James C. Dobbin

James C. Dobbin

James Cochran Dobbin (* 17th January 1814 in Fayetteville , North Carolina ; †  4. August 1857 ) was an American politician of the Democratic Party , of the Cabinet of President Franklin Pierce as Marine Minister belonged.

Life

Dobbin was named after his grandfather James Cochran , who was a member of the US House of Representatives between 1809 and 1813 . He attended schools in his hometown before moving to the University of North Carolina , where he graduated in 1832. After successfully completing his law degree, he was admitted to the bar in 1835 and began practicing in Fayetteville.

politics

His political career began with the election to the US House of Representatives, of which he was a member from 1845 to 1847. In 1848, 1850 and 1852 he then sat in the House of Representatives from North Carolina , where he served as its speaker in 1850 .

In 1852 Dobbin was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Baltimore . There he helped the previously largely unknown candidate Franklin Pierce to receive the nomination for the election of US President. After Pierce won the presidential election , he rewarded Dobbin with the appointment of Secretary of the Navy in his cabinet .

James Dobbin took office on March 8, 1853. He believed that a strong Navy was a guarantee of lasting peace, and he made various reforms. During his tenure, Matthew Perry's expedition to Japan was successfully completed by signing a contract with the Asian state. He gave Isaac Strain the contract for a mapping expedition to the Tapón del Darién to assess the chances of a canal between the Atlantic and the Pacific .

Appreciation

After the end of his tenure, James C. Dobbin died of tuberculosis in his hometown of Fayetteville that same year . The warship USS Dobbin was named after him in memory of the former navy minister .

Web links

• James C. Dobbin in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• James C. Dobbin in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• James C. Dobbin in the Miller Center of Public Affairs of the University of Virginia (English)