Benjamin Swift

Benjamin Swift

Benjamin Swift (born April 3, 1781 in Amenia , Dutchess County , New York , †  November 11, 1847 in St. Albans , Vermont ) was an American politician who represented the state of Vermont in both chambers of the US Congress .

Born in New York State, Benjamin Swift was five years old when his father moved him to Bennington , Vermont, where he graduated from high school. He studied law , was inducted into the bar in 1806, and began practicing in Bennington. After living in Manchester for a short time , he finally settled in St. Albans in Franklin County in 1809 . There he continued to work as a lawyer, but also in banking and agriculture.

In 1813 his political career began with membership in the Vermont House of Representatives , to which he belonged again from 1825 to 1827 as a representative of the Democratic Republican Party . Immediately thereafter, he was elected a National Republican to the United States House of Representatives in Washington , where he remained until 1831. He later joined the Whigs and sat for them from March 4, 1833 to March 3, 1839 in the US Senate . In Congress he was one of the declared opponents of President Andrew Jackson's policies .

After his party failed to nominate him for another term, Swift withdrew from politics. He worked as a lawyer and farmer again and died in St. Albans in 1847.

Web links

• Benjamin Swift in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Benjamin Swift in the database of Find a Grave (English)