William Barry Grove (January 15, 1764 – March 30, 1818) was a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

U.S. Congressman from the state of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

from 1791 to 1803. Grove was born in

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-America ...

in 1764. After studying law, he was admitted to the state bar and became a practicing attorney. In 1786, Grove was first elected to the

North Carolina House of Commons The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

; he would serve again in 1788 and 1789. In 1788, Grove was a delegate to the state convention that considered ratification of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...

; he voted against postponement of ratification, but the state did not ratify the constitution at that time. Grove was also a delegate to the 1789 state convention where North Carolina finally ratified the federal constitution. A trustee of the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

and the president of the Fayetteville Branch of the Bank of the United States, Grove was elected to the

Second United States Congress The 2nd United States Congress, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, met at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from March 4, 1791, to March 4, 1793, during the third and fourth years ...

in 1790; he was re-elected to the

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * H ...

through 7th Congresses as a

, serving consecutively from March 4, 1791 to March 3, 1803. Although he ran for re-election in 1802, he was defeated for a seat in the 8th U.S. Congress. Despite being a Federalist, Grove was close to

Democratic-Republicans The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the ear ...

in his political views: he opposed

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charle ...

and his policies toward the public debt, preferring Jefferson, and he supported the

French revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

while criticizing Britain. As a southern Federalist, Grove argued in favour of seizing Louisiana, at a time when (before the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or ap ...

) the Spanish intendant at New Orleans withdrew the right of free deposit for American goods. According to JH Broussard, Federalists believed "Jefferson should use the intendant's closure of deposit as an excuse to occupy the territory before France took formal control" from the Spanish. The Purchase occurred in 1803, against majority Federalist opposition.James H. Broussard, 1999. The Southern Federalists, 1800--1816. LSU Press. pp. 57–60. . Grove was an ardent Freemason and member of Phoenix Lodge No. 8, Fayetteville, North Carolina. He died in 1818 and is buried in Fayetteville's Grove Creek Cemetery.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grove, William 1764 births 1818 deaths Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina Deans of the United States House of Representatives