John Griffin Carlisle

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John Griffin Carlisle (around 1875)
Signature of John Griffin Carlisle

John Griffin Carlisle (born September 5, 1834 in Kenton County , Kentucky , † July 31, 1910 in Manhattan , New York City ) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ). He was Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and Secretary of the Treasury .

Political career

Promotion to Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky

After studying law , which he graduated in 1858, Carlisle worked as a lawyer in the office of the future governor of Kentucky , John W. Stevenson . As early as 1859 he was elected a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives. After completing his two-year term, he settled as a lawyer in Covington at the beginning of the Civil War in 1861 . However, he was elected a member of the Kentucky Senate during Stevenson's tenure as governor from 1867 to 1871 .

In 1871 he won the election to Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, which he was until 1875 Deputy Governor Preston Leslie .

Promotion to Speaker of the House of Representatives

After the end of his tenure as lieutenant governor, he ran successfully for the United States House of Representatives in 1875 . There he represented the interests of the sixth electoral district of Kentucky, which included the areas of Lexington and Danville and the state capital Frankfort until 1889 . On December 3, 1883, he prevailed in the election for Speaker of the House of Representatives ( Speaker ) against the former Democratic spokesman Samuel J. Randall and thus succeeded the Republican J. Warren Keifer .

Carlisle, who unsuccessfully ran for a position as Democratic presidential candidate against Winfield Scott Hancock and Grover Cleveland in 1880 and 1884, also became the leader of the conservative , so-called Bourbon Democrats , who between 1888 and 1904 were the presidential candidates Cleveland and Alton B. Parker supported. His own applications failed in part because of his origins in the Confederate States that were defeated in the civil war . Carlisle County in Kentucky was named in his honor on April 3, 1886 .

On May 26, 1890, he resigned as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Senator, finance minister and withdrawal from politics

After resigning as spokesman, he was named a US Senator as representative of Kentucky in 1890 to complete the late James B. Beck's term . In 1892 he renounced in advance of a new nomination in favor of Cleveland.

Portrait of John G. Carlisle in the Treasury

After Cleveland was elected US President , he was appointed Secretary of the Treasury in his cabinet on March 7, 1893 . As such, he also campaigned for the so-called silver standard to cover the US dollar . The American economic and financial crisis of 1893 led to the end of his political career. After a surge in demand for gold , he realized that the currency's backing by the silver standard was no longer sustainable. At the same time, he advocated a reduction in tariffs . However, in 1894 he had to give up his resistance to the tariff increases by the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act (“Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act”). In 1896 he turned against the Democratic presidential candidate, William Jennings Bryan , who campaigned for the silver standard to be maintained, and instead supported the National Democratic Party candidate and former Governor of Illinois , John M. Palmer , who was in favor of the gold standard began. In 1896, the once recognized politician was so unpopular for his monetary policies that he was even driven off the lectern by throwing bad eggs in the middle of a speech in his hometown of Covington.

On March 5, 1897, his term of office as finance minister ended at the same time as his political career. He then worked as a lawyer in New York until his death.

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personal data
SURNAME Carlisle, John Griffin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician (Democratic Party)
DATE OF BIRTH September 5, 1834
PLACE OF BIRTH Kenton County , Kentucky
DATE OF DEATH July 31, 1910
Place of death Manhattan , New York City