William C. Preston

William Campbell Preston
William Campbell Preston
United States Senator; from South Carolina
	In office; November 26, 1833 – November 29, 1842
Preceded by	Stephen D. Miller
Succeeded by	George McDuffie
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from Richland District
	In office; November 21, 1828 – November 26, 1833
Personal details
Born	December 27, 1794; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Died	May 22, 1860 (aged 65); Columbia, South Carolina, US
Political party	Nullifier, Whig
Alma mater	Washington University; South Carolina College; University of Edinburgh
Profession	Politician, lawyer
Committees	Committee on the Library of the Whig Party (1837-November 29, 1842), Committee on Military Affairs of the Whig Party (1837- November 29, 1842)
Signature

William Campbell Preston (December 27, 1794 – May 22, 1860) was a senator from the United States and a member of the Nullifier, and later Whig Parties. He was also the cousin of William Ballard Preston, William Preston and Angelica Singleton Van Buren. He first married Maria Eliza Coalter in 1819, then Louisa Penelope Davis after Maria's death. Preston was a slaveowner and vocal opponent of abolitionism.^[1]^[2]

Early life

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he was the son of Francis Preston, a well-to-do businessman, and Sarah Buchanan Campbell, daughter of Gen. William Campbell. During his childhood he was educated by private tutors, then enrolled in Washington University (later known as Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia. He then transferred to and graduated from South Carolina College (later known as the University of South Carolina) in Columbia in 1812, where he was a member of the Euphradian Society.

Career

After traveling and studying around Europe, Preston studied law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He sailed back to the States in 1819 and was admitted to the bar of Virginia in 1820. He practiced law there for two years. He then moved to Columbia, South Carolina in 1822 and ran unsuccessfully for election to the Twenty-Second Congress. He was, however, elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives and served from 1828 to 1834. He was then elected in 1833 as a Nullifier to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy after the resignation of Stephen D. Miller. During his first year in the Senate, his oratorical gifts led the Whig leadership to give him a prominent role in the effort to censure Andrew Jackson, elevating Preston "far in advance of most of his colleagues, and side by side with Clay, Webster, Calhoun, and Clayton."^[3] Preston was then reelected as a Whig in 1837 and served until his resignation on November 29, 1842. During that time he served as the chairman for the Committee on the Library and the Committee on Military Affairs. Preston was the only Whig to serve as a senator from South Carolina. After his resignation, Preston returned to practicing law and served as president of South Carolina College from 1845 until 1851, when he resigned due to poor health. He died in Columbia, South Carolina. He was buried in the Trinity Episcopal Churchyard.

He is the namesake of Lake Preston, in South Dakota.^[4] Preston College at the University of South Carolina is named in his honor; in July 2021, the university's Presidential Commission on University History recommended renaming the college.^[1]

Notes

^ ^a ^b "Appendix 11: Research Reports on Building Names: Preston College". Presidential Commission on University History. University of South Carolina. July 16, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
^ Weil, Julie Zauzmer (January 10, 2022). "More than 1,800 congressmen once enslaved Black people. This is who they were, and how they shaped the nation". Washington Post. Retrieved May 5, 2024. Database at "Congress slaveowners", The Washington Post, January 13, 2022, retrieved April 29, 2024
^ Claude G. Bowers, The Party Battles of the Jackson Period, p.320 (Houghton Mifflin Co. 1922) (retrieved Jul.7, 2024)
^ Federal Writers' Project (1940). South Dakota place-names, v.1-3. American guide series. University of South Dakota. p. 47.

References

United States Congress. "William C. Preston (id: P000519)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

U.S. Senate
Preceded by Stephen D. Miller	U.S. senator (Class 3) from South Carolina 1833–1842 Served alongside: John C. Calhoun	Succeeded by George McDuffie
Academic offices
Preceded by Robert Henry	President of University of South Carolina 1845–1851	Succeeded by Francis Lieber as President pro tem

[appendix_11-1] "Appendix 11: Research Reports on Building Names: Preston College". Presidential Commission on University History. University of South Carolina. July 16, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.

[WaPo-2] Weil, Julie Zauzmer (January 10, 2022). "More than 1,800 congressmen once enslaved Black people. This is who they were, and how they shaped the nation". Washington Post. Retrieved May 5, 2024. Database at "Congress slaveowners", The Washington Post, January 13, 2022, retrieved April 29, 2024

[3] Claude G. Bowers, The Party Battles of the Jackson Period, p.320 (Houghton Mifflin Co. 1922) (retrieved Jul.7, 2024)

[4] Federal Writers' Project (1940). South Dakota place-names, v.1-3. American guide series. University of South Dakota. p. 47.

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v t e United States senators from South Carolina
Class 2	P. Butler Hunter Pinckney Sumter Taylor W. Smith R. Hayne Calhoun Huger Calhoun Elmore Barnwell Rhett De Saussure Evans A. Hayne Chesnut Robertson M. Butler Tillman Benet Pollock Dial Blease Byrnes Lumpkin Peace Maybank Daniel Thurmond Wofford Thurmond Graham
Class 3	Izard Read Colhoun P. Butler Gaillard Harper W. Smith Miller Preston McDuffie A. Butler Hammond Sawyer Patterson Hampton Irby Earle McLaurin Latimer Gary E. Smith Hall Johnston Russell Hollings DeMint Scott

v t e Chairmen of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
Military Affairs Committee (1816–1947)	J. Williams Troup J. Williams Jackson Harrison Benton Preston Crittenden Benton Cass Benton Davis Shields Weller Davis Johnson Wilson Logan Spencer Randolph Logan Sewell Hawley Walthall Hawley Proctor Warren du Pont Johnston Chamberlain Wadsworth Reed Sheppard Reynolds Thomas
Naval Affairs Committee (1816–1947)	Tait Sanford Pleasants Lloyd Hayne Dallas Southard Rives R. Williams Mangum Bayard Fairfield Yulee Gwin Mallory J. Hale Grimes Cragin Sargent McPherson Cameron McPherson Cameron E. Hale Perkins Tillman Swanson Page F. Hale Trammell Walsh
Armed Services Committee (1947–present)	Gurney Tydings Russell Saltonstall Russell Stennis Tower Goldwater Nunn Thurmond Warner Levin Warner Levin Warner Levin McCain Inhofe Reed

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