William Butler (politician, 1759)

William Butler (born December 17, 1759 in Prince William County , Colony of Virginia , † November 15, 1821 in Mount Willing , South Carolina ) was an American politician . Between 1801 and 1813 he represented the state of South Carolina in the US House of Representatives .

Career

William Butler attended Virginia public schools and then moved to South Carolina. During the War of Independence he served between 1775 and 1783 under various commanders in the Continental Army . At the end of the war he was promoted to captain. After the war, Butler began a political career. Between 1787 and 1795 he was a member of the House of Representatives from South Carolina . He was also a member of the convention that ratified the United States Constitution for the state of South Carolina. In 1791 Butler was also a district sheriff. In addition to his other political activities, he was also active in the militia of his state. In 1796 he was promoted to major general.

Butler was a member of the Democratic Republican Party founded by later President Thomas Jefferson . In 1800 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC , in the fifth constituency of South Carolina , where he succeeded Robert Goodloe Harper on March 4, 1801 . In the following congressional elections he was elected in the first district and replaced there on March 4, 1803 from John Rutledge . After four more re-elections, he could remain in Congress until March 3, 1813 . During this period, the United States' territory was expanded considerably with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. In 1804 the 12th Amendment to the Constitution was passed, and in 1812 the British-American War began .

In 1812 William Butler declined to run for Congress again. He became the commander of troops deployed to defend South Carolina. He then retired to his “Saluda River” plantation in Edgefield County . He died there in 1821.

William Butler was the father of three politically active sons. William (1790-1850) was also Congressman for South Carolina, Andrew (1796-1857) was a US Senator , Pierce (1798-1847) was Governor of South Carolina. US Senator Matthew Calbraith Butler (1836-1909) was a grandson of William Butler.

Web links

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