Samuel Dexter

Samuel Dexter

Samuel Dexter (born May 14, 1761 in Boston , Province of Massachusetts Bay , † May 4, 1816 in Cambridge , Massachusetts ) was an American politician who sat in Congress and Cabinet .

Career

He graduated from Harvard University in 1781 and then studied law with Levi Lincoln, Sr. , who later became Attorney General , in Worcester . In 1784 he was admitted to the bar and began to practice in Lunenburg . He was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives and served there from 1788 to 1790. He was then elected to the 3rd United States Congress through the House of Representatives and later to the Senate as a federalist . In December 1799, he wrote a memorable eulogy for George Washington's death. In 1800 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

Under President John Adams he was appointed Secretary of War on June 1, 1800 . During his tenure, he urged Congress to allow measures for the appointment and remuneration of field officers for ongoing staff service. On January 31, 1801, Dexter resigned from this office.

After the resignation of Treasury Secretary Oliver Wolcott, Jr. in December 1800, Adams appointed Dexter as acting Treasury Secretary on January 1, 1801. In this capacity he took the oath of office from Chief Justice John Marshall . When Albert Gallatin , Finance Minister, appointed by Adam's successor Thomas Jefferson , took office on May 14, 1801, Dexter resigned from this office after only a few months.

As a result, Dexter turned down an offer to become ambassador to Spain. In 1805 he returned to Boston and resumed legal practice. He left the Federalist Party to advocate the Republican view of the British-American War . His candidacy in the Massachusetts gubernatorial elections in 1814/1815 was unsuccessful. Dexter turned down several offers from President James Madison to serve as Secretary of State under him . Dexter was a passionate supporter of the abstinence movement and chaired the first official association in Massachusetts.

He died shortly before his 55th birthday and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery , Cambridge.

Web links

• Samuel Dexter in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Samuel Dexter at the Miller Center of Public Affairs of the University of Virginia (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Peter Onuf: Samuel Dexter (1801) - Secretary of the Treasury. ( Memento of the original from October 23, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: millercenter.org, University of Virginia , accessed February 19, 2016.