Walter Forward

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Portrait of Walter Forward in the Treasury

Walter Forward (born January 24, 1786 in East Granby , Hartford County , Connecticut , †  November 24, 1852 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania ) was an American politician who belonged to the cabinet of US President John Tyler as Treasury Secretary .

Studies, career and family

After his family settled in Pittsburgh in 1803, Forward graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a law degree . After admission to the bar, he opened a law firm in Pittsburgh in 1806. For several years he was also the editor of the democratic journal Tree of Liberty .

His younger brother Chauncey Forward was also a member of Congress for several years.

Political career

Congressman

On October 8, 1822 Forward was a deputy of the Democratic Republicans in the United States House of Representatives voted, where he said retired Henry Baldwin followed. There he represented the interests of the 14th congressional electoral district of Pennsylvania until 1823 and then until March 3, 1825 that of the newly created 16th electoral district. In 1824 he ran unsuccessfully for re-election.

In 1833 he was one of the leading co-founders of the United States Whig Party and represented it in 1837 as a member of the Constitutional Convention of Pennsylvania.

After his resignation as Treasury Secretary in February 1843, he resumed his practice as a lawyer in Pittsburgh. In October 1851, he was appointed presiding judge of the Allegheny County District Court .

Minister of Finance under President Tyler and Ambassador to Denmark

He later also supported William Henry Harrison's and John Tyler's electoral ticket in the 1840 presidential election . For this reason, he was offered the office of District Attorney of West Pennsylvania after the successful election, but he declined. Instead, President Harrison appointed him on March 6, 1841, First Comptroller of the Treasury .

On September 13, 1841, he was appointed by Harrison's successor as President, John Tyler, as Treasury Secretary in his cabinet , replacing Thomas Ewing in this office . As Treasury Secretary, he lifted the independent financial system, which was only introduced in 1840 under Levi Woodbury , and deposited government assets with commercial banks again. Shortly after taking office, he was asked by the then chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, Millard Fillmore , to draw up a plan to increase taxes and levies in order to secure the state budget in crisis situations like 1837 . At the same time, Fillmore asked him for a development plan for a treasury to collect and pay customs revenue . In August 1842 a strong protective tariff was passed.

Due to disagreements with Tyler over financial policy, he resigned on February 28, 1843 from his office as Treasury Secretary and was then replaced by John Canfield Spencer .

On November 8, 1849 it appointed President Zachary Taylor to the charge d'affaires in Denmark . From this post, however, he resigned after just two years on October 10, 1851 and returned to Pennsylvania.

His town was named in honor Forward Township in Allegheny County named.

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Forward, Walter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH January 24, 1786
PLACE OF BIRTH East Granby , Connecticut
DATE OF DEATH November 24, 1852
Place of death Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania