Samuel Maclay

Samuel Maclay (* 17th June 1741 in Lurgan Township , Province of Pennsylvania , †  5. October 1811 in Buffalo Township , Pennsylvania ) was an American politician ( Democratic-Republican Party ), of the state of Pennsylvania in both houses of Congress represented .

Born in what is now Franklin County , Samuel Maclay was the younger brother of William Maclay , who served as one of the first two US Senators for Pennsylvania from 1789 to 1791 . After completing his schooling, he worked in agriculture and as a land surveyor before he fought on the American side in the Revolutionary War.

Maclay held his first political mandate between 1787 and 1791 as a member of the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania . He then served as an associate judge on the Franklin County Court from 1792 to 1795. On March 4, 1795, he then moved into the House of Representatives of the United States , where he remained until March 3, 1797; Another term in the House of Representatives in his home state followed immediately. From 1798 to 1802 he sat in the Senate of Pennsylvania , where he held the office of speaker from 1801 .

From March 4, 1803, Maclay finally took his seat in the United States Senate, where he succeeded James Ross . At the state level, he was popular and was at times named as a candidate for the post of governor , but the corresponding nomination fell to Simon Snyder in 1808 . During his time in the Senate, he came into conflict with parts of his own party because he was critical of the trade embargo issued by President Thomas Jefferson and criticized the nomination of James Madison as Jefferson's successor; he was on the side of George Clinton . Since Madison's nomination in Pennsylvania was largely well received, Maclay saw no chance for re-election by the state parliament and therefore resigned before the end of his term on January 4, 1809.

He then retired and died two years later in Buffalo. He was buried in the Driesbach Church Cemetery . Maclay's son William also became a politician and was a member of the US House of Representatives from 1815 to 1821.

Web links

• Samuel Maclay in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Samuel Maclay in the database of Find a Grave (English)