William Harris Crawford (February 24, 1772 – September 15, 1834) was an American politician and judge during the early 19th century. He served as US Secretary of War and US Secretary of the Treasury before he ran for US president in the 1824 election.

Born in Virginia, Crawford moved to Georgia with his parents at a young age, and he grew up to become one of the state’s most popular politicians. After studying law, Crawford won election to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1803. He aligned with the Democratic-Republican Party and US Senator James Jackson. In 1807, the Georgia legislature elected Crawford to the US Senate. After the death of US Vice President George Clinton, Crawford's position as president pro tempore of the US Senate made him first in the presidential line of succession from April 1812 to March 1813. In 1813, US President James Madison appointed Crawford as the minister to France, and Crawford held that post for the remainder of the War of 1812. After the war, Madison appointed him to the position of Secretary of War. In October 1816, Madison chose Crawford for the position of Secretary of the Treasury, and Crawford would remain in that office for the remainder of Madison's presidency and for the duration of James Monroe's presidency.

Although Crawford suffered a severe stroke in 1823, he sought to succeed Monroe at the 1824 election. Because of his roots in the Old Dominion, Crawford received the support of the Virginia dynasty, but ongoing concerns about his health along with a changing political landscape made it impossible for him to become the fourth consecutive Virginia native to hold the office of president. The Democratic-Republican Party splintered into factions, as several others also sought the presidency. No candidate won a majority of the electoral vote and so the US House of Representatives chose the president in a contingent election. Under the terms of the US Constitution, the House selected from the three candidates who received the most electoral votes, which left Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and Crawford in the running. The House selected Adams, who asked Crawford to remain as Treasury Secretary. Declining Adams's offer, Crawford returned to Georgia and accepted an appointment to the state superior court.

Crawford considered running in the 1832 presidential election for the presidency or the vice presidency but ultimately chose not to when fellow southerner Andrew Jackson sought a second term.

Early life
Crawford was born on February 24, 1772, in the portion of Amherst County, Virginia, that later became Nelson County, the son of Joel Crawford and Fanny Harris, but at least one source has given his birthplace as Tusculum, a house whose site remains in Amherst County. He moved with his family to Edgefield County, South Carolina, in 1779 and to Columbia County, Georgia, in 1783. Crawford was educated at private schools in Georgia and at Richmond Academy in Augusta. After his father's death, Crawford became the family's main financial provider, and he worked on the Crawford family farm and taught school. He later studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1799 and began to practice in Lexington. Also in 1799, Crawford was appointed by the state legislature to prepare a digest of Georgia's statutes.

State politics
He influenced Georgia politics for decades. In 1803, Crawford was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, and he served until 1807. He allied himself with Senator James Jackson. Their enemies were the Clarkites, led by John Clark. In 1802, he shot and killed Peter Lawrence Van Alen, a Clark ally, in a duel. Four years later, on December 16, 1806, Crawford faced Clark himself in a duel, and Crawford's left wrist was shattered by a shot from Clark, but he eventually recovered.

U.S. Senate
In 1807, Crawford joined the 10th Congress as the junior U.S. senator from Georgia when the Georgia legislature elected him to replace George Jones, who had held the office for a few months after the death of Abraham Baldwin.

Crawford was elected President pro tempore of the Senate in March 1812 and, following the April 20, 1812, death of Vice President George Clinton, served as the permanent Presiding Officer of the Senate until March 4, 1813.

In 1811, Crawford declined to serve as Secretary of War in the Madison administration. In the Senate, he voted for several acts leading up to the War of 1812 and supported the entry into the war, but he was ready for peace: "Let it then be the wisdom of this nation to remain at peace, as long as peace is within its option."

Throughout his service in the Senate, Crawford was described as a member of the older more traditional wing of the Democratic-Republican Party, and he often focused on issues such as states' rights, which he supported.

Minister to France
In 1813, President James Madison appointed Crawford as the US minister to France during the waning years of Napoleon's First French Empire. Crawford served until 1815, shortly after the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

Cabinet
Upon Crawford's return, Madison appointed him as Secretary of War on 1 August 1815. Crawford served more than a year in that post. He sought but narrowly failed to win the Democratic-Republican nomination for the 1816 presidential race. Madison appointed him Treasury Secretary on 22 October 1816. He remained in that post for the rest of Madison's term and both terms of President James Monroe, until 6 March 1825.

1824 election
The Congressional Caucus nominated Crawford for the 1824 election. However, Crawford had suffered a stroke in 1823 as a result of a prescription given to him by his physician. The Democratic-Republican Party was now split, and one of the splinter groups nominated Crawford.  Despite improved health and the support of former Presidents Madison and Thomas Jefferson, he finished third in the electoral vote, behind Senator and General Andrew Jackson, hero of the Battle of New Orleans, and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams.  In the subsequent contingent election, the House elected Adams President.

Later life
Refusing Adams's request for him to remain at the Treasury, Crawford then returned to Georgia, where he was appointed as a state superior court judge. Crawford remained an active judge until his death, a decade later.

Crawford was nominated for vice president by the Georgia legislature in 1828 but withdrew after support from other states was not forthcoming. Crawford also considered running for vice president in 1832 but decided against it, in favor of Martin Van Buren. Crawford also considered running for president again in 1832 but dropped the idea when Jackson decided to seek a second term.

Crawford is buried at the site of his home, about half a mile west of the current Crawford city limit.

Societies
During the 1820s, Crawford was a member of the prestigious society Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences, which had among its members former Presidents Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams.

Crawford also served as a Vice President in the American Colonization Society from its formation in 1817 to his death.

Family
Crawford was a descendant of John Crawford (1600–1676), who had come to Virginia in 1643 but participated and died in Bacon's Rebellion. John's son David Crawford I (1625–1698), was the father of David Crawford II (1662–1762), and the grandfather of David Crawford III (1697–1766). David Crawford III married Ann Anderson in 1727 and had 13 children, including Joel Crawford (1736–1788).

His cousin George W. Crawford served as Secretary of War under President Zachary Taylor.

Legacy

In 1875, Crawford appeared on the 50 cent bill.

The following places are named in his honor:

Cities and towns
 Crawford, Georgia
 Crawfordville, Georgia
 Crawfordsville, Indiana

Counties
 Crawford County, Arkansas
 Crawford County, Georgia
 Crawford County, Illinois
 Crawford County, Indiana
 Crawford County, Iowa
 Crawford County, Michigan
 Crawford County, Missouri
 Crawford County, Wisconsin

Squares
Crawford Square, Savannah, Georgia

References

Further reading
 
 Garraty, John A. and Mark C. Carnes. American National Biography, vol. 5, "Crawford, William Harris". New York : Oxford University Press, 1999.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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External links
 William Harris Crawford papers(Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA)

 William Harris Crawford Collection from the Georgia Historical Society
 Troup-Clarke Political Feud historical marker

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1772 births
1834 deaths
19th-century American diplomats
19th-century American politicians
Ambassadors of the United States to France
Democratic-Republican Party United States senators
American duellists
Georgia (U.S. state) Democratic-Republicans
Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges
Madison administration cabinet members
Members of the Georgia House of Representatives
Monroe administration cabinet members
People from Nelson County, Virginia
People from Lexington, Georgia
Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate
Candidates in the 1824 United States presidential election
United States Secretaries of the Treasury
United States Secretaries of War
United States senators from Georgia (U.S. state)
American colonization movement
윌리엄 해리스 크로퍼드(William Harris Crawford, 1772년 2월 24일 - 1834년 9월 15일)는 미국의 정치인이다. 1815년에서 1816년까지 미국 육군 장관을 역임했고, 1816년에서 1825년까지 미국 재무장관을 맡았다. 또한 1824년 미국 대통령 선거에서 민주공화당의 대통령 후보로 출마했다.

생애

초기 
1772년, 크로퍼드는 버지니아주 넬슨 카운티에서 탄생했다. 1779년, 크로퍼드는 가족과 함께 사우스캐롤라이나주 에지 필드로 이사를 간 후 1783년에 조지아주 컬럼비아 카운티로 이주했다. 크로퍼드는 사립학교에서 고전을 배운 후, 같은 주 오거스타의 리치몬드 아카데미에서 법학을 배웠다. 그 후 10년 정도 농업과 교직에 종사하면서 법률을 공부하였고, 1799년에 조지아주 렉싱턴에서 변호사를 개업했다.

상하원 의원 
1803년, 크로퍼드는 민주공화당 당원으로 조지아주 하원 의원으로 선출되었다. 그 후 1807년에는 조지아 의회가 미국 상원 의원의 결원 보충을 위해 크로퍼드를 선임했다. 곧 크로퍼드는 명성 높은 유력한 상원 의원이 되었고, 1811년에는 상원 임시 의장으로 선임되었다. 크로퍼드는 상원 의회에서 제일미국은행의 기한 연장을 촉구하는 보수적인 국가 재정을 주장하는 인물로 주목을 받았다.

1812년, 크로퍼드의 능력을 평가한 제임스 매디슨 대통령은 크로퍼드를 주프랑스 공사로 임명하고 제1 제정 프랑스로 파견했다. 크로퍼드는 같은 해에 발발한 미영 전쟁의 해결을 위해 파견된 공사로 외국과의 교섭을 맡았고 종전 후 1815년까지 그 직을 맡았다.

정부 장관 
매디슨 대통령은 크로퍼드가 귀국을 하자 크로퍼드를 육군 장관에 임명했다. 크로퍼드는 1년의 짧은 기간동안 육군 장관으로 재직했지만, 충분한 성과를 거뒀다. 1816년에는 민주공화당 대통령 후보로 이름이 거론되었지만, 크로퍼드는 관심을 보이지 않고 거절했다. 그후 크로퍼드는 육군 장관에서 재무 장관에 전임을 요청했다.

크로퍼드는 미영 전쟁으로 인해 발생한 재정 적자 회복을 모색하는 가운데 재무 장관에 취임했다. 크로퍼드는 미국의 세입 세출을 조직화하는 것을 목표로 정하고, 연방 정부의 모든 부처의 재정 상황을 안정시키기 위해 1817년에 재무부 개편 법안을 제출했다. 또한 전임 알렉산더 댈러스로부터 제2미국은행 설립을 계승하였고, 1817년 1월에 본점을 필라델피아에 설치하여 영업을 시작했다. 그리고 같은 해 10월까지 국내 19 곳의 주요 상업 도시에 지점을 설치하기로 결정하였다.

크로퍼드는 또한 주법은행에 대해 통화 지불 재개 요청을 전임 장관인 댈러스에 이어 시행하였다. 그러나 주법 은행은 제2미국은행의 지원없이 재개는 불가능하다고 주장했기 때문에 크로퍼드는 이 문제의 해결을 제2미국은행의 손에 맡기기로 결정했다. 제2미국은행은 1819년 불황 이후 재정 수입의 확보, 통화 안정, 인플레이션 억제 등 성과를 올리고, 크로퍼드의 명성을 드높였다.

대선 후보 
1824년 2월, 크로퍼드는 다시 민주공화당 대통령 후보로 이름이 거론되었지만, 전년에 발병한 뇌졸중의 영향으로 상태가 악화되었기 때문에, 크로퍼드는 그 자리를 스스로 물러날 것을 표명했다. 그런데 그 후 민주공화당은 서부 노동자 계층을 중심으로 하는 새로운 세력과 남부의 부유층을 중심으로 한 구세력 간의 대립이 격화되어 민주공화당은 내부 분열을 일으켰다. 그리고 분열주의자 중 하나가 대통령 후보로 다시 크로퍼드의 이름을 꼽았다. 크로퍼드는 자신의 건강이 회복되는 듯하자 이 권고를 수락하였고, 토머스 제퍼슨과 제임스 매디슨 등 전 대통령의 지지를 받았다. 대통령 선거 결과 크로퍼드는 앤드루 잭슨(일반 투표 153,544 표, 선거인단 99명), 존 퀸시 애덤스(일반 투표 108,740표, 선거인단 84명)에 이어 3번째 득표(일반 투표 46,618표, 선거인단 41명)를 기록함으로써 결국 하원에서 결선 투표에서 승리한 애덤스가 대통령에 선출되었다. 그는 크로퍼드에게 재무장관의 재임을 요청했다. 그러나 크로퍼드는 이 신청을 거절하고, 조지아 고등 법원 판사에 취임하라는 요청을 받고 재무 장관을 사임했다.

만년 
크로퍼드는 이후 10년 내내 활발하게 판사를 역임하였고, 1834년에 조지아주 오글소프 카운티 크로퍼드에서 사망했다. 크로퍼드의 시신은 크로터드 시의 크로퍼드 묘지에 매장되었다. 크로퍼드의 사후 그 업적을 기려 인디애나주 크로퍼드빌, 일리노이주 크로퍼드 카운티, 미주리주 크로퍼드 카운티, 아칸소주 크로퍼드 카운티, 조지아주 크로퍼드 카운티에 크로퍼드의 이름이 붙었다.

역대 선거 결과

각주

참고 자료 

 Garraty, John A. and Mark C. Carnes. American National Biography, vol. 5, "Crawford, William Harris". New York : Oxford University Press, 1999.
 Mooney, Chase. William H. Crawford, 1772-1834. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1974.

외부 링크 
 William H. Crawford at 미국의회 전기 디렉터리

1772년 출생
1834년 사망
프랑스 주재 미국 대사
1824년 미국 대통령 후보
조지아주의 연방 상원의원
제임스 매디슨 행정부의 각료
제임스 먼로 행정부의 각료
미국 상원 임시의장