The Blount Conspiracy
William Blount was a United States Senator at the end of the 18th century. In fact, he was one of the first-ever senators from Tennessee. His is one of the signatures on the Constitution, and he served in the Continental Congress. He was also a major landowner in the Western United States, especially in what would at the turn of the century become Louisiana and Florida.
At the time most of his land was in Spanish territory. In 1796, Blount hatched a plan to drive the Spanish out of the soon-to-be states of Louisiana and Florida, and have the British take over, forming a colony.
His method was to recruit frontiersmen and Cherokee Indians, who would then rise up against Spain and drive them off the entirety of the Gulf Coast. His rationale was that if the British overtook that territory, his land would be worth more.
Needless to say, it didn’t work. Several of his secret papers that outlined his plans made it to President John Adams in 1797, and he was forced to give it up as a bad deal. The Senate voted to expel him, but his impeachment trial was dismissed due to a “lack of jurisdiction.”
Despite the lack of impeachment, he was still effectively expelled from the senate because his reputation after his trial (which he did not attend), was shot. It didn’t end badly for him, despite being labeled a “Scoundrel” in Washington. He was later elected to the State Legislature in Tennessee, and would become the Speaker of their House.
Several of his co-conspirators also got away with the “crime”, and the most anyone served was a stint in a British debtors prison.
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