James Guthrie (politician, 1792)

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Portrait of James Guthrie in the Treasury

James Guthrie (born December 5, 1792 in Nelson County , Kentucky , † March 3, 1869 in Louisville , Kentucky) was an American politician and Treasury Secretary .

Studies and professional career

After attending school in Bardstown , Guthrie worked for some time as a flatboat guide on the Mississippi from 1812 . After studying law in Bardstown, which he graduated from the bar in 1817, he spent ten years as a lawyer in his own law firm and worked for the county. During this time, an opposing lawyer shot him, resulting in a lifelong disability.

After serving as Secretary of the Treasury, Guthrie returned to business. He was President of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad from 1860 to 1868 and led the company through the difficult period of the Civil War . He is also committed to providing financial support for other rail projects in Kentucky. He was also President of the Louisville & Portland Canal Company. Between 1843 and 1846 he was president of the Louisville Medical Institute and, after its merger with the University of Louisville in 1846, president of the university for a year. He was followed by Isaac Caldwell to this office.

Political career

Kentucky MP and Local Patriotism

He began his political career in 1827 when he was elected a member of the Kentucky General Assembly . After two years as a member of the House of Representatives of his state, he worked as a lawyer again before he was a member of the Kentucky Senate from 1831 to 1840 .

During his nine-year membership in the Senate, he was Senate Speaker pro tempore twice . During his Senate membership, he campaigned for the capital of Kentucky to be moved to Louisville . He did not give up this hope for years and lived in Louisville in the 1835 begun but not completed courthouse, popularly known as Guthries Folly ( Guthries Folly ). In 1835 he ran unsuccessfully for election to the US Senator . In 1849 he was a member of the Kentucky Constituent Assembly.

Minister of Finance under President Pierce

On March 7, 1853, President Franklin Pierce appointed him Treasury Secretary in his cabinet. Like all other cabinet members, he was a member of Pierce's government until the end of his term on March 4, 1857. However, the offer made by the new President James Buchanan to head the Treasury under him, he refused.

As Treasury Secretary, he was an energetic and effective agency chief who soon realized that the new, rapidly growing economy needed a reshaping of the way the Treasury Department worked. The government budget in 1853 had a large surplus. On the other hand, the commercial banks suffered from too little money in circulation . For this reason, he used the budget surplus to buy silver bars, to mint coins and to reduce national debt . At the same time he increased the amount of money in circulation and increased the reserves of the commercial banks.

In 1861 he was a member of the Peace Conference, which tried in vain in Washington to prevent the Civil War .

On March 4, 1865, he was elected US Senator for the Democrats . As such, he represented the interests of the first Senate electoral district of the state of Kentucky until 1868. On February 7, 1868, a year before his death, he resigned from his mandate for health reasons.

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Commons : James Guthrie  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
personal data
SURNAME Guthrie, James
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician, senator, and treasury secretary
DATE OF BIRTH December 5, 1792
PLACE OF BIRTH Nelson County , Kentucky
DATE OF DEATH March 3, 1869
Place of death Louisville , Kentucky