hiː sˈɜːvd ɪnðə tˌɛnəsˈiː hˈaʊs ʌv ɹˌɛpɹᵻzˈɛntətˌɪvz ɪn wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd ˈeɪthˈʌndɹɪd sˈɪksti fˈaɪv ænd wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd ˈeɪthˈʌndɹɪd sˈɪksti sˈɪks, wˌɛɹ hiː ˈɔːθɚd ɐ sˈɪɹiz ʌv bˈɪlz tʊ ɛkspˈænd vˈoʊɾɪŋ ɹˈaɪts tə fˈɔːɹmɚ slˈeɪvz ænd ðæt ɐtˈɛmptᵻd ʌnsəksˈɛsfəli tə stɹˈɪp ðə vˈoʊɾɪŋ ɹˈaɪts ʌv fˈɔːɹmɚ kənfˈɛdɚɹət sˈoʊldʒɚz ænd əfˈɪʃəlz fɔːɹ pˈiəɹɪədz ʌv fˈaɪv ænd fˈɪftiːn jˈɪɹz, ɹᵻspˈɛktɪvli; haʊˈɛvɚ, ðə dˌɛfɪnˈɪʃənz jˈuːzd tʊ ɛkspˈænd ɹˈaɪts tə blˈæks ɑːɹ sˈiːn baɪ sˌʌm hɪstˈoːɹiənz æz ˈɔːlsoʊ hˌævɪŋ ɪstˈæblɪʃt ɐn ˈɜːli vˈɜːʒən ʌvðə "wˈʌndɹˈɑːp" ɹˈuːl ɪn tˌɛnəsˈiː lˈɔː.
He served in the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1865 and 1866, where he authored a series of bills to expand voting rights to former slaves and that attempted unsuccessfully to strip the voting rights of former Confederate soldiers and officials for periods of 5 and 15 years, respectively; however, the definitions used to expand rights to blacks are seen by some historians as also having established an early version of the "one-drop" rule in Tennessee law.