William A. Harris (politician, 1805)

William Alexander Harris (born August 24, 1805 in Warrenton , Fauquier County , Virginia , †  March 28, 1864 in Pike County , Missouri ) was an American politician . Between 1841 and 1843 he represented the state of Virginia in the US House of Representatives .

Career

William Harris, the father of Congressman William A. Harris (1841-1909) from Kansas , enjoyed a good education. After studying law and being admitted as a lawyer, he began working in this profession in Luray . At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Democratic Party . He served in the Virginia House of Representatives in 1830 and 1831 .

In the congressional election of 1840 Harris was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the 16th  constituency of Virginia , where he succeeded William M. McCarty on March 4, 1841 . Until March 3, 1843 he was able to complete a legislative period in Congress . After that, his electoral district was dissolved. His time as a member of Congress was marked by tension between President John Tyler and the Whigs . In addition, a possible annexation of the Republic of Texas , which has been independent of Mexico since 1836, was already being discussed.

After his tenure in the US House of Representatives, Harris published the newspapers Spectator and The Constitution in Washington. Between 1846 and 1851 he was the American ambassador to Argentina as the successor to William Brent ; then he moved to Missouri. In the meantime he returned to the federal capital, where he headed the printing works of the US Senate between 1857 and 1859 . He died on March 28, 1864.

Web links

• William A. Harris in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• William A. Harris in the database of Find a Grave (English)