Political Career
From 1833 to 1840 Graham was a member of the North Carolina House of Commons from Orange County, serving twice as speaker.
In 1840 Graham was elected as a Whig to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Robert Strange, and served from November 25, 1840, to March 4, 1843. In the Twenty-seventh Congress he was chairman of the Senate Committee on Claims. His older brother, James Graham, had been representing North Carolina in the House since 1833.
From 1845 to 1849 Graham was Governor of North Carolina. Having declined appointments as ambassador to Spain and Russia in 1849, he was appointed Secretary of the Navy in the cabinet of President Millard Fillmore in 1850, and served until 1852. In the 1852 presidential election he was the unsuccessful Whig nominee for vice president, as Winfield Scott's running mate. Returning to North Carolina, he was a member of the state senate from 1854 to 1866, and senator in the Confederate Senate from 1864 to 1865.
Read more about this topic: William Alexander Graham
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