Editing Jonathan Jennings (section)

===Confrontation with Harrison===
In August 1807, Jennings was appointed clerk of the [[Vincennes University]] board of trustees and began to be drawn into ongoing political disputes going on territory. The territorial governor, William Henry Harrison, was a member and president of the board.<ref>Riker, p. 226</ref><ref>Mills, p. xxv and 85</ref><ref group = n>Harrison, who came from a well-connected political family in Virginia, had served as an officer in the [[Northwest Indian War]] and as a territorial delegate to Congress. Harrison later became a U.S. senator, ambassador, and president. See Gugin and St. Clair, pp. 18-26</ref> As governor of the Indiana Territory, Harrison wielded considerable influence through his political appointments and veto powers.<ref>Mills, pp. 46-47</ref> Jennings received the university appointment after General Washington Johnston resigned as clerk of the board following a dispute over Harrison's proposal to ban the French residents of Vincennes from using the university's commons. The board defeated Harrison's proposal, but Johnston resigned as its clerk and Jennings was selected as his replacement over Henry Hurst, one of Harrison's loyal supporters. Harrison was outraged and promptly resigned from the board, but later reconsidered his decision. In September 1807, Harrison was easily reelected to the board and selected as its president. In the meantime, Johnston wrote a pamphlet describing the board's proceedings, which Jennings certified without the board's knowledge or approval. Jennings further angered Harrison when he attempted to secure a clerkship in the territorial legislature. Jennings's opponent for the clerkship was the anti-slavery candidate [[Davis Floyd]], an enemy of Harrison. After Jennings dropped out of the race, Floyd was selected for the position and became an important political ally to Jennings.<ref name=m8087>Mills, p. 80&ndash;87</ref> In April 1808, with Harrison reelected as president of the Vincennes University board,  a commission was appointed to investigate Jennings's conduct.<ref name=m87>Mills, p. 87</ref> The committee's inquiry concerned Jennings's certification of Johnston's pamphlet dealing with board proceedings without their knowledge.<ref>Riker, pp. 226-227</ref> The incident led to Jennings's resignation in 1808 and created a considerable amount of animosity between the two that prevailed for many years.<ref name=m87/><ref group = n>The incident is significant given that Jennings and Harrison were political opponents later in Jennings's career, but records do not exist that describe their relationship when Jennings lived in Vincennes. The board inquiry appears to be based on Jennings's certification of the pamphlet dealing with board proceedings rather than political opposition. See Riker, p. 227.</ref>
 
By March 1808, Jennings believed that his future in the Harrison-dominated western part of the territory was bleak. By November he had left Vincennes and moved to [[Jeffersonville, Indiana|Jeffersonville]], in [[Clark County, Indiana|Clark County]], Indiana Territory, before settling in nearby Charlestown. Jennings may have believed his political future would have more success in the eastern part of the territory.<ref>Riker, p. 228</ref><ref>Mills, pp. 88-89</ref> Settlements in the southeast and eastern portion of the territory opposed slavery and Harrison's aristocratic manner, which were similar to Jennings's beliefs, while the western portion of the territory and Vincennes area remained proslavery.<ref name = w30>Woolen, p. 30</ref><ref name=m92>Mills, p. 92</ref><ref group = n>When the Indiana Territory was organized in 1800 the people living in the territory favored slavery; however, after it was divided into the Indiana and Illinois territories in 1809 and the Illinois group was removed, the Indiana Territory's remaining proslavery element became much smaller. See Riker, pp. 288-289.</ref> Although petitions to allow slavery were received before the formation of the Indiana Territory, the issue attracted widespread attention in 1807 when Harrison and his supporters in the territorial legislature revived efforts to allow slavery in the territory.<ref name = w30/><ref>Cayton, p. 246</ref><ref group = n>Slavery had long existed in the region. It was practiced by the French in the Illinois Country and the area around Vincennes, the center of the pro-slavery establishment in the territory, and by the American settlers from Virginia and the upland South. Although slavery was prohibited throughout the territory, as outlined in the [[Northwest Ordinance]] of 1787, it was not enforced. William Henry Harrison, a Virginian by birth, owned and traded in slaves while serving as territorial governor, as did others who lived in the Indiana Territory. An indentured servant system with long terms of service was created to override the ordinance's statute that prohibited slavery. See Mills, pp. 54, 56.</ref> Jennings and his supporters who opposed slavery wrote writing articles appearing in the Vincennes ''Western Sun'' newspaper attacking Harrison's administration, its pro-slavery sentiments, and aristocratic policies.<ref>Mills, p. xxv</ref>

In 1808, when Congressman [[Benjamin Parke]] resigned from office, Harrison ordered a special election to fill the vacancy. Jennings entered the race against Harrison's candidate, Thomas Randolph, the attorney general for the territory, and John Johnson, a Vincennes native who had the support of the antislavery group.<ref>Mills, pp. 51, 98</ref> Randolph promised not to introduce slavery into the territory unless the majority of his constituents agreed, while Johnson remained silent on the issue. Jennings, an antislavery candidate from the eastern portion of the territory, rode from settlement to settlement to give speeches against slavery.<ref name=r22829>Riker, pp. 228-229</ref> Jennings spoke against what he believed to be Randolph's aristocratic tendencies, ties to Harrison's territorial government, and the issue of slavery in the territory.<ref>Mills, pp. 102-103</ref> Jennings found his greatest support among the growing [[Quaker]] community in the eastern part of the territory.<ref>Mills, p. 100</ref>

On November 27, 1809, Jennings was elected as a delegate to the [[11th United States Congress|Eleventh Congress]]. The election was close. Jennings beat Randolph, 428 votes to 402, with Johnson taking 81 votes.<ref name = w3031>Woolen, pp. 30-31</ref><ref>Mills, p. 105</ref><ref name=r230>Riker, p. 230</ref> Randolph challenged the election results and traveled to Washington D.C. to take his case to the U.S. House of Representatives. Randolph claimed that election officials in Dearborn County did not follow proper procedures for certifying ninety-one votes in the county's seventh district and argued that the votes should be deducted from the vote totals. Once discarded, the revised totals would make Randolph the winner.<ref>Mills, pp. 107-108</ref> A House committee took up the case, issued a resolution in Randolph's favor, and recommended that a new election be held. Randolph immediately left for the Indiana Territory to launch a new campaign for the seat, but the House defeated the committee's recommendation by an 83 to 30 vote margin and Jennings was permitted to take his seat.<ref name=r230/><ref>Mills, pp. 109-113</ref><ref name = w31>Woolen, p. 31</ref> As a territorial delegate in Congress, Jennings learned the legislative process, served on House committees, introduced legislation, debated issues, and continued his ongoing crusade against Governor Harrison.<ref>Mills, p. 125</ref> Jennings did not play a major role in congressional discussions, but he did make an effort to represent the interests of his constituents. He was reelected in 1811, 1812, and 1814.<ref name=r230/>