 | This article'slead sectionmay be too short to adequatelysummarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead toprovide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article.(May 2022) |
John Clayton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Senator fromDelaware | |
| In office March 4, 1853 – November 9, 1856 | |
| Preceded by | Presley Spruance |
| Succeeded by | Joseph P. Comegys |
| In office March 4, 1845 – February 23, 1849 | |
| Preceded by | Richard H. Bayard |
| Succeeded by | John Wales |
| In office March 4, 1829 – December 29, 1836 | |
| Preceded by | Henry M. Ridgely |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Clayton |
| 18thUnited States Secretary of State | |
| In office March 8, 1849 – July 22, 1850 | |
| President | Zachary Taylor Millard Fillmore |
| Preceded by | James Buchanan |
| Succeeded by | Daniel Webster |
| 17thDelaware Secretary of State | |
| In office December 1826 – October 1828 | |
| Preceded by | Henry H. Wells |
| Succeeded by | Samuel Maxwell Harrington |
| Member of theDelaware House of Representatives | |
| In office 1824 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Middleton Clayton (1796-07-24)July 24, 1796 Dagsboro, Delaware, U.S. |
| Died | November 9, 1856(1856-11-09) (aged 60) Dover, Delaware, U.S. |
| Political party | Federalist Party(Before 1824) National Republican(Before 1834) Whig(1824–1854) American(1854–1856) |
| Spouse | Sally Fisher |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Yale University(BA) Litchfield Law School |
| Signature |  |
John Middleton Clayton (July 24, 1796 – November 9, 1856) was an American lawyer and politician from Delaware. He was a member of theWhig Party who served in the Delaware General Assembly, and as U.S. Senator from Delaware and U.S. Secretary of State.
Born inDagsboro, Delaware, son of Sarah (née Middleton) and James Clayton. His uncle, Dr.Joshua Clayton, was a former Governor of Delaware and his cousin,Thomas Clayton, was a prominent lawyer, U.S. Senator, and jurist. John M. Clayton studied atBerlin, Maryland andMilford, Delaware when his parents moved there. His boyhood home, known as theParson Thorne Mansion, was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1971.[1][2] He graduated fromYale University in 1815, where he was a member ofBrothers in Unity and then studied law at theLitchfield Law School. In 1819 he began the practice of law inDover, Delaware.
About this time his father died and Clayton became the sole supporter of his immediate family, weekly walking the distance from Dover toMilford to see to their needs.[citation needed]
He married Sally Ann Fisher in 1822. She was the granddaughter of former GovernorGeorge Truitt.[citation needed] They had two sons, James and Charles, but she died two weeks after the birth of Charles. Clayton never remarried and raised the two boys himself.
In 1844, Clayton cultivated a tract of land near New Castle, Delaware which he calledBuena Vista.[3] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.[2] Here he built a mansion and made one of the most fruitful estates in that region. Both of his sons died while in their 20s, shortly before the death of their father.
Clayton was elected to theDelaware House of Representatives for the 1824 session and was appointed theDelaware Secretary of State from December 1826 to October 1828. Conservative in background and outlook, Clayton quickly became a leader of the Adams faction which later developed into the Delaware Whig Party. During this time he was also the driving force in the convention that produced theDelaware Constitution of 1831.
In 1829, Clayton was elected to the United States Senate as its youngest member. Six years later he declined re-election, but the General Assembly elected him anyway, only to have him resign. He served from March 4, 1829, until December 29, 1836. He distinguished himself in the Senate by a speech during the debate on the Foote resolution, which, though merely relating to the survey of the public lands, introduced into the discussion the whole question ofnullification. Clayton favored the extension of the charter for theSecond Bank of the United States and his investigation of thePost Office Department led to its reorganization. At various times he served on the Military Affairs, Militia, District of Columbia, and Post Office Committees, but his most important position was the Chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee in the 23rd and 24th Congress.[citation needed]
After returning to Delaware from his first term in the United States Senate, Clayton was appointed Chief Justice of theDelaware Superior Court, replacing his cousin Thomas Clayton, who had been elected to the vacant U.S. Senate seat. He served in this position from January 16, 1837, until September 19, 1839, when he resigned to support the presidential candidacy ofWilliam Henry Harrison.
Clayton was once again elected to the United States Senate in 1845, where he opposed the annexation of Texas and the Mexican–American War but advocated the active prosecution of the latter once it was begun. His tenure was only from March 4, 1845, until February 23, 1849, as he resigned to become U.S. Secretary of State.
On March 8, 1849, Clayton becameU.S. Secretary of State in the Whig administration ofZachary Taylor. His most notable accomplishment was the negotiation of theClayton–Bulwer Treaty of 1850 with the British minister, SirHenry Bulwer-Lytton. This treaty guaranteed the neutrality and encouragement of lines of travel across the isthmus at Panama, and laid the groundwork for America's eventual building of the Panama Canal. His tenure was brief, however, ending on July 22, 1850, soon after President Taylor's death.
As secretary of state, Clayton was intensely nationalistic and an ardent advocate of commercial expansion but his strict interpretation of international law created crises with Spain, Portugal, and France.[citation needed]
Clayton was again elected to the United States Senate one last time in 1853 and served from March 4, 1853, until his death on November 9, 1856. He opposed theKansas-Nebraska Act. One of his most noted speeches delivered in the Senate was that made June 15, 1854[5] against the message of U.S. PresidentFranklin Pierce, vetoing theBill for the Benefit of the Indigent Insane, which would have ceded public lands for an insane asylum.
After the death of his second son, Clayton moved his residence back to Dover. He died there and is buried in the Old Presbyterian Cemetery, which is at Dover, on the grounds of theDelaware State Museum.
His contemporaries considered Clayton one of the most skilled debaters and orators in the Senate.[citation needed] He was always accessible, and was noted for his genial disposition and brilliant conversational powers. Clayton Hall at the University of Delaware is named in his honor, as are towns in Delaware, New York, North Carolina and a county in Iowa. In 1934, the state of Delaware donated astatue of Clayton to theNational Statuary Hall Collection.
Elections were held the first Tuesday of October. Members of the General Assembly took office on the first Tuesday of January. State Representatives had a one-year term. The Secretary of State was appointed by the Governor and took office on the third Tuesday of January for a five-year term. The General Assembly chose the U.S. Senators, who took office March 4, for a six-year term.
| Public Offices | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Type | Location | Began office | Ended office | notes | |
| State Representative | Legislature | Dover | January 4, 1824 | January 3, 1825 | ||
| Secretary of State | Executive | Dover | December 1826 | October 1828 | ||
| U.S. Senator | Legislature | Washington | March 4, 1829 | December 29, 1836 | ||
| Superior Court | Judiciary | Dover | January 16, 1837 | September 19, 1839 | Chief Justice | |
| U.S. Senator | Legislature | Washington | March 4, 1845 | February 23, 1849 | ||
| U.S. Secretary of State | Executive | Washington | March 8, 1849 | July 22, 1850 | ||
| U.S. Senator | Legislature | Washington | March 4, 1853 | November 9, 1856 | ||
| Delaware General Assembly service | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | Congress | Chamber | Majority | Governor | Committees | Class/District |
| 1824 | 48th | State Senate | Federalist | Samuel Paynter | Kent at-large | |
| United States Congressional service | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | Congress | Chamber | Majority | President | Committees | Class/District |
| 1829–1831 | 21st | U.S. Senate | National Republican | Andrew Jackson | Militia | class 2 |
| 1831–1833 | 22nd | U.S. Senate | National Republican | Andrew Jackson | Militia | class 2 |
| 1833–1835 | 23rd | U.S. Senate | National Republican | Andrew Jackson | Judiciary, Militia | class 2 |
| 1835–1837 | 24th | U.S. Senate | Whig | Andrew Jackson | Judiciary | class 2 |
| 1845–1847 | 29th | U.S. Senate | Whig | James K. Polk | class 1 | |
| 1847–1849 | 30th | U.S. Senate | Whig | James K. Polk | class 1 | |
| 1853–1855 | 33rd | U.S. Senate | Whig | Franklin Pierce | class 2 | |
| 1855–1857 | 34th | U.S. Senate | American | Franklin Pierce | class 2 | |
| U.S. Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Delaware 1829–1836 Served alongside:Louis McLane,Arnold Naudain,Richard H. Bayard | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Delaware 1845–1849 Served alongside:Thomas Clayton,Presley Spruance | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Delaware 1853–1856 Served alongside:James A. Bayard Jr. | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Judiciary Committee 1833–1836 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of State 1849–1850 | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 2 | ||
| Secretary of State |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Secretary of the Treasury |
| |
| Secretary of War |
| |
| Attorney General |
| |
| Postmaster General |
| |
| Secretary of the Navy |
| |
| Secretary of the Interior |
| |
| Secretary of State |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Secretary of the Treasury |
| |
| Secretary of War |
| |
| Attorney General |
| |
| Postmaster General |
| |
| Secretary of the Navy |
| |
| Secretary of the Interior |
| |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
