William C. Redfield

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William C. Redfield

William Cox Redfield (* 18th June 1858 in Albany , New York ; †  13. June 1932 in New York City ) was an American politician of the Democratic Party , of the Cabinet of President Woodrow Wilson as the first US Secretary of Commerce belonged.

Life

As a child, Redfield moved with his parents from his native New York to Massachusetts , where the family settled in Pittsfield . He attended public schools but was also homeschooled. He began his professional career as a clerk in the Pittsfield Post Office; later he worked as a traveling salesman for a paper company. At the age of 19, he moved to New York City, where he dealt in office supplies and printing supplies. In the following years he worked in banking and insurance, among other things.

politics

In 1896, Redfield was a delegate at the convention of the newly formed National Democratic Party in Indianapolis . This split from the Democratic Party, also known as the Gold Democrats , was in opposition to Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan and was composed largely of supporters of outgoing President Grover Cleveland . Redfield stood in 1898 as the Gold Democrats candidate for a seat in the US House of Representatives , but failed.

He later returned to the Democrats like many other members of the National Democratic Party and ran again for a seat in Congress in 1910 . This time he was successful - in a usually Republican electoral district - and completed a two-year term. He did not run for re-election because he ran for nomination for vice-presidential candidate of the Democratic Party in 1912. However, this went to Thomas Riley Marshall .

Redfield was still a member of Woodrow Wilson's cabinet , which appointed him his trade secretary . Previously, Wilson had made one of his first official acts to split the previously united Ministry of Commerce and Labor into the Ministry of Commerce and Labor . Redfield served until November 1, 1919 before resigning and returning to New York, where he resumed his banking, investment and insurance business.

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personal data
SURNAME Redfield, William C.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Redfield, William Cox (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH June 18, 1858
PLACE OF BIRTH Albany , New York
DATE OF DEATH June 13, 1932
Place of death New York City