Editing Langdon Cheves (section)

==Speaker of the House==
On January 14, 1814, President Madison nominated a commission to negotiate [[Treaty of Ghent|peace with Britain]], including Albert Gallatin, [[John Quincy Adams]], and Speaker Henry Clay. With Clay out of the country, he was forced to resign his office, triggering an election to succeed him on January 19. The Federalists threw their support to Cheves, who won a slight majority over [[Felix Grundy]], who had the support of the majority of the Republican caucus, and former Speaker [[Nathaniel Macon]] of North Carolina. Clay urged the Republicans to unite behind Cheves.{{sfn|Huff|1977|pp=77–79}}

As Speaker, Cheves was a strict parliamentarian. He demanded members confine their remarks to the motion pending and did not tolerate personal attacks, as had been frequent under Clay. He made only one speech, lamenting losses in the war but urging the government to continue to prosecute it vigorously. By April, with Napoleon on the verge of [[Battle of Leipzig|apparent defeat]] and Britain threatening total domination over maritime commerce, Cheves successfully saw repeal of Clay's restrictive system.{{sfn|Huff|1977|pp=77–79}} He soon thereafter returned to Charleston and informed party leaders that he would not be a candidate for re-election to a third term.{{sfn|Huff|1977|pp=77–79}}

[[File:US Capitol 1814c.jpg|thumb|In August 1814, during Cheves's tenure as Speaker, the British captured and destroyed much of Washington. For the remainder of his time in office, Congress was forced to meet in the Post and Patent Office building.]]
In September, Congress returned urgently to Washington for a special session. On August 24, with Washington evacuated, [[Burning of Washington|the British had burned the capital]]. The night after, a tornado destroyed much of what remained. The House relocated to a small room in the General Post and Patent Office Building, itself a former hotel.{{sfn|Huff|1977|pp=80–82}}

===Defeating the Second National Bank===
In addition to the physical destruction the capital, Congress faced a budget crisis; $74,000,000 was necessary to keep the government solvent. Treasury Secretary [[George W. Campbell]] resigned rather than offer a solution, and banks throughout the country had begun to suspend cash payments. Cheves himself declined President Madison's offer to serve as Campbell's successor; instead, Madison appointed [[Alexander J. Dallas (statesman)|Alexander J. Dallas]].{{sfn|Huff|1977|pp=82–84}}

To persuade banks to subscribe to government loans, Dallas suggested the imposition of new taxes and the revival of the national bank. Republicans defeated efforts to recharter the First National Bank in 1811, but  were willing to contemplate a new charter given the present crisis. Dallas presented a plan recommending $50,000,000 in bank capital, $6,000,000 in specie and the remainder in government bonds. The government would subscribe $20,000,000. John C. Calhoun, with Cheves's backing, counter-proposed a bank to serve the financial community that would bar investors from buying stock using Treasury notes issued during the war.{{sfn|Huff|1977|pp=82–84}}

On January 2, the Dallas plan came before the House. Cheves cast the deciding vote against the bill. He argued instead for an independent bank, as the Calhoun plan provided. The bill failed 80–81, but was passed on reconsideration on January 7; Madison vetoed the bill.{{sfn|Huff|1977|pp=82–84}}

===Other acts===
In September, Cheves cast the tie-breaking vote in the House to relocate the capital from Washington, but the House reversed itself a week later with no alternate location selected.{{sfn|Huff|1977|pp=82–84}}

When [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Elbridge Gerry]] died on November 23, 1814, the office of [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|President pro tempore of the Senate]] was vacant, and so Cheves briefly became next in line for the presidency. This status lasted for two days until Senator [[John Gaillard]] was chosen president pro tempore.

After his term expired, he devoted himself exclusively to his law practice in Charleston bar. In 1815, he was made a judge of the superior court of South Carolina.

Cheves was appointed chief commissioner of claims under the Treaty of Ghent.