William Smith

Who was William Smith?

William Smith was chosen as a Democratic-Republican to the U.S. Senate representing South Carolina in 1816. The legislature declined to re-elect him when his term expired in 1823. He was narrowly chosen Senator in 1826 and was again replaced in 1831.

Smith was one of the first Southerners to argue, at the time of the Missouri Compromise in 1820, that slavery was a positive good; nevertheless, he opposed John C. Calhoun's doctrine and tactic of nullification. In 1828, seven electors from Georgia chose him for Vice President, instead of Calhoun, the Democratic nominee. He was also a splinter candidate for Vice President in 1836: Virginia refused to accept Richard Mentor Johnson as the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate, and voted for the ticket of Martin Van Buren and William Smith, putting Johnson two electoral votes short of a majority; the Senate chose Johnson.

In 1832, he moved to Louisiana, having lost his political base in South Carolina; in 1836, he moved on to Huntsville, Alabama, and was elected to the Alabama Legislature; he held that seat for the rest of his life.

On March 3, 1837, outgoing President Andrew Jackson nominated Smith to the Supreme Court.