[1] From January to December 1805, Anderson served as President pro tempore of the United States.

[5] In 1776, following the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, he enlisted in the 3rd New Jersey Regiment of the Continental Army, and rose to the rank of captain and paymaster in less than two years.

[7] In 1791, President George Washington appointed Anderson United States judge of the newly formed Southwest Territory.

[2]: 85  This trial, conducted at the Tellico Blockhouse, concerned an Indian charged with killing settler Joseph Ish.

[1] His wife's dowry included land along the Nolichucky River in what is now Hamblen County (but was then a part of Jefferson), where the Andersons built their home, Soldier's Rest.

[2]: 87 In 1797, Anderson was elected by the Tennessee General Assembly to fill the vacancy in the Senate created by that body's expulsion of the seat's original occupant, William Blount.

[1] That term was scheduled to expire on March 3, 1799; however, on December 12, 1798, the Tennessee General Assembly elected Anderson to the state's other (Class 1) Senate seat, which had been vacated by Andrew Jackson, and was temporarily held by Daniel Smith.

He opposed the Alien and Sedition Acts, federal intervention into the issue of slavery, the rechartering of the national bank, and the usage of military force in the Quasi-War.