William A. Palmer

William Adams Palmer ( born September 12, 1781 in Hebron, Connecticut, † December 3, 1860 in Danville, Vermont) was an American lawyer and politician and from 1831 to 1835 governor of Vermont. Between 1818 and 1825 he represented this state in the U.S. Senate.

Early years

William Palmer attended the public schools of his home and moved in 1802 to Chelsea in Vermont. After a subsequent law degree, he worked in various cities in Vermont as a lawyer. Between 1807 and 1818, he held several judgeships, including the Vermont Supreme Court

Political rise and U.S. Senator

Palmer was a member of the Democratic- Republican Party. Between 1811 and 1812 he was a delegate in the House of Representatives from Vermont. Following the resignation of U.S. Senator James Fisk he was sent to his successor as Class 3 senator in the U.S. Congress. After he was subsequently elected to a full term, he could represent between 20 October 1818 and 3 March 1825, in Washington State. In 1824 he not stand for re- election. After his return to Vermont, he was also active in agriculture.

Politically, he returned 1825-1826 and again in 1829 in the House of Representatives his state back. After the dissolution of his party, he joined the National Republican Party. As an opponent of Freemasonry he was then a member of a new party, the Anti- Masonic Party was called. Palmer was also a delegate at three meetings on the revision of the Constitution of Vermont, which took place in 1828, 1836 and 1850.

Governor of Vermont

In 1831, Palmer was elected as a candidate of the anti -Masonic movement as the new governor of his state. The choice was scarce and it was decided by the Legislature in his favor. In the following years he was re-elected in each case with the help of the legislature. Only in the elections of 1833 he reached an absolute majority. Overall, it was between 18 October 1831, 2 November 1835 Office. During this time a law was abolished, after the women were fined for debt with terms of imprisonment. Governor Palmer promoted the trade, industry and agriculture of his country and fought for improved education policy: Back in Vermont, 14 new schools were built. In the banking sector, seven new banks were licensed in his state. In order to improve the infrastructure of a railway network was attacked.

The elections of 1835 were very scarce again. But this time, the legislature no longer decided on Palmer. Since they could not agree on a candidate there, Lieutenant Governor Silas H. Jennison was appointed acting governor.

Further CV

Even after the end of his governorship Palmer remained politically active. Between 1836 and 1837 he was a member of the Senate from Vermont. In 1850 he was again at a conference on the revision of the State Constitution. Then he withdrew into retirement. William Palmer died in December 1860. Together with his wife Sarah Blanchard he had seven children.