William Maclay (politician)
| William Maclay | |
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United States Senator from Pennsylvania |
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In office March 4, 1789 – March 4, 1791 |
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| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | Albert Gallatin |
| Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives | |
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In office 1795-1797 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
July 20, 1737 New Garden Township, Pennsylvania |
| Died | April 16, 1804 (aged 66) Dauphin, Pennsylvania |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Anti-Administration Party |
| Spouse(s) | Mary McClure Maclay (nee Harris, daughter of John Harris, Sr.) |
| Residence | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Lawyer, surveyor, Pennsylvania Legislature, U.S. Senator, Pennsylvania |
William Maclay (July 20, 1737 – April 16, 1804) was a politician from Pennsylvania during the eighteenth century. Maclay, along with Robert Morris, was a member of Pennsylvania's first two-member delegation to the United States Senate. Following his tenure in the Senate, he served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on two separate occasions, as a county judge, and as a presidential elector.
Maclay pursued classical studies and then served as a lieutenant in an expedition to Fort Duquesne in 1758. He went on to serve in other expeditions in the French and Indian Wars. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1760. After a period of practising law, he became a surveyor in the employ of the Penn family, and then a prothonotary and clerk of the courts of Northumberland County in the 1770s. During the American Revolution, he served in the Continental Army as a commissary. He was also a frequent member of the state legislature in the 1780s. During that period, he was also the Indian commissioner, a judge of the court of common pleas, and a member of the executive council.
After the ratification of the Constitution Maclay was elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1789 to March 4, 1791. He received a two-year term instead of the usual six-year term for senators after he lost a lottery with the other Pennsylvania senator, Robert Morris. In the Senate, Maclay was one of the most radical members of the Anti-Administration faction. In his journal, which is the only diary and one of the most important records of the First United States Congress, he criticizes John Adams and George Washington. He also criticized many of their supporters who ran the senate and included particularly senators, believing that their ways of running the Senate were inefficient. He was unsuccessful in his attempt to be re-elected by the state legislature of Pennsylvania.
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