Langdon Cheves

Langdon Cheves, 1776-1857, American statesman, b. Abbeville District (now Abbeville co.), S.C. Admitted to the bar in 1797, he became one of the leading lawyers of Charleston. In the U.S. House of Representatives (1810-15) he was one of the war hawks who agitated for hostilities with Britain. He served as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and in 1814 succeeded Henry Clay as speaker. In this capacity Cheves cast the deciding vote against Alexander J. Dallas's bill for establishing the second Bank of the United States, but it was chartered anyway in 1816. The bank was badly mismanaged until Cheves, elected a director and president in 1819, restored its credit. On his resignation in 1822, Nicholas Biddle took over the bank.