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Attended the Old Field School and St. Paul's School in Hanover County, VA.
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Studied law in Richmond, admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Lexington, KY
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Elected as a Democratic Republican to U.S. Senate
filled the vacancy of John Adair -
Elected again as Democratic Republican to U.S. Senate
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Elected to the Twelfth and Thirteenth Congresses
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Elected to the Fourteenth Congress
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Elected to fill his own vacancy in Fourteenth Congress
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Re-elected to the Fifteenth and succeeding Congress
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Elected to the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Congresses
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Appointed Secretary of State by John Quincy Adams
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Elected as National Republican to U.S. Senate
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Again elected to U.S. Senate
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Presented the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act
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Died in Washington, D.C.