affairs; and
2-9 WHEREAS, Elected to the Second Congress of the Republic,
2-10 Rusk served from September 25, 1837, to May 24, 1838, but
2-11 refused to pursue election to the presidency of the Republic;
2-12 and
2-13 WHEREAS, On December 12, 1838, he was elected
2-14 Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court; on June 20, 1840,
2-15 he resigned the office; and
2-16 WHEREAS, In 1839, as commander of the Texas troops,
2-17 he expelled the Cherokee Indians from Texas; and
2-18 WHEREAS, Rusk was elected major general of the militia
2-19 in January, 1843; when he finished his term of office, he returned
2-20 to his private law practice; and
2-21 WHEREAS, President of the Convention of 1845, Rusk
2-22 exercised his influence in favor of the annexation of Texas into
2-23 the United States and helped organize the new state government;
2-24 and
2-25 WHEREAS, Thomas J. Rusk and Sam Houston were elected to
3-1 the United States Senate in February, 1846; as a senator, Rusk
3-2 supported James K. Polk's views on the necessity of war with
3-3 Mexico; during debates over the Compromise of 1850, Rusk pressed
3-4 for payment to Texas for the lost land of its New Mexico
3-5 territory; and
3-6 WHEREAS, He spoke in the Senate and in Texas in favor
3-7 of a southern route through Texas for a transcontinental railroad;
3-8 there was speculation in 1856 that he was a possible candidate
3-9 for United States president; and
3-10 WHEREAS, Rusk was elected president pro tempore of the
3-11 Senate on March 14, 1857, during a special session; and
3-12 WHEREAS, Despondent over the death of his beloved wife
3-13 on April 23, 1856, his sorrow increased with time, to be assuaged
3-14 only at his death on July 29, 1857; his passing brought great
3-15 sadness to Texans; and
3-16 WHEREAS, The contributions that Thomas J. Rusk made were
3-17 invaluable to Texas and he deserves to be honored as a true hero;
3-18 now, therefore, be it
3-19 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas hereby
3-20 recognize the life of Thomas Jefferson Rusk and express gratitude
3-21 for his monumental contributions to our great state as one of
3-22 its founding fathers; and, be it further
3-23 RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared
3-24 for the descendants of Thomas J. Rusk as an expression of high
3-25 regard from the Texas Senate.
4-1 ______________________________________
4-2 President of the Senate
4-3 I hereby certify that the above
4-4 Resolution was adopted by the Senate
4-5 on May 12, 1995.
4-6 ______________________________________
4-7 Secretary of the Senate
4-8 ______________________________________
4-9 Member, Texas Senate