William Pennington

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = William Pennington

|image = William Pennington portrait.jpg

|imagesize =

|smallimage =

|caption =

|order = 23rd

|office = Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

|term_start = February 1, 1860

|term_end = March 3, 1861

|predecessor = James L. Orr

|successor = Galusha A. Grow

|office2 = Leader of the House Republican Conference

|term_start2 = February 1, 1860

|term_end2 = March 3, 1861

|predecessor2 = Office Established

|successor2 = Galusha A. Grow

|state3 = New Jersey

|district3 = {{ushr|New Jersey|5|5th}}

|term_start3 = March 4, 1859

|term_end3 = March 3, 1861

|predecessor3 = Jacob R. Wortendyke

|successor3 = Nehemiah Perry

|order4 = 13th Governor of New Jersey

|term_start4 = October 27, 1837

|term_end4 = October 27, 1843

|predecessor4 = Philemon Dickerson

|successor4 = Daniel Haines

|office5 = Member of the New Jersey General Assembly

|term5 = 1828

|birth_date = {{birth date|1796|05|04}}

|birth_place = Newark, New Jersey

|death_date = {{death date and age|1862|02|16|1796|05|04}}

|death_place = Newark, New Jersey

|nationality =

|party = Republican

|otherparty =

|spouse =

|relations =

|children =

|alma_mater = Princeton College

|occupation =

|profession = Law

|signature = Signature of William Pennington (1796–1862).png

|website =

|footnotes =

}}

William Pennington (May 4, 1796 – February 16, 1862) was an American politician and lawyer. He was the 13th governor of New Jersey from 1837 to 1843. He served one term in the United States House of Representatives, during which he served as the first Republican Speaker of the House from 1860 to 1861.

Early life and education

Born in Newark, New Jersey, he graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1813 and then studied law with Theodore Frelinghuysen. He was admitted to the bar in 1817 and served as a clerk of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (where his father was a judge) from 1817 to 1826. His father, William Sanford Pennington was a Revolutionary War veteran and was himself Governor of New Jersey from 1813 to 1815 before President Madison appointed him as a federal judge.

Governor of New Jersey

As a member of the Whig party, he was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1828 and then was elected Governor of New Jersey annually from 1837 to 1843. His tenure as governor was marked by the "Broad Seal War" controversy. Following a disputed election for Congressional Representatives in New Jersey, Pennington certified the election of five Whig candidates while five Democrats were certified by the Democratic Secretary of State. After a lengthy dispute, the Democrats were eventually seated.{{cite book| last=Johnston| first=Alexander| editor-last=Lalor | editor-first=John J. |title=Broad Seal War |work=Cyclopædia of political science, political economy, and of the political history of the United States |publisher=Maynard, Merrill, and Co.| location=New York, New York |date=1899|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.319510014074381;view=1up;seq=319| page=309| via=Hathi Trust Digital Library}}

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

In November 1858, Pennington was elected as a Republican to represent New Jersey's 5th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives during the 36th Congress but only after a protracted election for speaker of the House of Representatives lasting 44 ballots over eight weeks (December 5, 1859, to February 1, 1860).{{cite web|title=Speaker Elections Decided by Multiple Ballots|url=http://history.house.gov/People/Office/Speakers-Multiple-Ballots/|website=history.house.gov|publisher=United States House of Representatives|access-date=February 18, 2019}} It was the second time since 1789 that the House elected a freshman congressman as its speaker (after Henry Clay in 1811{{efn|The speaker during the 1st Congress, Frederick Muhlenberg, was technically also a new member.}}); the feat has not been repeated since.{{cite web| last=Heitshusen| first=Valerie| title=The Speaker of the House: House Officer, Party Leader, and Representative| date=February 11, 2011| work=CRS Report for Congress| url=http://www.wise-intern.org/orientation/documents/97-780.pdf| publisher=Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress| location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=February 18, 2019}}

In March 1861, he penned his name on the Corwin Amendment, a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution shielding state "domestic institutions" (a euphemism for slavery) from future constitutional amendments and from abolition or interference by Congress. Submitted to the states for ratification shortly before the outbreak of the American Civil War, it was not ratified by the requisite number of states.{{cite web|url=http://www.house.gov/house/Amendnotrat.shtml|title=Constitutional Amendments Not Ratified|access-date=2013-11-21|publisher=United States House of Representatives|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702135703/http://www.house.gov/house/Amendnotrat.shtml|archive-date=2012-07-02}}

Death

After running unsuccessfully for reelection in 1860 to the 37th Congress, he returned to New Jersey, dying in Newark of an unintentional morphine overdose.{{cite news |last=Rojas |first=Warren |date=October 8, 2015 |title='Interim Speaker' Stumps Scholars |url=https://rollcall.com/2015/10/08/interim-speaker-stumps-scholars/|work=Roll Call |location=Washington, DC}} He was interred at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Newark.

Notes

References

Sources

[https://web.archive.org/web/20060318115519/http://www.njstatelib.org/NJ_Information/Digital_Collections/Governors_of_New_Jersey/GPEN2.pdf New Jersey Historical Commission biography for William Pennington]
[http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=b43843f4c9549010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e449a0ca9e3f1010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD New Jersey Governor William Pennington], National Governors Association
[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/pennington.html#R9M0J97A2 William Pennington biography] from The Political Graveyard
{{cite encyclopedia

|title=William Pennington

|encyclopedia=Webster's American Biographies

|publisher=G. & C. Merriam Company

|year=1975}}

{{succession box |title=Governor of New Jersey | before=Philemon Dickerson | after=Daniel Haines | years=October 27, 1837{{spaced ndash}}October 27, 1843}}

{{succession box |title=Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives | before=James L. Orr | after=Galusha A. Grow | years=February 1, 1860 – March 4, 1861}}

{{US House succession box

|state=New Jersey

|district=5

|before=Jacob R. Wortendyke

|after=Nehemiah Perry

|years=March 4, 1859 – March 4, 1861

}}

Category:1796 births

Category:1862 deaths

Category:Governors of New Jersey

Category:Burials at Mount Pleasant Cemetery (Newark, New Jersey)