Wiley Thompson

Wiley Thompson (born September 23, 1781 in Amelia County , Virginia , †  December 28, 1835 in Marion County , Florida ) was an American politician . Between 1821 and 1833 he represented the state of Georgia in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Nothing is known about Thompson's youth and schooling. He moved to Elberton , Georgia, where he was commissioner of the Elbert County Academy in 1808 . Politically, he became a member of the Democratic Republican Party . Between 1817 and 1819, Thompson was a member of the Georgia Senate . Between 1817 and 1824 he was an active member of the state militia, in which he rose to major general. After the dissolution of his party in the 1820s, he joined Andrew Jackson and his Democratic Party, founded in 1828 .

In the state-wide held congressional elections of 1820 Thompson was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC for the sixth mandate from Georgia , where he succeeded William Terrell on March 4, 1821 . After five re-elections, he was able to complete six legislative terms in Congress by March 3, 1833 . Until 1829 these were shaped by discussions between supporters and opponents of Andrew Jackson. Since Jackson's inauguration as US President in March 1829, there has been disputes within and outside of Congress about its policy. It was about the controversial implementation of the Indian Removal Act , the nullification crisis with the state of South Carolina and the banking policy of the president.

After leaving the US House of Representatives, Thompson was a delegate to a meeting to revise the Georgia constitution in 1833. In 1834 he was appointed Indian commissioner. In doing so, he was supposed to monitor the expulsion of the Indians from Florida as set out in the controversial Indian Removal Act . In this capacity he was killed by a group of angry Seminoles under the leadership of Osceola on December 28, 1835 near what was then Fort King . Wiley Thompson was buried on his Elberton estate.

Web links

• Wiley Thompson in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Wiley Thompson in the database of Find a Grave (English)