William Findlay (1768-1846) won Pennsylvania gubernatorial race of 1817 by a narrow margin, defeating his opponent, Joseph Hiester (1752-1832) with nearly 53% of the popular vote (Heister received 47%.) Though Hiester had lost, he would return in, and win, the next race for the governor’s seat in 1820.

 

Both Findlay, a Democratic-Republican, and Hiester, also a Democrat but with support of the Federalist Party, had garnered extensive political experience prior to 1817. Findlay was elected to the state’s General Assembly in 1797, 1803, and 1807. In 1807, he was named the state’s treasurer. Heister served five terms in the state House, from 1780 to 1805. He served four years in the state Senate, from 1790 to 1794, and he served for over a decade in Congress.

 

Findley’s term was an unsettled one. Not only did the Panic of 1819 hit while he was in office, but he faced impeachment charges from his time as state treasurer. (They were eventually dismissed.) But he took a stance against slavery and sought to enact harsher penalties on Pennsylvanians who kidnapped individuals in order to return or constrain them to slavery.