In 1825, the Tennessee state legislature chose White to replace Andrew Jackson in the United States Senate (Jackson had resigned following his failed run for the presidency in 1824).
 White spearheaded the Southern states' opposition to sending delegates to the 1826 Congress of Panama, which was a general gathering of various nations in the Western Hemisphere, many of which had declared their independence from Spain and abolished slavery.
 White argued that if the U.S. attended the congress, it would violate the commitment to neutrality put forth by President Washington decades earlier, and stated that the nation should not get involved in foreign treaties merely for the sake of "gratifying national vanity."

Following Jackson's election to the presidency in 1828, White became one of the Jackson Administration's key congressional allies.
 White was chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, which drew up the Indian Removal Act of 1830, a major initiative of Jackson.
 The act called for the relocation of the remaining Native American tribes in the southeastern United States to territories west of the Mississippi River, and would culminate in the so-called Trail of Tears.

In an 1836 speech, White described himself as a "strict constructionist," arguing that the federal government could not pass any laws outside its powers specifically stated in the Constitution.
 Like many Jacksonians, he was a staunch states' rights advocate.
 He opposed the national bank, and rejected federal funding for internal improvements (which he believed only the states had the power to fund).
 He also supported Jackson's call for the elimination of the Electoral College, and opposed federal intervention into the issue of slavery.

Like most Southern senators, White opposed the Tariff of 1828, which placed a high tax on goods imported from overseas to protect growing northern industries.
 White argued that while the federal government had the power to impose tariffs, it should only do so when it benefited the nation as a whole, and not merely one section (i.e., the North) at the expense of another (i.e., the agrarian South, which relied on trade with England).
  During the resulting Nullification Crisis in late 1832 and early 1833, as the Senate's president pro tempore (the leader of the Senate in the absence of the Vice President), White coordinated negotiations in the interim between the resignation of Vice President John C. Calhoun (December 28, 1832) and the swearing in of Vice President Martin Van Buren (March 4, 1833).
Vice President Calhoun's resignation put White next in line to assume the presidency should that office have become vacant.
In 1825, the Tennessee state legislature chose White to replace Andrew Jackson in the United States Senate (Jackson had resigned following his failed run for the presidency in 1824).  White spearheaded the Southern states' opposition to sending delegates to the 1826 Congress of Panama, which was a general gathering of various nations in the Western Hemisphere, many of which had declared their independence from Spain and abolished slavery.  White argued that if the U.S. attended the congress, it would violate the commitment to neutrality put forth by President Washington decades earlier, and stated that the nation should not get involved in foreign treaties merely for the sake of "gratifying national vanity."
Following Jackson's election to the presidency in 1828, White became one of the Jackson Administration's key congressional allies.  White was chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, which drew up the Indian Removal Act of 1830, a major initiative of Jackson.  The act called for the relocation of the remaining Native American tribes in the southeastern United States to territories west of the Mississippi River, and would culminate in the so-called Trail of Tears.
In an 1836 speech, White described himself as a "strict constructionist," arguing that the federal government could not pass any laws outside its powers specifically stated in the Constitution.  Like many Jacksonians, he was a staunch states' rights advocate.  He opposed the national bank, and rejected federal funding for internal improvements (which he believed only the states had the power to fund).  He also supported Jackson's call for the elimination of the Electoral College, and opposed federal intervention into the issue of slavery.
Like most Southern senators, White opposed the Tariff of 1828, which placed a high tax on goods imported from overseas to protect growing northern industries.  White argued that while the federal government had the power to impose tariffs, it should only do so when it benefited the nation as a whole, and not merely one section (i.e., the North) at the expense of another (i.e., the agrarian South, which relied on trade with England).   During the resulting Nullification Crisis in late 1832 and early 1833, as the Senate's president pro tempore (the leader of the Senate in the absence of the Vice President), White coordinated negotiations in the interim between the resignation of Vice President John C. Calhoun (December 28, 1832) and the swearing in of Vice President Martin Van Buren (March 4, 1833). Vice President Calhoun's resignation put White next in line to assume the presidency should that office have become vacant.
Hugh Lawson White