Preceded by James Sheafe Preceded by John T. Gilman Books The Grace of Christ Succeeded by John T. Gilman | Preceded by John Langdon Name William Plumer Succeeded by Nahum Parker Succeeded by Samuel Bell Children William Plumer, Jr. | |
 | ||
Role Former United States Senator Died December 22, 1850, Epping, New Hampshire, United States Party Democratic-Republican Party Residence Epping, New Hampshire, United States | ||
Previous office Senator (NH) 1802–1807 | ||
William plumer vain glory self delight and pride
William Plumer (June 25, 1759 – December 22, 1850) was an American lawyer and Baptist lay preacher from Epping, New Hampshire. Born in 1759 in Newburyport in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, he represented New Hampshire as a Federalist in the United States Senate from June 17, 1802 to March 3, 1807. Plumer later became a Democratic-Republican and served as Governor of New Hampshire, 1812–1813 and 1816–1819. He also served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.
In the 1820 presidential election, he cast the only dissenting vote in the Electoral College against incumbent President James Monroe, voting instead for John Quincy Adams. While some accounts say that this was to ensure that George Washington remained the only American president unanimously chosen by the Electoral College, others assert that he was instead calling attention to his friend Adams as a potential future presidential candidate, or protesting against the "wasteful extravagance" of the Monroe Administration. Plumer also eschewed voting for Daniel D. Tompkins for Vice President as "grossly intemperate" and having "not that weight of character which his office requires," and also "because he grossly neglected his duty" in his "only" official role as president of the Senate by being "absent nearly three-fourths of the time." Plumer instead voted for Richard Rush.
In 1803, Plumer was one of several New England Federalists who proposed secession from the United States due to lack of support for Federalists, rising influence of Jeffersonian Democrats and the diminished influence of the North due to the Louisiana Purchase. Recalling his involvement in the secession scheme in 1827, Plumer said, "This was, I think, the greatest political error of my life: & would, had it been reduced to practise [sic], instead of releiving [sic], destroyed New England....Fortunately for my own reputation the erroneous opinion I formed produced no bitter fruits to myself or my country."
Plumer was a founder and the first president of the New Hampshire Historical Society. He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1815. Plumer died in Epping on December 22, 1850, and was buried at the Plumer Family Cemetery in Epping.
William Plumer was the father of William Plumer, Jr., who served in the United States House of Representatives.