William Smith (South Carolina senator)

William Smith
Member of the South Carolina Senate from the York district
In office November 28, 1831 – December 17, 1831
Preceded by	Benjamin Person
Succeeded by	William Hill
United States Senator from South Carolina
In office November 29, 1826 – March 4, 1831
Preceded by	William Harper
Succeeded by	Stephen Miller
In office December 4, 1816 – March 4, 1823
Preceded by	John Taylor
Succeeded by	Robert Hayne
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from the York district
In office November 22, 1824 – November 29, 1826
Preceded by	Multi-member district
Succeeded by	William McGill
Personal details
Born	1762 North Carolina, British America
Died	June 26, 1840 (aged 77–78) Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.
Political party	Democratic-Republican (Before 1825) Democratic (1828–1840)

William Smith (1762 – June 26, 1840) was chosen as a Democratic-Republican to the U.S. Senate representing South Carolina in 1816. The legislature declined to re-elect him when his term expired in 1823. He was narrowly chosen senator in 1826 and was again replaced in 1831.

Smith was one of the first Southerners to argue, at the time of the Missouri Compromise in 1820, that slavery was a positive good; nevertheless, he opposed John C. Calhoun's doctrine and tactic of nullification. In 1828, seven electors from Georgia chose him for vice president, instead of Calhoun, the Democratic nominee. He was also a splinter candidate for vice president in 1836: Virginia refused to accept Richard Mentor Johnson as the Democratic vice presidential candidate, and voted for the ticket of Martin Van Buren and William Smith, putting Johnson two electoral votes short of a majority; the Senate chose Johnson.

In 1832, he moved to Louisiana, having lost his political base in South Carolina; in 1836, he moved on to Huntsville, Alabama, and was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives for Madison County from August 1, 1836, holding that seat for the rest of his life.

On March 3, 1837, outgoing President Andrew Jackson nominated Smith to the Supreme Court. The Senate confirmed Smith's nomination by a vote of 23–18; nevertheless, Smith declined to serve.

External links

• William Smith at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

United States Senators from South Carolina Class 2 P. Butler Hunter Pinckney Sumter Taylor W. Smith R. Hayne Calhoun Huger Calhoun Elmore Barnwell Rhett De Saussure Evans A. Hayne Chesnut Robertson M. Butler Tillman Benet Pollock Dial Blease Byrnes Lumpkin Peace Maybank Daniel Thurmond Wofford Thurmond Graham Class 3 Izard Read Colhoun P. Butler Gaillard Harper W. Smith Miller Preston McDuffie A. Butler Hammond Sawyer Patterson Hampton Irby Earle McLaurin Latimer Gary E. Smith Hall Johnston Russell Hollings DeMint Scott

Chairmen of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary Chase Crittenden Burrill Smith Van Buren Berrien Rowan Marcy Wilkins Clayton Grundy Wall Berrien Ashley Butler Bayard Trumbull Edmunds Thurman Edmunds Hoar Pugh Hoar Platt Clark Culberson Nelson Brandegee Cummins Norris Ashurst Van Nuys McCarran Wiley McCarran Langer Kilgore Eastland Kennedy Thurmond Biden Hatch Leahy Hatch Leahy Hatch Specter Leahy Grassley