men set the tone of the era. In 1954 John Barnhart and Donald Carmony described Jennings as a "shrewd politician rather than a statesman", whose leadership was "not evident" at the 1816 convention. Carmony argued that Jennings's "intemperance and poverty, should not obscure his significant contributions as territorial delegate to Congress, president of the Corydon Constitutional Convention, first state governor, and congressman." Modern historians, Howard Peckham, Randy Mills, Andrew R. L. Cayton, and Dorothy Riker, argue that Jennings's legacy may lie "somewhere between the two extremes" of Dunn's and Esarey's assessments. Mills agrees with Woollen that Indiana owes Jennings a debt of gratitude. Although Jennings's accomplishments were not extensive, he did a "commendable" job for his stewardship of a state in "transition to a more democratic form of government". Cayton describes Jennings as "ambitious", "passionate", "hot-tempered", and "moody". He argues that Jennings was a successful campaigner, but an "indifferent" statesman and governor who was "not very good at laying out an agenda and achieving its implementation". Jennings believed in popular democracy, opposed slavery, and despised aristocrats, especially William Henry Harrison, for "trampling on the rights of his fellow Americans." His service as Indiana's governor and representative to Congress came at the end of one political era and the beginning of another, when governmental power and authority shifted from the governor and his patronage appointments to the state legislature and elected officials. Electoral history Territorial delegate } } } } Gubernatorial elections } Indiana's 2nd Congressional district } } } } } See also History of Indiana List of governors of Indiana Footnotes References Notes Bibliography External links Biography of Jonathan Jennings, Indiana Historical Bureau "Jonathan Jennings: Honoring the Autonomy and Democratic Values of Pioneer Hoosiers", Indiana Historical Bureau Jonathan Jennings collection, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library |- |- |- |- 1784 births 1834 deaths 19th-century American politicians American Presbyterians Delegates to the 1816 Indiana constitutional convention Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from Indiana Territory Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States Governors of Indiana Indiana Democratic-Republicans Indiana Jacksonians Indiana National Republicans Indiana Territory officials Members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives People from Charlestown, Indiana Vincennes University People from Vincennes, Indiana American abolitionists American Freemasons People from Fayette County, Pennsylvania