William Jones Lowndes | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 2nd district |
|
In office March 4, 1813 – May 8, 1822 |
|
Preceded by | William Butler |
Succeeded by | James Hamilton, Jr. |
Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means | |
In office 1815–1818 |
|
Preceded by | John W. Eppes |
Succeeded by | Samuel Smith |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 4th district |
|
In office March 4, 1811 – March 4, 1813 |
|
Preceded by | John Taylor |
Succeeded by | John J. Chappell |
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from St. Philip's and St. Michael's Parish | |
In office November 26, 1804 – December 19, 1807 |
|
Personal details | |
Born | February 11, 1782 Jacksonborough, Colleton County, South Carolina |
Died | October 27, 1822 Atlantic Ocean |
(aged 40)
Political party | Democratic-Republican |
Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Pinckney |
Profession | planter, lawyer |
William Jones Lowndes (February 11, 1782 – October 27, 1822) was an American lawyer, planter, and statesman from South Carolina. He represented the state in the U.S. Congress from 1811 to May 8, 1822, when he resigned.
He was the son of Rawlins Lowndes, an American Revolutionary War leader from South Carolina, and was married to Elizabeth Pinckney, daughter of Federalist leader Thomas Pinckney.
William J. Lowndes first served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1804 to 1808.
Elected to the Twelfth United States Congress as a Representative from the Charleston area, Lowndes was a central member of the 'War Hawk' faction along with Speaker of the House Henry Clay, future President of the Second Bank of the United States Langdon Cheves, Tennessee representative Felix Grundy, and future Vice President and South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun. The War Hawks agitated throughout the Congressional session for the declaration of the War of 1812, which was achieved on June 19. Lowndes became close friends with Calhoun during this time, with whom he also shared a boardinghouse; Lowndes's granddaughter relates that, twenty years after Lowndes's death, Calhoun told his widow "that there had never been a shadow between them."