Robert McClelland (American politician)

Infobox US Cabinet official
name=Robert McClelland

---

order=4th
title=United States Secretary of the Interior
term_start=March 8, 1853
term_end=March 9, 1857
president=Franklin Pierce
predecessor=Alexander H.H. Stuart
successor=Jacob Thompson
order2=9th
title2=Governor of Michigan
term_start2=January 1, 1852
term_end2=March 7, 1853
lieutenant2= Calvin Britain (1852)
Andrew Parsons (1852–1853)
predecessor2=John S. Barry
successor2=Andrew Parsons
birth_date=birth date|1807|8|1|mf=y
birth_place=Greencastle, Pennsylvania, U.S.
death_date=death date and age |1880|8|30|1807|8|1
death_place=Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
party=Democrat
spouse=Sarah Elizabeth Sabine McClelland
profession=Politician, Lawyer, Teacher
religion=

Robert McClelland (August 1, 1807ndash August 30, 1880) was a U.S. statesman, serving as U.S. Representative from Michigan, Governor of Michigan, and United States Secretary of the Interior.

Early life in Pennsylvania

He was born in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, the son of a prominent Franklin County doctor. He entered Dickinson College at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and graduated among the top of his class in 1829. He studied law and was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1831 and practiced law in Pittsburgh for a short time before moving in 1833 to Monroe in what was then the Territory of Michigan.

Life and politics in Michigan

McClelland became a member of the Michigan bar and established a successful law practice in Monroe, and he was a member of the constitutional convention in 1835. After Michigan became a state, Governor Stevens T. Mason offered the positions of state Bank Commissioner and state Attorney General, both of which he declined in order to develop his private practice, although he maintained an active role in the new state's Democratic Party. In 1836, McClelland married Sarah Elizabeth Sabine, with whom he had six children.

McClelland served on the board of regeants of the University of Michigan in 1837 and again in 1850. He represented Monroe County in the Michigan House of Representatives in 1838, 1840 and was speaker of the house in 1843. He served as the mayor of Monroe in 1841. He was elected in 1842 as U.S. Representative from Michigan's 1st congressional district, serving from 1843 to 1849 in the 28th, 29th, and 30th Congresses. Going against the general opinion of the Democratic Party, he was a strong advocate of the Wilmot Proviso, which would have restricted the spread of slavery to new states. He was active in supporting his friend Lewis Cass's unsuccessful run for President in 1848 and did not seek reelection in that year.

McClelland played a prominent role in the Michigan's constitutional convention of 1850. Due to changes adopted in that constitution, he was elected to a one-year term as Governor of Michigan in 1851. He was re-elected to a full two-year term in 1852. During his tenure, he softened his support of the Wilmot Proviso and instead urged support for the Compromise of 1850. He played a prominent role at the national Democratic convention of 1852. He resigned as governor in March 1853 to become the Secretary of the Interior under Franklin Pierce, and was succeeded by his second Lieutenant Governor Andrew Parsons.

Retirement and death

Following the inauguration of James Buchanan in 1857, McClelland retired from public office and began a private law practice in Detroit. In 1867, he briefly returned to public service as a member of the Michigan constitutional convention.

Robert McClelland died in Detroit at the age of 73, and is interred at Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.

References

* [http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mi/county/tuscola/book/book121-132.htm 1892 Portrait & Biographical Album of Genesee, Lapeer & Tuscola Counties, Chapman Bros.]
* [http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~mcclell2/homepage/mcclebio.htm#4 Robert McClelland from the Dictionary of American Biography, Volume XI, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1933.]
*CongBio|M000334
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/mcclelland-mcclory.html#R9M0J5OMU The Political Graveyard]