in 1794, tipton was elected to the territorial legislature, where he served on the committee for petitions and grievances alongside james white and william cocke. in 1796, tipton was a delegate from washington county to the state constitutional convention, which crafted tennessee's first constitution. that same year, he was elected to the tennessee senate, in which he served until 1799. he aligned with rising politician andrew jackson and tried to help jackson and governor archibald roane prove land fraud accusations against sevier in 1803.