He was a member of the North Carolina State House of Commons (1831 and 1834–1836), serving as speaker the last year.

President Martin Van Buren appointed him Chargé d'Affaires to Belgium, but he declined the position.

The North Carolina legislature elected Whig George Edmund Badger to replace Haywood in the Senate.

He resumed the practice of law in Raleigh, where he died on October 7, 1852, and was buried in the Old City Cemetery.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress