Republic President Takes Mysterious Leave Of Absence
On the brink of a complete breakdown, Mirabeau Lamar dumped his official duties in the lap of Vice-President David G. Burnet on Dec. 7, 1840, and took a break from the demands of Texas’ highest office.
On the brink of a complete breakdown, Mirabeau Lamar dumped his official duties in the lap of Vice-President David G. Burnet on Dec. 7, 1840, and took a break from the demands of Texas’ highest office.
Propelled into prominence by his bravery on the battle at San Jacinto, the 38-year-old Georgian was the people’s choice to play second fiddle to Sam Houston. As the number-two man in the new nation’s pecking order, he had even more time on his hands than his American counterpart.
By the spring of 1837, Lamar was bored silly. Figuring weeks would pass before anyone missed him, he returned to the Peach State for a hero’s homecoming. All the flattering fuss did wonders for his deflated ego.
But Lamar’s absence was indeed noticed by a number of senators fed up with the high-handed methods of President Houston, and in late 1837 they secretly summoned the vice-president. Lamar was surprised to learn that his friends had launched a grass-roots campaign to ensure his succession of General Sam, who was prohibited by the constitution from seeking reelection.
Lamar at first shied away from the contest because he feared a shellacking at the polls by Thomas Rusk, who could count on the backing of the influential incumbent. But when Rusk bowed out and 11 of the 14 senators pledged their support, Lamar jumped in the race with both feet.
The strange suicides of the top two contenders left him with only a paper opponent. “Honest Bob” Wilson was an eccentric that had earned his nickname with the frank admission, “I’m always as honest as the circumstances of the case and the condition of the country will allow.” Lamar’s defeat of “Honest Bob” by 6,695 to 252 votes caused critics to complain he had beaten a couple of dead men and a political nobody.
The high-strung president-elect was upstaged at his own inauguration. Though not on the list of scheduled speakers, Houston monopolized the podium for three long hours. When his long-winded predecessor finally sat down, Lamar was so flustered that he handed his speech to an assistant to read.
That incident illustrated Lamar’s most glaring weakness — a serious lack of emotional toughness. His psychological vulnerability proved to be a tragic flaw that handicapped a brilliant mind. He was in the end his own worst enemy in spite of his firm belief that the dubious distinction belong to Sam Houston.
Many Texans agreed with the assessment of Anson Jones, who observed soon after the second chief executive took the oath, “He is a very weak man, and governed by petty passions which he cannot control and prejudices which are the result of ignorance.” Even admirers admitted he was prone to depression and practically unapproachable during his dark moods.
As president Lamar defiantly raised the banner of Texas nationalism in combative contrast to the annexation movement. He envisioned a Lone Star Republic stretching to the Pacific, a continental rival of the United States rather than a subservient member of the Union.
While this stand as well as his aggressive policy toward the Indians met with widespread approval, the daily demands of running the government were just too much for Lamar. He tried his best to bring order out of the financial chaos engulfing the new nation, but by October 1840 the promissory notes of the flat-broke Republic were worth no more than 15 cents on the dollar.
The economic crisis and a host of political problems drained the perplexed president physically and emotionally. When congress refused in December 1840 to go along with his request for a declaration of war on Mexico, an exhausted Lamar surrendered to bleak despair. Vice-President Burnet took over, and he vanished on a mysterious leave of absence.
Lamar planned to travel to New Orleans for treatment but stopped instead at the home of a physician in Independence. He remained in seclusion for several months as the doctor slowly nursed him back to health.
The disappearing act moved Francis Moore to uncharacteristic compassion. Abandoning his standard attack on Lamar’s every word and deed, the editor wrote, “We sincerely regret the misfortunes which for a season will deprive us of the presence of General Lamar. He has our warmest sympathy.”
Others were neither so kind nor understanding. A rumor made the rounds that the unstable president had lost his mind.
After the badly needed break, Mirabeau Lamar finished his rocky term, but the pernicious doubts about his mental health persisted. Until his dying day, the former president of Texas had to live with the whispers.
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