The Alternative Presidents of the Founding Era - Part 10 - William Lowndes
The American Founding Generation included some of the best presidential potential our nation has ever seen
William Lowndes (1782–1822) of South Carolina was the quiet prodigy of the War-Hawk generation—tall, self-possessed, and notably free of vanity. The American William Pitt that almost was. Elected to Congress in 1811, he rose with unusual speed to chair Ways and Means, the second most powerful position in the House, where his command of figures, procedure, and policy earned broad respect. Lowndes had a lawyer’s precision without the courtroom theatrics, and a planter’s familiarity with trade and credit without sectional bluster. He spoke sparingly, prepared relentlessly, and preferred results to applause. Colleagues trusted his judgment, temperament, and rectitude—the three coins that buy confidence in a republic.
Esteem from His Peers
Even in an era of large egos, Lowndes drew unusual, cross-factional praise. Henry Clay admired his calm mastery of the House and his habit of softening conflict with workable compromises and even compared him to George Washington. Southern allies like John C. Calhoun regarded him as principled and disinterested; Northern members found him fair on revenue and shipping. The consensus portrait: incorruptible, judicious, and capable—“presidential timber” without the rough edges.
Lowndes was offered several Cabinet positions by both James Madison and his successor, James Monroe, including Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of War. When Lowndes refused the latter, it was offered to Calhoun, who accepted the position and held it until his inauguration as Vice President in 1825. According to historians Jeanne and David Heidler, “Admired for his fairness and judicious temperament, Lowndes was frequently mentioned as presidential timber, especially because he seemed immune to ambition. Everybody listened when William Lowndes spoke because he always said something worth hearing.”
But what if Lowndes had accepted the offer of the Treasury?
October 1814: Secretary of the Treasury
With war finances fraying in late 1814, President James Madison turns to Lowndes as Secretary of the Treasury. Lowndes inherits battered public credit, uneven customs, suspended specie payments in parts of the country, and a tangle of short-term loans.
Rebuilding the Government’s Finances (1814–1816)
Stabilize the ledger. He consolidates floating debt into longer-dated issues, regularizes interest payments, and restores confidence among domestic lenders.
Revenue you can count. Customs administration is tightened; temporary internal imposts are simplified and sunsetted to calm the countryside while meeting wartime needs.
Bank as stabilizer, not cudgel. Lowndes becomes the adult in the room on the Second Bank of the United States—pressing for a sound charter, competent management, and a clear remit: smooth the currency, back Treasury operations, and anchor credit, not play politics.
Navy and Army paid first. He sequences cash flow to keep the fighting arms solvent while quietly cutting fat elsewhere—prudence without paralysis.
By the eve of peace, the government’s promises are again believable, bills are paid on time, and markets are exhaling.
1816: The Nomination and Election
The Republican caucus divides between James Monroe and the man who just saved the balance sheet. Lowndes’s reputation for competence and character carries the day: he wins the nomination over Monroe. With Federalists in eclipse and the country craving steadiness, Lowndes is elected essentially unopposed—save for a handful of rogue electors posting votes for Monroe.
Vice President: Daniel D. Tompkins of New York, a proven wartime governor with organizational muscle, rounds out the ticket.
President Lowndes (1817–1822): Style and Substance
Lowndes governs the way he legislated—methodically.
Finance & Economy
Debt on a glide path. He uses rising customs to retire high-cost war paper and short bonds, replacing them with fewer, cheaper obligations.
The Bank kept boring. He backs firm oversight of the Second Bank, insisting it act as lender-of-last-resort during tight spells while reining in speculative branch behavior.
Panic management (1819). When the postwar boom breaks, Lowndes opts for orderly contraction over shock therapy: extend terms for smallholders on public-land debts, press the Bank to steady solvent firms, and avoid punitive tariff lurches. Painful, yes—but confidence in public credit and currency survives.
Internal Improvements (The Useful Middle)
He threads the constitutional needle: signs targeted improvements tied to commerce, post, and defense—harbors, river mouths, lighthouses, the National Road—and uses federal–state compacts or subscriptions for canals. Surveys precede shovels; matching funds trump blank checks.
Foreign & Frontier
With John Quincy Adams at State (or an equally capable hand), Lowndes supports the 1818 convention with Britain (49th parallel to the Rockies), the Rush–Bagot quieting of the Lakes, and a clean acquisition of Florida via treaty and claims settlement. On the frontier he keeps posts supplied, insists on treaty compliance, and pushes the courts to police land frauds—peace through predictability.
Sectional Balance
During the Missouri crisis, Lowndes spends political capital on a workable bargain (Missouri admitted slave; Maine admitted free; 36°30′ line in the remainder of Louisiana). His tone is calming, his message plain: rules everyone can read are the Union’s lifeline.
Death in Office and Succession (1822)
After nearly five years of careful stewardship, President Lowndes dies in Washington, D.C., in 1822. The nation, accustomed to his quiet competence, is genuinely shaken. Vice President Daniel D. Tompkins takes the oath and completes the term, inheriting an administration with sound credit, steady institutions, and a map made tidier by treaty rather than trumpet.
Why Lowndes Mattered
Character you could bank on. Peers praised what voters came to feel: decency + discipline = trust.
Institutions over impulses. He made the Bank stabilizing, the tariff mostly revenue-based, and internal improvements constitutional and useful.
Crisis without theater. In war’s wake and panic’s trough, he kept the Republic’s promises and its temper.
Lowndes did not live long enough to become a giant. But for a crucial window, he was exactly what a self-governing nation most needs: a steady hand, a clean book, and a habit of doing the necessary before the noisy.
Another excellent post. 👍 He sounds like a man we need today.
P.S. Can you do John C. Calhoun for a future What If? No rush. Peace ✌🏻