Governor Alexander Gallatin Mcnutt

ALEXANDER G. MCNUTT, the twelfth governor of Mississippi, was born in Rockbridge, Virginia on January 3, 1802. His education was attained at Washington and Lee University in Virginia. He studied law and then established his legal career in Vicksburg, Mississippi. McNutt first entered politics in 1835, serving as a member of the Mississippi State Senate, a position from which he also served as senate president in 1837. He next secured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, and was elected governor by a popular vote on November 6, 1837. He was reelected to a second term in 1839. During his tenure, a state library was founded; a women’s’ property rights bill was sanctioned; land was secured for the site of a new state university; and construction was completed on the state penitentiary. Also, bonds were sold by the Union Bank in an effort to increase revenue, however the bank crashed, causing a major dispute, as well as leaving the state with a huge deficit. After declining to run for reelection, McNutt left office on January 10, 1842. In 1847 he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the U.S. Senate. While campaigning for a presidential elector position, Governor Alexander G. McNutt passed away on October 22, 1848. He was buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in Jackson, Mississippi.