Thomas Corwin

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Thomas Corwin Corwin's signature

Thomas "Tom" Corwin (born July 29, 1794 in Bourbon County , Kentucky , †  December 18, 1865 in Washington, DC ) was an American politician, US Senator , Governor of Ohio and Treasury Secretary .

Studies, career and family

Corwin, whose family moved to Lebanon , Ohio when he was four years old, studied law , which he graduated in 1817 with admission to the bar. After a year as a lawyer in Lebanon, he was prosecutor in Warren County from 1818 to 1828 .

After retiring from political life, he worked as a lawyer in Washington from 1864 until his death the following year.

His older brother Moses Bledso Corwin and his nephew Franklin Corwin were also members of Congress.

Political career

Ohio MP and Congressman

Corwin began his political career in 1822 with the election to the House of Representatives from Ohio . There he represented the interests of the Whigs first until 1823 and then again in 1829 .

In 1830 he was a deputy of the US House of Representatives voted, until his resignation on May 30, 1840 he dated 4 March 1831 representatives of the fourth congressional district belonged Ohio. In 1858 he was re-elected to the US House of Representatives. There he represented now from March 4, 1859 to March 12, 1861 the interests of the Republican Party for the seventh congressional district.

Portrait of Thomas Corwin in the Treasury

Ohio Governor and Senator

On May 30, 1840, he resigned as a congressman to run for governor of Ohio. After the election victory over incumbent Wilson Shannon , he was governor from December 16, 1840 to December 14, 1842 and was then replaced by his predecessor Shannon after he had defeated him again in the October 1842 election. His term as governor was largely unsuccessful, as most of his proposals were rejected by the opposition and he was therefore unable to find majorities.

Corwin was elected US Senator on March 4, 1845 . As such, he represented Ohio State in Washington until July 20, 1850.

Treasury Secretary under President Fillmore

After his resignation as Senator, President Millard Fillmore appointed him on July 23, 1850, as Secretary of the Treasury in his cabinet .

Like his immediate predecessor, William M. Meredith, he believed in the need for a protective tariff ; however, he held back with the introduction of drastic or sudden changes to the free trade customs law of 1846. On the other hand, as Whig, it was not possible for him to achieve a successful change in tax law anyway, since the Democratic Party had a majority in Congress during his tenure.

With the end of Fillmore's presidency on March 4, 1853, his term also ended.

Corwin amendment

One of Corwin's last official acts as Senator was to introduce the so-called Corwin Amendment into the Senate in March 1863, which was to enshrine the maintenance of slavery in the United States in the constitution. It was not adopted due to the civil war, among other things. On the contrary, two years later with the 13th Amendment, slavery was officially abolished.

Envoy to Mexico

A few days after his retirement as congressman on 12 March 1861 appointed him President Abraham Lincoln to the ambassador in Mexico . In Mexico he was regarded as a senator because of his negative attitude towards the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848. Despite the tense situation caused by the civil war, he managed to establish good relations with the neighboring state.

literature

Web links

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personal data
SURNAME Corwin, Thomas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Corwin, Tom (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH July 29, 1794
PLACE OF BIRTH Bourbon County , Kentucky
DATE OF DEATH December 18, 1865
Place of death Washington, DC