William Vans Murray (February 9, 1760 – December 11, 1803) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman. He served in the
Maryland House of Delegates from 1788 to 1790, and in the
United States House of Representatives from 1791 to 1797. He was the United States Ambassador to the Netherlands from 1797 to 1801.
Biography
Early life
William Vans Murray was born on February 9, 1760 in
Glasgow in
Cambridge in the
Province of Maryland
The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S. state of Maryland ...
. He studied the Law in
England.
Career
He served in the
Maryland House of Delegates from 1788 to 1790. He was then elected to the
US House of Representatives from the fifth district of
Maryland, serving from 1791 until 1793. He represented the
eighth district from 1793 to 1797. He was appointed the U.S. Minister (ambassador) to the
Netherlands from 1797 until 1801. He supported the U.S. mission to
France in peace negotiations.
He wrote a series of six essays, which were published in
Philadelphia during the
Constitutional Convention Constitutional convention may refer to:
* Constitutional convention (political custom), an informal and uncodified procedural agreement
*Constitutional convention (political meeting), a meeting of delegates to adopt a new constitution or revise an e ...
. Murray rejected the notion, advanced by
Montesquieu among others, that virtue was the root of
democracy. He addressed his essays to
John Adams, then assigned to London as the United States ambassador, and of whom Murray was a "political disciple."
In 1799, Murray was nominated as a US minister to France. He played a major role in securing peace and the end of the
Quasi-War with the
Convention of 1800.
[Hill, Peter P. ''William Vans Murray, Federalist diplomat: the shaping of peace with France, 1797-1801'' (1971)]
References
Further reading
* Hill, Peter P. ''William Vans Murray, Federalist diplomat: the shaping of peace with France, 1797-1801'' (1971)
External links
Shoreman Averted War With France - Delmarva Heritage Series
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, William Vans
1760 births
1803 deaths
Members of the Maryland House of Delegates
Ambassadors of the United States to the Netherlands
People from Cambridge, Maryland
18th-century American diplomats
19th-century American diplomats
Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland
18th-century American politicians