William Dennison Porter

William Dennison Porter (born November 24, 1810 in Charleston , South Carolina , † January 4, 1883 ibid) was an American politician . Between 1865 and 1868 he was lieutenant governor of the state of South Carolina.

Career

After studying law and being admitted to the bar, William Porter began working in this profession. At the same time he embarked on a political career. Between 1840 and 1848 he was a member of the House of Representatives from South Carolina ; from 1848 to 1865 he was a member of the State Senate . Although he is listed as non-party in the lists of lieutenant governors in his state, it can be assumed that he was a member of the Democratic Party at least in the period before 1865 , as it held practically all offices in South Carolina at that time and was something like the state supporting party . Porter was a staunch supporter of the secession movement. In 1860 he wholeheartedly supported the withdrawal of his state from the Union. At that time he was President Pro Tempore, the current President of the Senate.

In 1865 Porter was elected lieutenant governor of South Carolina alongside James Lawrence Orr . He held this office between November 30, 1865 and his removal by the commanding general of the occupation forces of the Union, General Edward Canby , on July 6, 1868. He was Deputy Governor and Chairman of the State Senate. Porter was the first lieutenant governor of his state to be elected in a direct election. His predecessors in office since the American Revolution had all been elected by the state legislature. This was only made possible by a reform of the state constitution in 1865. This reform was a consequence of the political changes after the civil war . In 1868, Porter ran unsuccessfully for governor. He died on January 4, 1883 in his hometown of Charleston, where he was also buried.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Andrew Johnson: The Papers of Andrew Johnson: September 1865-January 1866 . The University of Tennessee Press, 1991 ( full text in Google Book Search).

personal data
SURNAME	Porter, William Dennison
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American politician
DATE OF BIRTH	November 24, 1810
PLACE OF BIRTH	Charleston , South Carolina
DATE OF DEATH	January 4, 1883
Place of death	Charleston , South Carolina

[1] Andrew Johnson: The Papers of Andrew Johnson: September 1865-January 1866 . The University of Tennessee Press, 1991 ( full text in Google Book Search).