W.H.H. Clayton
Encyclopedia
William Henry Harrison Clayton best known as W.H.H. Clayton (October 13, 1840 – December 14, 1920) was a prominent lawyer and judge in post-Civil War Arkansas
and Indian Territory
Oklahoma
. He was the United States Attorney
for the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
and the chief prosecutor in the court of "hanging judge
" Isaac Parker
for 14 years.
, Pennsylvania to John and Ann Glover Clayton. At birth, John Middleton Clayton was given the name John Tyler Clayton, since his father was a staunch supporter of the Whig Party
and named his twin sons after the Whig Party presidential ticket of 1840. After President John Tyler
committed his "Great Betrayal" of the Whig Party, John Clayton, Sr. erased the name "Tyler" from the family record and had his son baptized as John Middleton Clayton, after the famous Delaware Senator of the same name, who was a distant cousin.. W.H.H. Clayton had two other older brothers: Thomas Jefferson Clayton, who remained in Pennsylvania and became a judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Delaware County
, Pennsylvania; and Powell Clayton
, who became a Brigadier General
in the Union Army
during the Civil War and served as, first, Governor, and then Senator, for Arkansas
after the War and finally, as the American ambassador to Mexico.
The Clayton family was descended from the original Quaker settlers of Pennsylvania. Clayton ancestor William Clayton emigrated from Chichester, England with his wife Prudence and family in 1671 and settled in Marcus Hook
, Pennsylvania.http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/6630/claytonfam.html&date=2009-10-25+07:29:51 William Clayton was one of nine justices who sat at the Upland (Chester) Quaker Court in 1681 and was also a member of Penn's Council.. While in England, William Clayton had known George Fox
, founder of the Quaker religion and, like many Quakers in Stuart England, had been imprisoned due to his religious beliefs.http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/6630/claytonfam.html&date=2009-10-25+07:29:51
, Arkansas, and, with John M. Clayton, the three brothers purchased 2000 acres (8 km²) of land on the Arkansas River
. Like his brother Powell, W.H.H. Clayton married a southern woman, Florence Barnes. In 1868, Powell Clayton was elected Governor of Arkansas, and W.H.H. Clayton, while studying law, was appointed circuit superintendent of public instruction for the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Arkansas and helped organize an education system for the newly freed slaves.
In 1871, W.H.H. Clayton was admitted to the bar and was appointed prosecuting attorney for the First Judicial Circuit of Arkansas. In 1873, Governor Elisha Baxter
appointed him a judge of the same Circuit Court, but, in 1875, he resigned this position to accept an appointment, offered by President Ulysses Grant as United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas.
The United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas had recently moved to Fort Smith
, Arkansas, and W.H.H. Clayton moved to Fort Smith when he took the U.S. Attorney position. In 1882, Clayton purchased an old house in the downtown area of Fort Smith, which he enlarged and renovated. Clayton and his family lived in this house until he left Fort Smith for McAlester
, Oklahoma in 1897 and owned it until 1912. The "Clayton House" has been restored by the Fort Smith Heritage Foundation and is an historical home that is open to the public.
W.H.H. Clayton's twin brother John Middleton Clayton enjoyed a political career of distinction after moving to Arkansas. John M. Clayton served in both houses of the Arkansas General Assembly
and also served three terms as sheriff of Jefferson County
, Arkansas. In 1888, John M. Clayton ran for U.S. Representative as the Republican
candidate against Democratic Party
candidate Clifton R. Breckinridge
. The election was hotly contested and replete with charges of serious voter fraud and illegality. John M. Clayton was assassinated on January 29, 1889, before a winner of the election could be declared. Despite an investigation by Pinkerton
detectives that had been financed by Powell and W.H.H. Clayton, the assassin was never found. A special Congressional Investigating Committee declared John M. Clayton the posthumous winner of the election.http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia
In Judge Parker's 21 years on the bench, 13,490 felony charges were docketed, including 344 charges carrying the death penalty. Since there were no state courts in the Indian Territory (only tribal courts), the United States District court had original jurisdiction over murder charges, an oddity for the federal courts. Judge Parker sentenced 160 defendants to the Fort Smith gallows
, and 79 of these defendants were actually hanged to death. In another oddity, no federal court had appellate jurisdiction over Judge Parker, and the only avenue for relief from a death sentence in his court was through presidential pardon; Congress remedied this in 1889 and gave the United States Supreme Court appellate jurisdiction over death sentences from Judge Parker's court.
W.H.H. Clayton served as the United States Attorney in Judge Parker's court from 1874 until 1893, with the exception of the four years comprising the first non-consecutive term of Democratic President Grover Cleveland
. During his 14 years in this position, Clayton had charge of over 10,000 cases (including misdemeanors) tried before the court and, during that time, he convicted 80 men of murder—a number greater than any other prosecutor in the United States—and 40 of these men were executed. Clayton was known as "the ablest prosecutor in the Southwest." During Judge Parker's eventful first year with the Court, Clayton obtained capital convictions in 15 out of 18 murder cases. On September 3, 1875, Judge Parker ordered a mass hanging of six men at once on the Fort Smith gallows.
During his time with Judge Parker, Clayton had many interesting cases involving some of the most notorious criminals of the time. Clayton sent the infamous Belle Starr
and her husband to federal prison for horse theft, and, upon her release, Starr plotted but failed to carry out an assassination attempt on Clayton during a Wild West Show at the Sebastian County, Arkansas Fair. This incident was later dramatized in 1961 on the television show Death Valley Days
in an episode entitled "A Bullet for the D.A."http://www.tvguide.com Clayton was also the original prosecutor in the famous case of United States v. Allen, which was reported in the United States Supreme Court reporters as Allen v. United States, 164 U.S. 492, 17 S.Ct. 154 (1896). The Allen case is well-known to present-day trial attorneys for its discussion of the Allen charge
, given to deadlocked juries in an attempt to avoid a hung jury
.
W.H.H. Clayton also enjoyed a very successful legal career in Fort Smith during the years that he was not serving as United States Attorney. Clayton handled both civil and criminal cases while in the private practice of law, including cases in front of the United States Supreme Court. One of Clayton's most famous cases involved his defense of legendary U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves
against charges of murdering his posse cook. Reeves, one of the only black U.S. Marshals in the United States, had worked closely with Clayton while Clayton was still the U.S. Attorney, and Clayton was able to convince a jury to acquit Bass in a trial in front of Judge Parker.
was elected President in 1896, he appointed W.H.H. Clayton as a United States federal judge
for the newly created federal court for the Central District of the Indian Territory. Clayton moved to McAlester, Oklahoma, the site of the new federal court for the Central District. Congress had created this court in an effort to relieve the overworked Western District of Arkansas of some of its huge caseload, although Judge Parker was upset with this stripping of his authority. When Oklahoma became a state in 1907, Congress created a new set of federal District Courts and dissolved the old Indian Territory District Courts, causing Clayton to lose his federal judgeship. During his 10 years as a federal judge, Clayton had issued important decisions defining Indian rights, which had long term effects on the future history of Oklahoma.
Clayton had been involved in a scandal relating to an alleged Oklahoma land grab in 1889. The charges were made by Democrats in 1889, after President Benjamin Harrison
had nominated Clayton for re-appointment to his United States Attorney position, following the Grover Cleveland interregnum period. No formal action was ever taken on the charges, and the United States Senate
confirmed President Harrison's nomination of Clayton.
In 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt
appointed Clayton to serve on the Oklahoma Districting and Canvassing Board. Clayton had also been a delegate selected to write the new constitution
for the State of Oklahoma. After his retirement from the federal bench, Clayton resumed the practice of law in McAlester with his son. Clayton died in McAlester on December 14, 1920, and is buried in the national cemetery at Fort Smith.
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
and Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. He was the United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
The United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas is a United States District Court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties: Ashley, Baxter, Benton, Boone, Bradley, Calhoun, Carroll, Clarke, Columbia, Crawford, Franklin, Garland, Hempstead, Hot Springs, Howard,...
and the chief prosecutor in the court of "hanging judge
Hanging Judge
"Hanging judge" is an unofficial term for a judge who has gained renown for punishment by sentencing convicted criminals to death by hanging.More broadly, the term is applied to judges who have gained a reputation for imposing unusually harsh sentences, even in jurisdictions where the death penalty...
" Isaac Parker
Isaac Parker
Isaac Charles Parker served as a U.S. District Judge presiding over the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas for 21 years and also one-time politician. He served in that capacity during the most dangerous time for law enforcement during the western expansion...
for 14 years.
Early life
Clayton and his twin brother John Middleton Clayton were born in BethelBethel, Pennsylvania
Bethel, Pennsylvania may refer to:*Bethel, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania*Bethel, Berks County, Pennsylvania*Bethel, Cambria County, Pennsylvania*Bethel, Mercer County, Pennsylvania*Bethel, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania*Bethel, Wayne County, Pennsylvania...
, Pennsylvania to John and Ann Glover Clayton. At birth, John Middleton Clayton was given the name John Tyler Clayton, since his father was a staunch supporter of the Whig Party
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
and named his twin sons after the Whig Party presidential ticket of 1840. After President John Tyler
John Tyler
John Tyler was the tenth President of the United States . A native of Virginia, Tyler served as a state legislator, governor, U.S. representative, and U.S. senator before being elected Vice President . He was the first to succeed to the office of President following the death of a predecessor...
committed his "Great Betrayal" of the Whig Party, John Clayton, Sr. erased the name "Tyler" from the family record and had his son baptized as John Middleton Clayton, after the famous Delaware Senator of the same name, who was a distant cousin.. W.H.H. Clayton had two other older brothers: Thomas Jefferson Clayton, who remained in Pennsylvania and became a judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Delaware County
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....
, Pennsylvania; and Powell Clayton
Powell Clayton
Powell Clayton was an engineer, a Union Army general in the American Civil War, the first Reconstruction Governor of the State of Arkansas, and Ambassador to Mexico during the administrations of William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.-Early life:Clayton was born in Bethel, Pennsylvania, to John...
, who became a Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
during the Civil War and served as, first, Governor, and then Senator, for Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
after the War and finally, as the American ambassador to Mexico.
The Clayton family was descended from the original Quaker settlers of Pennsylvania. Clayton ancestor William Clayton emigrated from Chichester, England with his wife Prudence and family in 1671 and settled in Marcus Hook
Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania
Marcus Hook is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population peaked in the 1920s with 5,324 inhabitants. 2,314 inhabitants were counted at the recent 2000 census. Marcus Hook's current mayor is James Schiliro. The borough calls itself "The Cornerstone of Pennsylvania"....
, Pennsylvania.http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/6630/claytonfam.html&date=2009-10-25+07:29:51 William Clayton was one of nine justices who sat at the Upland (Chester) Quaker Court in 1681 and was also a member of Penn's Council.. While in England, William Clayton had known George Fox
George Fox
George Fox was an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends.The son of a Leicestershire weaver, Fox lived in a time of great social upheaval and war...
, founder of the Quaker religion and, like many Quakers in Stuart England, had been imprisoned due to his religious beliefs.http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/6630/claytonfam.html&date=2009-10-25+07:29:51
Civil War
W.H.H. Clayton was raised on his father's farm and received his early education at the Village Green Seminary. In 1862, he raised a company in Delaware County and served as a lieutenant in the Union Army, taking part in the battles of South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and the Wilderness. After this service, he took a position as a teacher of military tactics and other subjects at the Village Green Seminary.Life and career in Arkansas
When the Civil War ended, W.H.H. Clayton followed his brother Powell to Pine BluffPine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...
, Arkansas, and, with John M. Clayton, the three brothers purchased 2000 acres (8 km²) of land on the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
. Like his brother Powell, W.H.H. Clayton married a southern woman, Florence Barnes. In 1868, Powell Clayton was elected Governor of Arkansas, and W.H.H. Clayton, while studying law, was appointed circuit superintendent of public instruction for the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Arkansas and helped organize an education system for the newly freed slaves.
In 1871, W.H.H. Clayton was admitted to the bar and was appointed prosecuting attorney for the First Judicial Circuit of Arkansas. In 1873, Governor Elisha Baxter
Elisha Baxter
Elisha Baxter was the tenth Governor of the State of Arkansas.-Biography:Elisha Baxter was born in Rutherford County, North Carolina. Baxter received an appointment to the United States Military Academy but his father would not allow him to attend.In 1852 Baxter moved to Arkansas and opened a...
appointed him a judge of the same Circuit Court, but, in 1875, he resigned this position to accept an appointment, offered by President Ulysses Grant as United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas.
The United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas had recently moved to Fort Smith
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
, Arkansas, and W.H.H. Clayton moved to Fort Smith when he took the U.S. Attorney position. In 1882, Clayton purchased an old house in the downtown area of Fort Smith, which he enlarged and renovated. Clayton and his family lived in this house until he left Fort Smith for McAlester
McAlester, Oklahoma
McAlester is a city in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 17,783 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Pittsburg County. It is currently the largest city in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, followed by Durant....
, Oklahoma in 1897 and owned it until 1912. The "Clayton House" has been restored by the Fort Smith Heritage Foundation and is an historical home that is open to the public.
W.H.H. Clayton's twin brother John Middleton Clayton enjoyed a political career of distinction after moving to Arkansas. John M. Clayton served in both houses of the Arkansas General Assembly
Arkansas General Assembly
The Arkansas General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house Arkansas Senate with 35 members, and the lower Arkansas House of Representatives with 100 members. All 135 representatives and state senators...
and also served three terms as sheriff of Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Arkansas
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Its population was 77,435 at the 2010 United States Census. It is included in the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area. Jefferson County's county seat and largest city is Pine Bluff...
, Arkansas. In 1888, John M. Clayton ran for U.S. Representative as the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidate against Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
candidate Clifton R. Breckinridge
Clifton R. Breckinridge
Clifton Rodes Breckinridge was a Democratic alderman, congressman, diplomat, businessman and veteran of the Confederate Army and Navy. He was a member of the prominent Breckinridge family, the son of Vice President of the United States and Confederate General John C. Breckinridge and the...
. The election was hotly contested and replete with charges of serious voter fraud and illegality. John M. Clayton was assassinated on January 29, 1889, before a winner of the election could be declared. Despite an investigation by Pinkerton
Pinkerton
Pinkerton may refer to:*Pinkerton , a 1996 album by Weezer*Pinkerton, Ontario*Pinkerton National Detective Agency, a detective agency founded in 1850 by Allan Pinkerton*Pinkerton Academy, a high school in Derry, New Hampshire...
detectives that had been financed by Powell and W.H.H. Clayton, the assassin was never found. A special Congressional Investigating Committee declared John M. Clayton the posthumous winner of the election.http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia
Service in Judge Parker's court
In 1875, the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas had jurisdiction over one-third of the state of Arkansas and all of the Indian Territory to the west that eventually became the state of Oklahoma. This area comprised over 74000 square miles (191,659.1 km²) of some of the most wild and violent lands in the postbellum United States. At the request of Powell Clayton and other prominent Arkansas Republicans, President Grant appointed Isaac Charles Parker, a Republican office holder from Missouri with an impeccable reputation, to the Court in order to clean up the prior stain of corruption and to bring law and order to the Western District. At the time of his appointment, Judge Parker (35 years old) was the youngest judge on the federal bench and served on the court from 1875 until his death in 1896. During this period, the Western District of Arkansas was one of the busiest federal courts in the entire country.In Judge Parker's 21 years on the bench, 13,490 felony charges were docketed, including 344 charges carrying the death penalty. Since there were no state courts in the Indian Territory (only tribal courts), the United States District court had original jurisdiction over murder charges, an oddity for the federal courts. Judge Parker sentenced 160 defendants to the Fort Smith gallows
Gallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...
, and 79 of these defendants were actually hanged to death. In another oddity, no federal court had appellate jurisdiction over Judge Parker, and the only avenue for relief from a death sentence in his court was through presidential pardon; Congress remedied this in 1889 and gave the United States Supreme Court appellate jurisdiction over death sentences from Judge Parker's court.
W.H.H. Clayton served as the United States Attorney in Judge Parker's court from 1874 until 1893, with the exception of the four years comprising the first non-consecutive term of Democratic President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
. During his 14 years in this position, Clayton had charge of over 10,000 cases (including misdemeanors) tried before the court and, during that time, he convicted 80 men of murder—a number greater than any other prosecutor in the United States—and 40 of these men were executed. Clayton was known as "the ablest prosecutor in the Southwest." During Judge Parker's eventful first year with the Court, Clayton obtained capital convictions in 15 out of 18 murder cases. On September 3, 1875, Judge Parker ordered a mass hanging of six men at once on the Fort Smith gallows.
During his time with Judge Parker, Clayton had many interesting cases involving some of the most notorious criminals of the time. Clayton sent the infamous Belle Starr
Belle Starr
Myra Maybelle Shirley Reed Starr , better known as Belle Starr, was a notorious American outlaw.-Early life:...
and her husband to federal prison for horse theft, and, upon her release, Starr plotted but failed to carry out an assassination attempt on Clayton during a Wild West Show at the Sebastian County, Arkansas Fair. This incident was later dramatized in 1961 on the television show Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. It continued from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series...
in an episode entitled "A Bullet for the D.A."http://www.tvguide.com Clayton was also the original prosecutor in the famous case of United States v. Allen, which was reported in the United States Supreme Court reporters as Allen v. United States, 164 U.S. 492, 17 S.Ct. 154 (1896). The Allen case is well-known to present-day trial attorneys for its discussion of the Allen charge
Allen charge
Allen v. United States, 164 U.S. 492 , is a U.S. Supreme Court case that, inter alia, approved the use of a jury instruction intended to prevent a hung jury by encouraging jurors in the minority to reconsider...
, given to deadlocked juries in an attempt to avoid a hung jury
Hung jury
A hung jury or deadlocked jury is a jury that cannot, by the required voting threshold, agree upon a verdict after an extended period of deliberation and is unable to change its votes due to severe differences of opinion.- England and Wales :...
.
W.H.H. Clayton also enjoyed a very successful legal career in Fort Smith during the years that he was not serving as United States Attorney. Clayton handled both civil and criminal cases while in the private practice of law, including cases in front of the United States Supreme Court. One of Clayton's most famous cases involved his defense of legendary U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves
Bass Reeves
Bass Reeves was one of the first African Americans to receive a commission as a Deputy U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi River....
against charges of murdering his posse cook. Reeves, one of the only black U.S. Marshals in the United States, had worked closely with Clayton while Clayton was still the U.S. Attorney, and Clayton was able to convince a jury to acquit Bass in a trial in front of Judge Parker.
Life and career in the Indian Territory and Oklahoma
When William McKinleyWilliam McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
was elected President in 1896, he appointed W.H.H. Clayton as a United States federal judge
United States federal judge
In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....
for the newly created federal court for the Central District of the Indian Territory. Clayton moved to McAlester, Oklahoma, the site of the new federal court for the Central District. Congress had created this court in an effort to relieve the overworked Western District of Arkansas of some of its huge caseload, although Judge Parker was upset with this stripping of his authority. When Oklahoma became a state in 1907, Congress created a new set of federal District Courts and dissolved the old Indian Territory District Courts, causing Clayton to lose his federal judgeship. During his 10 years as a federal judge, Clayton had issued important decisions defining Indian rights, which had long term effects on the future history of Oklahoma.
Clayton had been involved in a scandal relating to an alleged Oklahoma land grab in 1889. The charges were made by Democrats in 1889, after President Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
had nominated Clayton for re-appointment to his United States Attorney position, following the Grover Cleveland interregnum period. No formal action was ever taken on the charges, and the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
confirmed President Harrison's nomination of Clayton.
In 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
appointed Clayton to serve on the Oklahoma Districting and Canvassing Board. Clayton had also been a delegate selected to write the new constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
for the State of Oklahoma. After his retirement from the federal bench, Clayton resumed the practice of law in McAlester with his son. Clayton died in McAlester on December 14, 1920, and is buried in the national cemetery at Fort Smith.