Editing Sam Houston (section)

==Early political career==
[[File:Sam Houston Portrait by Wood 1826 Oval.png|thumb|right|The earliest known likeness of Houston, painted in 1826 during his Congressional tenure<ref>{{cite web |title=President Sam Houston - Growing Up |url=https://www.tsl.texas.gov/exhibits/presidents/houston1/grow.html |website=tsl.texas.gov |publisher=Texas State Library and Archives Commission |access-date=21 March 2025}}</ref>]]
After leaving government service, Houston began an apprenticeship with Judge James Trimble in Nashville. He quickly won admission to the state bar and opened a legal practice in Lebanon, Tennessee. With the aid of Governor [[Joseph McMinn]], Houston won election as the [[district attorney]] for Nashville in 1819. He was also appointed as a major general of the Tennessee militia.<ref name=hbot />{{sfn|Haley|2002|pp=31–33}} Like his mentors, Houston was a member of the [[Democratic-Republican Party]], which dominated state and national politics in the decade following the War of 1812.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} Tennessee gained three seats in the United States House of Representatives after the [[1820 United States census]], and, with the support of Jackson and McMinn, Houston ran unopposed in the 1823 election for Tennessee's 9th congressional district.{{sfn|Haley|2002|pp=34–35}} In his first major speech in Congress, Houston advocated for the recognition of Greece, which was fighting a [[Greek War of Independence|war of independence]] against the [[Ottoman Empire]].{{sfn|Haley|2002|pp=38–39}}

Houston strongly supported Jackson's candidacy in the [[1824 United States presidential election|1824 presidential election]], which saw four major candidates, all from the Democratic-Republican Party, run for president. As no candidate won a majority of the vote, the House of Representatives held a [[contingent election]], which was won by [[John Quincy Adams]].{{sfn|Haley|2002|pp=40–41}} Supporters of Jackson eventually coalesced into the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], and those who favored Adams became known as [[National Republican Party|National Republicans]]. With Jackson's backing, [[1827 Tennessee gubernatorial election|Houston won election as governor of Tennessee in 1827]].{{sfn|Haley|2002|pp=45–46}} Governor Houston advocated the construction of internal improvements such as canals, and sought to lower the price of land for homesteaders living in the public domain. He also aided Jackson's successful campaign in the [[1828 United States presidential election|1828 presidential election]].{{sfn|Haley|2002|pp=47–49}}

In January 1829, Houston married [[Eliza Allen (Tennessee)|Eliza Allen]], the daughter of wealthy plantation owner John Allen of Gallatin, Tennessee. The marriage quickly fell apart, possibly because Eliza loved another man.{{sfn|Haley|2002|pp=49–57}} In April 1829, following the collapse of his marriage, Houston resigned as governor of Tennessee. Shortly after leaving office, he traveled to Arkansas Territory to rejoin the Cherokee.{{sfn|Haley|2002|pp=60–61}}