James Guthrie (American politician)

Infobox US Cabinet official
name=James Guthrie

150_px
image_width=
order=21st
title=United States Secretary of the Treasury
term_start=March 7, 1853
term_end=March 6, 1857
predecessor=Thomas Corwin
successor=Howell Cobb
birth_date=birth date|1792|12|5|mf=y
birth_place=Nelson County, Kentucky, U.S.
death_date=death date and age|1869|3|3|1792|12|5
death_place=Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
party=Democrat
spouse=
profession=Politician, Lawyer
religion=

James Guthrie (December 5, 1792 – March 3, 1869) was an American businessman and politician.

He was born in Nelson County, Kentucky, studied law and worked as a lawyer until 1827 when he was elected to the Kentucky General Assembly. He served in Kentucky's lower house from 1827 to 1829, and in the upper house, the Kentucky Senate, from 1831 to 1840.

Guthrie served as president of Kentucky Constitutional Convention in 1849. He hoped the capitol of Kentucky would move to Louisville and occupy the unfinished courthouse he planned in 1835. The courthouse, began in 1835, sat unfinished for 20 years and was derided as "Guthrie's Folly."

A city leader in Louisville, he invested in railroads, and served as president of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad and the Louisville and Portland Canal Company. He also helped found the consolidated University of Louisville and served as its second president.

Guthrie was appointed the 21st Secretary of the Treasury by President Franklin Pierce in 1853 and served for the entirety for Pierce's term.

He was also a member of the Peace Congress of 1861 held in Washington, D.C. to devise means to prevent the impending Civil War.

Guthrie also served in the United States Senate from 1865 through 1868, when he resigned due to ill health. He died the following year in Louisville and was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery.

Guthrie Street in Downtown Louisville is named in his honor.

ee also

*Louisville in the American Civil War

External links

* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6654125 James Guthrie] at Find A Grave
* [http://www.bryansbush.com/hub.php?page=articles&layer=a0809 "James Guthrie: Mr. Louisville"] — Article by Civil War historian/author Bryan S. Bush