William Melville Alexander was an American politician, physician, and land speculator active in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. In 1817, Alexander laid out a settlement on behalf of a Cincinnati-based land company. The settlement,

America, Illinois America is an unincorporated community in Pulaski County, Illinois, United States. It lies northeast of Mound City. Founded in part by the American entrepreneur Justus Post, Post made attempts to establish a community like the one he had previ ...

, was envisioned as a major city and possibly even an inland capital for the United States. The ambitious goals of the project were never realized. He was first elected to the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

in 1820 and reelected in 1822. In his second term, he was elected Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives by his colleagues. In the

1824 United States presidential election The 1824 United States presidential election was the tenth quadrennial presidential election. It was held from Tuesday, October 26 to Thursday, December 2, 1824. Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay and William Crawford were the primary ...

, Alexander was an

elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...

pledged to

William H. Crawford William Harris Crawford (February 24, 1772 – September 15, 1834) was an American politician and judge during the early 19th century. He served as US Secretary of War and US Secretary of the Treasury before he ran for US president in the 1824 ...

. That same year, he ran for an appointment from the

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...

to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

to succeed

Ninian Edwards Ninian Edwards (March 17, 1775July 20, 1833) was a founding political figure of the State of Illinois. He served as the first and only governor of the Illinois Territory from 1809 to until the territory was dissolved in 1818. He was then one of t ...

. Alexander lost to

John McLean John McLean (March 11, 1785 – April 4, 1861) was an American jurist and politician who served in the United States Congress, as U.S. Postmaster General, and as a justice of the Ohio and U.S. Supreme Courts. He was often discussed for ...

. After a series of failed land ventures in

, he moved to the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

where he died. He is the namesake of

Alexander County, Illinois Alexander County is the southernmost and southwesternmost county in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,240. Its county seat is Cairo and its western boundary is formed by the Mississippi River. Alexander Co ...

References

Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 19th-century American politicians Illinois Democratic-Republicans Members of the Illinois House of Representatives People from Alexander County, Illinois Speakers of the Illinois House of Representatives {{Speakers of the Illinois House of Representatives