William M. Meredith

William M. Meredith

Infobox US Cabinet official
name=William Morris Meredith



image_width=200px
caption=Brady Daguerreotype of William Meredith taken during the 1840s
order=19th
title=United States Secretary of the Treasury
term_start=March 8, 1849
term_end=July 22, 1850
predecessor=Robert J. Walker
successor=Thomas Corwin
birth_date=birth date|1799|6|8|mf=y
birth_place=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
death_date=death date and age|1873|8|17|1799|6|8
death_place=U.S.
party=Whig
spouse=
profession=Politician, Lawyer
religion=

William Morris Meredith (June 8, 1799 – August 17, 1873) was an American lawyer and politician.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1812. After he was admitted to the bar 1817, he began practicing law.

He served in the Pennsylvania General Assembly from 1824 to 1828, and was president of the Philadelphia City Council from 1834 until 1849. He was also United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 1841.

President Zachary Taylor, wanting a Pennsylvanian Whig for his cabinet, appointed William M. Meredith to be the 19th Secretary of the Treasury. He began his term in office in March 1849. Meredith strongly opposed the free trade legislation passed the year before under his predecessor Robert J. Walker. He felt that there was a need to protect the American workman, who was subject to competition from poorly paid European labor. Meredith's principal contribution in office was his "Annual Report of 1849" in which he set forth an elaborate argument for a protective tariff.

The increase in the public debt due to the Mexican-American War and the acquisition of California gave Meredith additional argument for raising revenue through higher import duties, but no action was taken on the tariff during Meredith's term. He also recommended a revision of the Coast Survey Code, which had not been changed since its implementation in 1806, because the Coast Survey had seen great expansion and improvement with the introduction of steam powered ships. Meredith resigned with the rest of the Presidential Cabinet upon Taylor's death in 1850.

He was the state attorney general of Pennsylvania from 1861 from 1867. In 1870, Meredith served as a member of a commission working out the settlement of the "Alabama" claims. He died in 1873.

He was a grandnephew of Gouverneur Morris.

References

"Parts of this article are based on information taken from the official web site of the US Treasury, which is a branch of the US Government, and thus presumed to be in the public domain."


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • William M. Meredith — William Morris (Norris) Meredith (* 8. Juni 1799 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; † 17. August 1873) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker, der dem Kabinett von US Präsident Zachary Taylor als F …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Collis Meredith — Sir William Collis Meredith, QC (23 May, 1812 26 Feb, 1894) was Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Quebec.Early lifeWilliam Collis Meredith was born on May 23rd, 1812, at No.1 Fitzwilliam Square Dublin, the second son of Thomas Meredith and… …   Wikipedia

  • William Ralph Meredith — Chief Justice The Hon. Sir William Ralph Meredith (31 March 1840 ndash; 21 August 1923) was leader of the Ontario Conservatives from 1878 to 1894, Chief Justice of Ontario from 1912 until his death and Chancellor of the University of Toronto… …   Wikipedia

  • William Morris Meredith, Jr. — Infobox Writer name = William Morris Meredith, Jr. imagesize = 160px caption = pseudonym = birthdate = January 9, 1919 birthplace = New York City, deathdate = May 30, 2007 (age 88) deathplace = New London, Connecticut occupation = Author, poet,… …   Wikipedia

  • Meredith — is a surname and given name of Welsh origin see Meredith (given name). Meredith may refer to: Contents 1 People surnamed Meredith 2 Places 3 Ships 4 Other …   Wikipedia

  • William Meredith — may refer to:* Billy Meredith (1874 1958), British international winger, oft described as football s first superstar * William Morris Meredith, Jr. (1919 2007), American poet and Pulitzer Prize laureate * William Collis Meredith (1812 1894),… …   Wikipedia

  • Meredith — ist ein englischer Vorname, der für beide Geschlechter gebräuchlich ist, wobei er mittlerweile zumeist als weiblicher Vorname verwendet wird. Auch als Nachname ist Meredith häufig zu finden. Der Name ist abgeleitet vom walisischen Maredudd oder… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William H.Crawford — William H. Crawford (Portrait von Daniel Huntington) William Harris Crawford (* 24. Februar 1772 im Amherst County, Virginia; † 15. September 1834 in Crawford, Georgia) war ein US amerikanischer Politi …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William H. Crawford — (Portrait von Daniel Huntington) William Harris Crawford (* 24. Februar 1772 im Amherst County, Virginia; † 15. September 1834 in Crawford, Georgia) war ein US amerikanischer Politi …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William A. Richardson — William Adams Richardson (* 2. November 1821 in Tyngsborough (Middlesex County, Massachusetts; † 19. Oktober 1896 in Washington, D.C.) war ein US amerikanischer Jurist, republikanischer Politiker und Finanzminister …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”