Truman Smith

Truman Smith (born November 27, 1791 in Roxbury , Litchfield County , Connecticut , † May 3, 1884 in Stamford , Connecticut) was an American politician ( Whig Party ) who represented the state of Connecticut in both chambers of Congress .

After attending secondary school, Smith graduated from Yale College , where he graduated in 1815. After successfully completing his law degree, he was admitted to the bar in 1818 and began practicing in Litchfield .

His political career began with the election to the Connecticut House of Representatives , to which he belonged from 1831 to 1832 and again in 1834. In 1838 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives for the Whigs . After two terms in office, he declined to run again in 1842 and resigned from parliament the following year. In 1844 he was a member of the Electoral College , which did not elect Henry Clay , a victorious Connecticut politician , but the Democrat James K. Polk as president .

In 1845 Smith returned to the Washington, DC House of Representatives for four more years . When President Zachary Taylor offered him in 1849 to become the first US Secretary of the Interior , he refused. Instead, he took up his new office as US Senator for Connecticut after the successful election last year . In doing so, Smith followed in the footsteps of an uncle in both houses of Congress: Nathaniel Smith served in the House of Representatives from 1795 to 1799 and Nathan Smith in the Senate from 1833 to 1835.

Truman Smith remained in the Senate until he stepped down in 1854. In New York City he worked as a lawyer again. US President Abraham Lincoln appointed him a judge at the US Court of Arbitration in 1862 . Here he was mainly occupied with fighting the slave trade. In 1870, Smith finally retired into private life.

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personal data
SURNAME	Smith, Truman
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American politician
DATE OF BIRTH	November 27, 1791
PLACE OF BIRTH	Roxbury , Connecticut
DATE OF DEATH	May 3, 1884
Place of death	Stamford , Connecticut