Waller Taylor

Waller Taylor ( * 1779 in Lunenburg County, Virginia; ibid. † August 26, 1826 ) was an American politician. He was one of the first two U.S. senators for the state of Indiana after its accession to the Union.

Waller Taylor's exact year of birth is not known. He spent his childhood in Virginia, where he attended the public schools, studied law and practiced as a lawyer in the sequence. Between 1800 and 1802 he served as a member of the Lower House of Virginia his first political office.

In 1804, Taylor moved to Vincennes in the Indiana Territory, where he also ran a law firm. In 1807 he was appointed as a judge for the law of equity ( Chancellor ) on a territorial level; In the same year he joined the militia of the territory and there rose to Major. He took part in battles with Indians and was from 1809 to 1810 personal aide of William Henry Harrison during the fighting against Tecumseh, where he participated in the Battle of Tippecanoe. Taylor remained until the British -American war in the military and was Adjutant General the top military commander of the armed forces of the Indiana Territory.

In the political sphere Taylor was one of the proponents of slavery, to be admitted in his opinion in Indiana would have. However, the pro-slavery faction was in the territory in the minority, so in 1812 also failed in his attempt to be elected as a delegate to the House of Representatives of the United States; the mandate went to the later Governor Jonathan Jennings. This Taylor was challenged to a duel during the election campaign, but Jennings refused.

After the founding of the state of Indiana were Taylor, who belonged to the Democratic Republicans, and James Noble than the first two U.S. senators to Washington DC posted. The term of office of both politicians began on December 11, 1816, where Taylor had to stand for re-election in 1818 already. He won this and remained so until March 3, 1825 in Congress. During this time, the Democratic- Republican Party split into several factions; Taylor joined the wings to John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay, was born from the later, the National Republican Party. After the end of his political career Taylor returned to Virginia. He died the following year and was buried in Lunenburg.