William H. Crawford
Former United States Senator
Education
- law -
Overview
William Harris Crawford was an American politician and judge during the early 19th century. He served as US Secretary of War and US Secretary of the Treasury before he ran for US president in the 1824 election.
Born in Virginia, Crawford moved to Georgia at a young age. After studying law, Crawford won election to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1803. He aligned with the Democratic-Republican Party and US Senator James Jackson. In 1807, the Georgia legislature elected Crawford to the US Senate. After the death of US Vice President George Clinton, Crawford's position as president pro tempore of the US Senate made him first in the presidential line of succession from April 1812 to March 1813. In 1813, US President James Madison appointed Crawford as the minister to France, and Crawford held that post for the remainder of the War of 1812. After the war, Madison appointed him to the position of Secretary of War. In October 1816, Madison chose Crawford for the position of Secretary of the Treasury, and Crawford would remain in that office for the remainder of Madison's presidency and for the duration of James Monroe's presidency.
Although Crawford suffered a severe stroke in 1823, he sought to succeed Monroe at the 1824 election. Crawford received the support of the Virginia dynasty, but ongoing concerns about his health along with a changing political landscape made it impossible for him to become the fourth consecutive Virginian to hold the office of president. The Democratic-Republican Party splintered into factions, as several others also sought the presidency. No candidate won a majority of the electoral vote and so the US House of Representatives chose the president in a contingent election. Under the terms of the US Constitution, the House selected from the three candidates who received the most electoral votes, which left Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and Crawford in the running. The House selected Adams, who asked Crawford to remain as Treasury Secretary. Declining Adams's offer, Crawford returned to Georgia and accepted an appointment to the state superior court.
Crawford considered running in the 1832 presidential election for the presidency or the vice presidency but ultimately chose not to when fellow southerner Andrew Jackson sought a second term.
U.S. Senate :
In 1807, Crawford joined the 10th Congress as the junior U.S. senator from Georgia when the Georgia legislature elected him to replace George Jones, who had held the office for a few months after the death of Abraham Baldwin.
Crawford was elected President pro tempore of the Senate in March 1812 and, following the April 20, 1812, death of Vice President George Clinton, served as the permanent Presiding Officer of the Senate until March 4, 1813.
In 1811, Crawford declined to serve as Secretary of War in the Madison administration. In the Senate, he voted for several acts leading up to the War of 1812 and supported the entry into the war, but he was ready for peace: "Let it then be the wisdom of this nation to remain at peace, as long as peace is within its option."
Throughout his service in the Senate, Crawford was described as a member of the older more traditional wing of the Democratic-Republican Party, and he often focused on issues such as states' rights, which he supported.
Early Life
Crawford was born on February 24, 1772, in the portion of Amherst County, Virginia, that later became Nelson County, the son of Joel Crawford and Fanny Harris, but at least one source has given his birthplace as Tusculum, a house whose site remains in Amherst County. He moved with his family to Edgefield County, South Carolina, in 1779 and to Columbia County, Georgia, in 1783. Crawford was educated at private schools in Georgia and at Richmond Academy in Augusta. After his father's death, Crawford became the family's main financial provider, and he worked on the Crawford family farm and taught school. He later studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1799 and began to practice in Lexington. Also in 1799, Crawford was appointed by the state legislature to prepare a digest of Georgia's statutes.
Career
- United States - Former Senator