Langdon Cheves

Langdon Cheves ( September 17, 1776 – June 26, 1857) was an American politician, lawyer and businessman from South Carolina. He represented the city of Charleston in the United States House of Representatives from 1810 to 1815, where he played a key role on the home front of the War of 1812. Cheves was a leader among the War Hawk faction of the House. He served as chairman of the Committees on Naval Affairs and Ways and Means under Speaker of the House Henry Clay, then succeeded Clay as Speaker in the war's final stages. After leaving the House, he served as President of the Second Bank of the United States from 1819 to 1822. After leaving public office, Cheves was an active advocate for unified Southern resistance to protective tariffs and any attempt to abolish slavery, though an opponent of unilateral action by South Carolina or any one state. Originally, Cheves advocated for a convention of Southern states to pressure Congress into adopting these positions, but eventually became one of the earliest advocates for outright regional secession from the United States. Early life Langdon Cheves was born on September 17, 1776, at Bulltown Fort, on the Rocky River in South Carolina. His father, Alexander, was a native of Buchan, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. His mother, Mary Langdon, was from Virginia and had migrated to the South Carolina backcountry with her father, a farmer and doctor. Their neighbors included Andrew Pickens and the Calhoun family. Cheves was born in Bulltown Fort amidst an ongoing war between the Scots-Irish settlers and the Cherokee, which settlers attributed to British instigation at the onset of the American Revolution. Cheves's pregnant mother was sheltered at the fort for her protection. Shortly after his birth, his maternal aunt left the fort for supplies and was killed and scalped by enemy forces.