Terry H. Cahal | |
---|---|
Born | September 4, 1802 Virginia, U.S. |
Died | April 15, 1851
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | (aged 48)
Resting place | Nashville City Cemetery |
Occupation | Politician |
Spouse | Ann C. Cahal |
Terry H. Cahal (September 4, 1802 – April 15, 1851) was an American jurist and politician in the Antebellum South. He served as the Speaker of the Tennessee Senate and the Chancellor of Tennessee.
Terry H. Cahal was born on September 4, 1802, in Virginia. [1] He served in the First Seminole War of 1816–1819. [1]
Cahal was a lawyer and politician. He served as a member of the Tennessee twice. [1] He also served as its Speaker once. [1] He subsequently served as the "Chancellor" of Tennessee. [2] In 1833, he warned against secession in the wake of the Nullification Crisis. [3] On slavery, Cahal argued:
it is not a good institution either for master or servant, but that its abrupt and sudden abrogation would make the condition of both infinitely worse. Who could live in Tennessee if all the negroes, as a degraded class, were set free to remain here? Not I, not you. In our wealthy and densely populated counties free negroes are pests, and for themselves their condition is generally worse than that of the slaves. [...] A great system of law and order cannot be revolutionized at once without the greatest calamities. African slavery must perish. This is destiny, and if you please, progress; but it ought to die naturally and gradually.
Cahal had a wife named Ann. [1] He died on April 15, 1851. [1] [2]