William P. Fessenden

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William P. Fessenden

William Pitt Fessenden (born October 16, 1806 in Boscawen , Merrimack County , New Hampshire , †  September 8, 1869 in Portland , Maine ) was an American politician , Senator and Treasury Secretary .

Family, studies and professional career

Fessenden came from an influential family. His father, Samuel Fessenden, was not only a Massachusetts MP , but an early opponent of slavery . Two of his brothers, Samuel C. Fessenden and Thomas Fessenden , were also members of the US House of Representatives. His three sons served in the Civil War : Samuel fell in the Second Battle of the Bull Run , while James rose to Brigadier General and Francis even to Major General .

He himself completed a general education course at Bowdoin College in Brunswick until 1823 and then trained as a lawyer in his father's office, which he finished in 1827 with admission to the bar. In the same year he was a co-founder of the Temperance Society of Maine. He later served on the board of directors of the Smithsonian Institution for several years . In 1858 his alma mater , Bowdoin College, awarded him an honorary doctorate in law. In 1864 he received an honorary doctorate in law from Harvard University ( LL.D. ).

Political career

Congressman

He began his political career as a member of the Maine House of Representatives , to which he had served four terms since 1832. On March 4, 1841, he became a member of the United States House of Representatives . There he represented the interests of the Whig Party in the 2nd constituency of Maine until March 3, 1843 . In this capacity he was also chairman of the constitutional revision committee. He was then again from 1845 to 1846 a member of the Maine House of Representatives. As a delegate of the National Whig Conventions of 1840, 1848 and 1852, he contributed to the nomination of their presidential candidates William Henry Harrison , Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott , who was defeated by Franklin Pierce in the election.

senator

On March 4, 1853, with the support of the Whigs and opponents of slavery, he was elected a US Senator . As such, he held the second Senate seat for Maine until July 1, 1864. As a Senator, he was one of the main opponents of the Kansas-Nebraska Act presented by Senator Stephen A. Douglas , which provided for the creation of the states of Kansas and Nebraska . Soon after, he also joined the newly formed Republican Party , for which he was re-elected to the Senate in 1860. From 1861 until his appointment as finance minister, he was also chairman of the Senate's finance committee.

Portrait of Fessenden in the Treasury

On March 4, 1865, he was again a Senator from Maine in Congress . He then held this office until his death. From 1865 to 1867 he was again chairman of the finance committee. He then served as chairman of the Joint Congress Committee on Public Buildings and Land . In 1869 he was the successor to Lot M. Morrill, who later became finance minister, as chairman of the Senate Approval Committee . This followed him after his death as chairman of the committee. At the same time he was in 1869 chairman of the United States Congress Joint Committee on the Library . During the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson in February and March 1868, he was one of seven Republican senators who voted against impeachment by the president.

Treasury Secretary under President Lincoln

On July 5, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him to succeed the resigned Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase in his cabinet . However, he only held this office until March 3, 1865. As finance minister, he was mainly responsible for financing government work towards the end of the war of secession . Like his predecessor, he also issued a large amount of money in the form of banknotes , so-called greenbacks , which were not covered by the gold standard and thus led to a rise in inflation .

He was succeeded as Treasury Secretary by the previous Comptroller of the Currency , Hugh McCulloch .

literature

Web links

Commons : William P. Fessenden  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Fessenden, William P.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fessenden, William Pitt (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician, senator, and treasury secretary
DATE OF BIRTH October 16, 1806
PLACE OF BIRTH Boscawen , New Hampshire
DATE OF DEATH September 8, 1869
Place of death Portland