one of the Baltimore Democrats who took part in organizing and conducting honors to commemorate the death of former president James K. Polk. In December 1849, Stewart was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Reverdy Johnson. He served from December 6, 1849 to January 12, 1850. Stewart received the Democratic nomination in the election held by the state legislature, but the legislature was controlled by the Whigs, and Whig Thomas Pratt was elected to complete the term. Stewart then resumed practicing law in Baltimore. In January 1850, the city council appointed Stewart as one of Baltimore's members of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad board of directors. In mid-1850, Stewart publicly supported the Compromise of 1850 and took part in Pro-Union conventions of delegates from the Whig and Democratic parties that sought to prevent the secession of slaveholding states through passage of the compromise measures. In September 1850, Stewart was a featured speaker at the Baltimore Democratic Party rally which opened that year's fall campaign. Stewart was a delegate to the Maryland Constitutional Convention of 1850–1851. In February 1851, he was among several prominent Baltimore residents who publicly petitioned Congress for regular steamship routes between the U.S. and Liberia as part of the colonization movement. In September 1851, Stewart was a delegate to that year's state Democratic convention, which was held to nominate candidates for statewide offices in that November's elections, and he called the meeting to order as its temporary chairman. Stewart was a prominent speaker at Democratic rallies in Baltimore during October 1851, which were held prior to the elections scheduled for that November. During that month, Stewart was also named a manager of the mayoral committee created to organize a public reception for Hungarian revolutionary Lajos Kossuth, who was then visiting the United States. In December 1851, Stewart was one of the managers of a ball sponsored by the city Democratic committee which celebrated the new year and also honored Kossuth. Later career Stewart continued to remain active in the Democratic Party, and took part in numerous organizational meetings and conventions as an officer and delegate. In 1852, he supported the Democratic presidential ticket of Franklin Pierce and William R. King and continued to advocate for implementation of the 1850 compromise. After Pierce won the November 1852 election, in December Stewart was one of the organizers of a celebratory