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William Harris Crawford (
February 24, 1772 –
September 15, 1834) was an important
American politician, as well as a judge, during the early
19th century. He served as
United States Secretary of War from
1815 to
1816 and
United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1816 to
1825, and was a candidate for
President of the United States in
1824. He was the cousin of
George W. Crawford.
Crawford was born in
Amherst County, Virginia, but his family moved south to
Appling County, Georgia, when he was a boy. As a young man, he worked as a farmer and a schoolteacher for about 10 years, then began to practice law in
Lexington, Georgia in
1799.
In
1803, Crawford was elected to the
Georgia state legislature as a member of the
Democratic-Republican Party. In
1807, that legislature elected him to fill a vacant
United States Senate seat.
Crawford soon became a respected and influential senator, and was elected
president pro tempore in
1811. On April 12, 1812 Vice President George Clinton died in office which made Crawford, as President Pro Tempore, the
Acting Vice President until March 4, 1813. In recognition of his abilities, President
James Madison appointed Crawford as the American minister to the
First French Empire in
1812. Crawford held that important ministerial post throughout the
War of 1812, and returned shortly after its end in
1815.
Upon Crawford's return, Madison appointed him as
Secretary of War. After slightly more than a year of satisfactory service in that post (and after disclaiming interest in the 1816 Democratic-Republican nomination for President, which he could have had), Crawford moved within the
Cabinet to become
Secretary of the Treasury. He remained in that position through the rest of Madison's term and
Monroe's entire administration which ended in 1825.
Crawford was again a leading candidate for the Democratic-Republican presidential nomination in
1824, but a massive stroke in
1823 ended his chances. The
Democratic-Republican Party split apart that year, and one of the splinter groups nominated Crawford. Despite Crawford's improved health (and the support of former presidents Madison and
Thomas Jefferson), he finished only third, behind
John Quincy Adams and
Andrew Jackson. Refusing Adams' request that he remain at the Treasury, Crawford then retired to Georgia, where he was appointed as a state superior court judge.
Crawford remained an active judge until his death a decade later. He is buried in Crawford Cemetery in
Crawford, Georgia.
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