CRAWFORD, Wimaat HARRIS (1772-1834). An .American politician. He was born in Am herst, Va., February 24. 1772, but removed with his parents to South Carolina in 1779. and Georgia in 17S3, where, in 1798, he was admitted to the bra. In 1502 he was chosen a member of the State Senate, and in 1807 was chosen to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate. During the canvass he fought two duels, in We first of which he killed a man, while in the second he was himself wounded. He was elected to the Senate in NIL and in 1812 was chosen president pro tempore of that body. He at first opposed. but finally supported. the war with England. In 1813 he was appointed Min ister to France, where he became a general favorite, and in particular was an intimate friend of Lafayette. In 1815 he was made Secre tary of .War, and the next year Secretary of the Treasury, an office which he retained until 1825. Crawford had been a candidate for the Presidential nomination in 1816, and 111w thought himself entitled to succeed :Monroe as President, and was regularly nominated by the Congres sional caucus which was then controlled by hini ; but the caucus system was then temporarily su perseded (see and there were four other candidates against him—C*11114nm, John Quiney Adams, Jackson, and Clay. Calhoun was paci
fied with the Vice-Presidency, to which Ile was chosen by 182 out of 200 votes. There was no choice for President, the vote being: Jackson, 99; Adams, 84; Crawford. 41; Clay, 37. About the time of the election Crawford was stricken with paralysis, from which he never wholly recovered. His condition rendered it impossible to consider him a candidate when the election came to be decided in the House of Representa tives, although, even in such a condition, he received four of the twenty-four votes. From this time Crawford was out of the political field. He served as judge of the northern circuit of Georgia from 1827 until his death. which oc curred September 15, 1834.