Balie Peyton lived a life of contrasts. As a congressman from Tennessee in the nineteenth century, he shaped national policy. Elected as a follower of President Andrew Jackson, he turned against the Jackson administration in his second term and helped found the opposition Whig Party. He quit Congress after two terms, but remained active in politics and helped elect congressmen, senators, and presidents. He was a persuasive orator, but inability to control a hot temper occasionally led him into ugly confrontations.While Peyton was passionate about shaping U.S. policy and politics, he had another love: thoroughbred horses.

He was recognized internationally as a breeder and racer of fine thoroughbreds, but financial success in turf matters always seemed to elude him.In the ultimate contrast, Balie Peyton was a loyal Unionist from a Southern state. He opposed Tennessee's secession from the republic, and urged reconciliation. Although a slaveholder, the issues of slavery and Southern rights weren't enough to change his loyalty, not even when his son joined the Confederate Army and died in battle.Rich in detail and drawn mainly from original sources, "Balie Peyton of Tennessee" celebrates the many facets of the life of this American patriot and statesman, and reveals the impact one man had on politics, a nation, and the sporting world.