William H. Woodin

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Portrait of William H. Woodin in the Treasury

William Hartman Woodin (born May 27, 1868 in Berwick , Columbia County , Pennsylvania , †  May 3, 1934 in New York City ) was an American industrialist and Republican Treasury Secretary of the United States in the government of the Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt .

Professional career

After attending school, Woodin graduated from Columbia University's Mining School , but dropped out before graduation. He then worked primarily in the private sector and rose to President of the American Car and Foundry Company in 1922 , a freight car and railroad car company . Later he was chairman of the board of the American Locomotive Company (Alco), the Montreal Locomotive Works and other locomotive construction companies . He was also a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Secretary of the Treasury under Roosevelt

Woodin's signature on US $ banknotes

After Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected President , Woodin, previously one of his main supporters, was appointed Treasury Secretary in his cabinet on March 5, 1933 . During his tenure he was involved in several decisions to combat the Great Depression. Woodin had to win back the confidence of investors in particular, which he succeeded in particular by introducing government seals of approval for private banks. The state-run Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was also established for this purpose . Due to the global economic crisis, the USA also moved away from backing the US dollar with gold , the so-called gold standard , during his tenure .

Due to his poor health, however, he had to resign from his ministerial office on December 31, 1933. He was previously represented by his Under-Secretary of State Dean Acheson for much of his tenure . He was succeeded as Treasury Secretary on January 1, 1934 Henry Morgenthau , who had already served as Acting Treasury Secretary since November 17, 1933, after the original representative Acheson had previously resigned in protest against some financial policy decisions.

In addition to his poor health, another reason for his resignation was a banking scandal, as the US Senate Banking Committee had determined that his name appeared on a list of preferred customers of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and a number of preferred shares had been handed over to him .

Web links and background literature

Commons : William Hartman Woodin  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
personal data
SURNAME Woodin, William H.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Woodin, William Hartman (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American industrialist and minister
DATE OF BIRTH May 27, 1868
PLACE OF BIRTH Berwick , Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH May 3, 1934
Place of death New York City