History repeats itself

Washington, Jan. 31, 1805 — John Gaillard, whose decade of service in SC’s General Assembly culminated with his election as president of that body’s sixteenth and current session a year ago, entered the national body politic today as a US senator, replacing the veteran Pierce Butler who resigned the seat on November 24, 1804.

Senator Gaillard of St. Stephen, 21 years to the sixty–year–old Butler, was elected December 4, 1804, by The Assembly to fill the vacancy. He was sworn in by Vice President Aaron Burr, who will complete his term as President Thomas Jefferson’s vice president on March 4 when Mr. Jefferson begins his second term as President, this time with George Clinton of New York as vice president.

Mr. Butler of Prince William and Ralph Izard of St. James Goose Creek were elected by the SC General Assembly as the state’s first US Senators in 1789 — Izard’s term to end in 1795 and Butler’s in 1791. Butler also served in the Senate 1791–96 and 1802–04, and represented SC at the 1787-88 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia along with John Rutledge, Charles Pinckney, and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, all four signers of the Constitution.

Senator Gaillard would serve continuously in the US Senate until his death February 26, 1826. His 21 years, 26 days service was longest in duration among US Senators at the time though a quarter–century later (1851), Senators Samuel Smith of Maryland, William Rufus King of Alabama, and Thomas Benton of Missouri would surpass his record.

Mr. Gaillard was elected a record 10 times as President Pro Tem of the Senate. At the time, the President Pro Tem was next in line for the US Presidency in the event both the President and Vice President died or were unable to serve. During most of James Madison’s second term in office (1813–17), Senator Gaillard, as President Pro Tem, was a heartbeat away from the White House after the death of VP Elbridge Gerry in 1814.

In the history-repeats-itself category, almost 150 years to the day of Senator Gaillard’s taking office in January 1805, Strom Thurmond assumed the same office on December 24, 1954. Senator Thurmond’s record 47–plus years in that position included over 12 as President Pro Tem. And also, like Gaillard, Thurmond will likely not hold the record for long. Coming up fast are Senators Robert Byrd (D–WV), Daniel Inouye (D–HI), and Edward Kennedy (D–MA), all of whom will likely exceed the South Carolinian’s Senate tenure within the decade.

Brent Breedin of Columbia was Senator Thurmond’s press secretary in 1958–59, and historian for White House Weekly newsletter in 1998–2003.