GILES, WILLIAm BRANCH (1762-1830). An American politician and legislator. He was born in Amelia County, Va.; was educated at Hamp den-Sidney and Princeton colleges; studied law with Chancellor George Wythe, and practiced law for several years in Petersburg, Va. In early life he was a Federalist in politics, but associa tion with Jefferson's followers in his native State caused him to change his views, and he was elected to Congress in 1791 as a Republican. During his career in the House, which lasted from 1701 to 1803, with the exception of the session of 1799-1801, he was looked upon as the leader of the extreme Republicans. He signalized his entry into the House in 1791 by actively oppos ing the proposition for the establishment of the United States Bank. In January, 1793, he made a bitter attack on Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, whom he accused of corruption, and when, after an investigation, Hamilton easily vindicated his acts, Giles ignored the result of the inquiry, and pressed resolutions of censure, which the House refused to adopt. In 1795 he led the opposition to the Jay Treaty (q.v.). In 1798 he was an earnest advocate of the principles of the Virginia Resolutions, joining with Madi son, Taylor, and Wilson Cary Nicholas in secur ing their adoption. From 1799 to 1801 he served in the Legislature of Virginia, and in the latter year returned to Washington. He used the most bitter invectives in his debates, declared that the nation was being undermined by monarchical tendencies, and openly charged the Federalist leaders with being in the pay of Great Britain. On the other hand, no man in the Republican ranks was more thoroughly detested by the Federalists than Giles. He succeeded Wilson Cary Nicholas in the United States Senate in 1804, where he be came at once the leading spokesman of his party.
He was one of the leaders in pressing the im peachment of Justice Chase (see CHASE, SAMU EL) , but voted for his acquittal on a majority of the charges, thus causing a breach which was never healed between himself and John Randolph, the principal manager of the impeachment trial on the part of the House. On the collapse of the Burr conspiracy in 1807, Giles introduced a bill for the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. He secured its passage in the Senate, but it was defeated, through the influence of Randolph, in the House. Another bill introduced by him, which defined treason and provided severe penal ties. was superseded in the House by a milder bill of Randolph's. In December, 1808, he intro duced his bill for the strict enforcement of the embargo, which was intended by the severity of its provisions to break down the embargo en tirely. From 1809 to 1815 Giles was active in the factional fights within his party, and, with Samuel Smith and Vice-President George Clin ton, formed the cabal that eventually drove Gal latin from the Cabinet, hampered the Madison Administration by forcing upon it Robert Smith as Secretary of State, opposing its war policy and aiding the Federalists almost dis rupted the Union itself. Nevertheless, he was made chairman of the Senate Committee on For eign Relations in 1811, in which position he was able to force upon Madison several military meas ures of his own. Being absolutely discredited as a party leader, and distrusted by his colleagues, he resigned his seat in the Senate in 1815. He lived in retirement until 1825, when he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Senate against John Randolph; but two years later (1827) he became Governor of Virginia, and held office until shortly before his death.