Willie P. Mangum | |
|---|---|
 1844 portrait byJames Lambdin | |
| 10thDean of the United States Senate | |
| In office March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Hart Benton |
| Succeeded by | James Pearce |
| President pro tempore of the United States Senate | |
| In office May 31, 1842 – March 3, 1845 | |
| Preceded by | Samuel L. Southard |
| Succeeded by | Ambrose Hundley Sevier (acting) |
| United States Senator fromNorth Carolina | |
| In office November 25, 1840 – March 3, 1853 | |
| Preceded by | Bedford Brown |
| Succeeded by | David Reid |
| In office March 4, 1831 – November 26, 1836 | |
| Preceded by | James Iredell Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Robert Strange |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina's8th district | |
| In office March 4, 1823 – March 18, 1826 | |
| Preceded by | Josiah Crudup |
| Succeeded by | Daniel Barringer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1792-05-10)May 10, 1792 Orange County, North Carolina, U.S.(nowDurham County) |
| Died | September 7, 1861(1861-09-07) (aged 69) |
| Resting place | Mangum family cemetery Walnut Hall |
| Political party | Federalist (Before 1816) Democratic(Before 1834) Whig(1834–1852) American(1856–1861) |
| Spouse | Charity Cain m.1819 |
| Children | 5 |
| Education | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill(BA) |
Willie Person Mangum (/ˈwaɪliˈpɑːrsən/; May 10, 1792 – September 7, 1861) was an American politician and planter who served asU.S. Senator from the state ofNorth Carolina between 1831 and 1836 and between 1840 and 1853. He was one of the founders and leading members of theWhig party, and was a candidate forpresident in 1836 as part of theunsuccessful Whig strategy to defeatMartin Van Buren by running four candidates with local appeal in different regions of the country.[1]
Most notably, Mangum served asPresident pro tempore of the Senate for most ofJohn Tyler's presidency, between 1842 and 1845. He was, therefore, first in thepresidential line of succession during this time, as Tyler did not have avice president. (There was no constitutional mechanism for filling anintra-term vice presidential vacancy at the time.) Had Tyler died, resigned or been removed from office at any time during his presidency, Mangum would have becomeacting president of the United States.
Mangum was born inDurham County, North Carolina (then part of Orange County), to a family from theplanter class. He was the son of Catherine (Davis) and William Person Mangum.[2] In his youth, he attended the respected private school inRaleigh run byJohn Chavis, a free black. They remained friends for years and had a long correspondence. He graduated from theUniversity of North Carolina in 1815.
Mangum began a law practice and entered politics. He was elected to theUnited States House of Representatives, serving from 1823 to 1826. After an interlude as asuperior courtjudge, he was elected by the legislature as aDemocrat to the Senate from North Carolina in 1830.
Mangum's stay in the Democratic Party was short. He opposed PresidentAndrew Jackson on most of the major issues of the day, including theprotective tariff,nullification, and theBank of the United States. In 1834, Mangum openly declared himself to be a "Whig", and two years later, he resigned his Senate seat.
Due to a lack of organizational cohesion in the new Whig Party duringthe 1836 election, the Whigs put forward four presidential candidates:Daniel Webster inMassachusetts,William Henry Harrison in the remaining Northern and Border States,Hugh White in the middle and lower South, and Mangum inSouth Carolina. Some optimistic Whigs foresaw the nomination of several candidates resulting in denying a majority of electoral votes to any one candidate and throwing the election into the House of Representatives, much like what occurred in1824, where Whig representatives could then coalesce around a single candidate. This possibility, however, did not come to fruition and Democratic candidateMartin Van Buren won the election with an outright majority of electoral votes. The legislature of South Carolina (which chose their electors until 1865) gave Mangum its 11 electoral votes.
After a four-year absence, Mangum served two more terms in the Senate, where he was an important ally ofHenry Clay. In 1842, he succeededSamuel L. Southard aspresident pro tempore of the Senate, during a vice presidential vacancy. Upon assuming office on May 23, he also became next insuccession to the presidency, and remained so until the swearing in ofGeorge M. Dallas on March 4, 1845, a period which included PresidentJohn Tyler's narrow escape from death in theUSSPrinceton disaster of 1844. In 1852, he refused an offer to be a candidate forvice president on theWhig national ticket; fellow North CarolinianWilliam Alexander Graham was nominated instead.
Realizing that he had little chance of being re-elected as the Whig Party broke up following the1852 elections, Mangum retired in 1853 at the end of his second term. In 1856 he, like many ex-Whigs, joined the nativistAmerican Party, but a stroke soon afterward ended his political career.
Mangum died at his family estate in Red Mountain, an unincorporated area of Durham County, on September 7, 1861. He was buried in the family cemetery on his estate. Mangum Elementary School in the area is named in his honor.[3]
Mangum married Charity Alston Cain ofPleasant Grove Plantation in 1819. They had five children. Their only son died in July 1861 at theFirst Battle of Bull Run, a month before his father.
Hisslave plantation was known asWalnut Hall.[4] A 1931 biography of John Chavis noted that Mangum had allowed his former teacher to be buried on his land.[5] The gravesite was found in 1988 by the John Chavis Historical Society, and is now marked as the "Old Cemetery" on maps of Hill Forest.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina's 8th congressional district 1823–1826 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 3) from North Carolina 1831–1836 Served alongside:Bedford Brown | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 2) from North Carolina 1840–1853 Served alongside:William A. Graham,William H. Haywood, Jr.,George E. Badger | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President pro tempore of the United States Senate May 31, 1842 – March 3, 1845 | Succeeded by |
| Class 2 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
Chairs of theUnited States Senate Committee on Armed Services | ||
|---|---|---|
| Military Affairs Committee (1816–1947) | | |
| Naval Affairs Committee (1816–1947) | ||
| Armed Services Committee (1947–present) | ||
|  | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
