William Hunter (Senator)

William Hunter (November 26 1774 – December 3 1849) was an American politician and diplomat and namesake/owner of the Hunter House museum.

Hunter was born in Newport, Rhode Island. He attended the Rogers School and the College of Rhode Island (now Brown University. In 1791 he went to England to study medicine, but when he arried there he changed his mind and studied law. He returned to the United States in 1793 and established a law practice in Newport. He was a member of the Rhode Island General Assembly from 1799 to 1812, a member of the United States Senate from Rhode Island from 1811 to 1821, and a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives from 1823 to 1825. Hunter had been appointed by the state legislature to the United States Senate in 1811 after a senator resigned, and elected to a full term in 1814. He was a member of the United States Federalist Party in the Senate, and served as chairman of the Commerce Committee from 1815 to 1817.

After leaving the Senate, Hunter continued to practice law in Portland. In 1836, he was appointed by President Andrew Jackson to be the United States representative to Brazil. He served in this position for 9 years, until 1845, and then returned to Newport, where he died four years later. Hunter is buried in the Trinity Church graveyard.

Information about his political beliefs and activities while in the Senate is not easily available. One opinion that he is known for is that he believed that the state of Massachusetts was exaggerating its role in the Revolutionary War.fact|date=August 2007

See also

* List of United States political appointments that crossed party lines

External links

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###@@@KEY@@@###U.S. Senator box
state= Rhode Island
class=1
before=Christopher G. Champlin
after=James De Wolf
years=1811–1821| alongside=Jeremiah B. Howell,
James Burrill, Jr., Nehemiah R. Knights-bef
before = Ethan A. Browns-ttl
title = United States Chargé d'Affaires, Brazil
years = 7 January 1835–1 January 1842s-non
reason = " Promoted to
Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary "
-s-non
reason = " Promoted from
Chargé d'Affaires "s-ttl
title = United States Minister to Brazil
years = 1 January 1842–9 December 1843s-aft
after = George H. Proffit