John Spencer | |
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| 16thUnited States Secretary of the Treasury | |
| In office March 8, 1843 – May 2, 1844 | |
| President | John Tyler |
| Preceded by | Walter Forward |
| Succeeded by | George M. Bibb |
| 17thUnited States Secretary of War | |
| In office October 12, 1841 – March 4, 1843 | |
| President | John Tyler |
| Preceded by | John Bell |
| Succeeded by | James Madison Porter |
| 17thSecretary of State of New York | |
| In office February 4, 1839 – October 12, 1841 | |
| Governor | William H. Seward |
| Preceded by | John Adams Dix |
| Succeeded by | Archibald Campbell (Acting) |
| Member of theNew York State Senate | |
| In office 1825–1828 | |
| Speaker of the New York State Assembly | |
| In office January 4, 1820 – June 30, 1820 | |
| Preceded by | Obadiah German |
| Succeeded by | Peter Sharpe |
| Member of theNew York State Assembly | |
| In office 1820–1822 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's21st district | |
| In office March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1819 | |
| Preceded by | Archibald S. Clarke |
| Succeeded by | Albert H. Tracy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Canfield Spencer (1788-01-08)January 8, 1788 |
| Died | May 17, 1855(1855-05-17) (aged 67) Albany, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican (Before 1825) Whig (1825–1855) |
| Spouse | |
| Relatives | Ambrose Spencer (Father) |
| Education | Williams College Union College (BA) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1812–1814 |
| Battles/wars | War of 1812 |
John Canfield Spencer (January 8, 1788 – May 17, 1855) was an American lawyer, politician, judge andUnited States Cabinet secretary in the administration ofPresidentJohn Tyler.[1]
After graduating from Union College in 1806, Spencer practiced law and held various positions, including master of chancery, postmaster, and attorney general. Spencer served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1817 to 1819 and the New York State Assembly and Senate in various years between 1820 and 1833. As an anti-Mason, he investigated the disappearance ofWilliam Morgan, which sparked the Anti-Masonic movement.
In 1841, President John Tyler appointed Spencer as Secretary of War, and in 1843, he became Secretary of the Treasury. Spencer faced challenges in his role as Treasury Secretary, including a deficit, tariffs, and the development of a plan for a Board of Exchequer. President Tyler nominated Spencer for open Associate Justice seats on the Supreme Court twice in 1844, but both attempts failed. Spencer resigned as Treasury Secretary in May 1844 and returned to Albany.
Spencer married Elizabeth Scott Smith in 1809, and they had several children, many of whom died young or under unfortunate circumstances.
John Canfield Spencer was born on January 8, 1788, inHudson, New York. He was the oldest child ofAmbrose Spencer, Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court, and his first wife, Laura Canfield (1768–1807).[2] His sister, Abby Spencer (1790–1839), was married to Albany MayorJohn Townsend.[3] His younger brother, William Augustus Spencer (1792–1854),[4] was married to Eleanora Eliza Lorillard (1801–1843), the daughter ofPeter Abraham Lorillard.[5] His brother, Ambrose Spencer, Jr., was killed at theBattle of Lundy's Lane.[6]
After the death of his mother in 1807, his father married Mary Clinton (1773–1808) in 1808. Mary was the daughter ofJames Clinton and sister of New York GovernorDeWitt Clinton.[2] After Mary's death later that same year, his father remarried again to Katherine Clinton (1778–1837), Mary's sister.[7]
He graduated fromUnion College in 1806, became secretary toNew York GovernorDaniel D. Tompkins in 1807, studied law inAlbany, New York, and wasadmitted to the bar in 1809.[1]
After commencing practice inCanandaigua, New York, in 1809, Spencer became a master ofchancery in 1811.[8]
During theWar of 1812, Spencer served in theUnited States Army where he was appointedbrigadejudge advocate general for the northern frontier.[1] He waspostmaster of Canandaigua, New York in 1814, became assistantattorney general anddistrict attorney for the five westerncounties of New York in 1815 and was elected aDemocratic-Republican to theUnited States House of Representatives in 1816, serving from March 4, 1817, to March 3, 1819.[8] He was a member of the committee that reported unfavorably on the affairs of theSecond Bank of the United States.[1]
In1819, he was the Clintonian candidate forU.S. Senator from New York,[9] but due to a three-cornered contest with BucktailSamuel Young and FederalistRufus King, no-one was elected. He was a member of theNew York State Assembly from 1820 to 1822, and wasSpeaker in 1820. He was a member of theNew York State Senate from 1825 to 1828.[1]
In 1826, Spencer served as aspecial prosecutor to investigate the disappearance ofWilliam Morgan who was arrested,kidnapped and murdered for exposing secrets kept byFreemasons, thus sparking theAnti-Masonic movement.[9] Spencer sided with the anti-Masons and was the author of a manuscript onMasonic rituals. He was again a member of the New York Assembly from 1831 to 1833 and moved toAlbany, New York in 1837.[1] He edited theEnglish edition ofAlexis de Tocqueville'sDemocracy in America and served asSecretary of State of New York from 1839 to 1841.[10]
In 1841,PresidentJohn Tyler appointed Spencer to beSecretary of War in his administration.[9] As War Secretary, he proposed a chain of posts extending fromCouncil Bluffs, Iowa to theColumbia River.[11] He also recommended that the government adhere to arrangements made by Army commanders in the field for compensation of theCreek Indians, who had been forced to move west of the Mississippi. In 1842, his nineteen-year-old son,Philip Spencer, amidshipman, was executed withoutcourt-martial along with two other sailors aboard the brigUSSSomers for allegedly attemptingmutiny.[8]
In 1843, Spencer was appointedSecretary of the Treasury after the resignation ofWalter Forward. As Treasury Secretary, he was preoccupied with thetariff and believed that the deficit and other federal expenditures should be funded by duties on imports rather than by internal taxation, something he was forced to announce for thefiscal year in 1843.[12] The expenditures of the treasury had exceeded its receipts and he advocated additional import duties on articles such ascoffee andtea. To help fund the federal deficit he engaged in controversial issues ofTreasury Notes. He also continued to develop a plan, originally initiated by Forward, for a Board ofExchequer to keep and disburse public funds raised by duties. The Exchequer bill, which reflected continuing interest in some form of independent treasury system, failed due to a political conflict in theUnited States Congress.[9]
On two occasions in 1844, President Tyler nominated Spencer to fill openAssociate Justice seats on theSupreme Court. The first failed attempt was in January, when Tyler put forward Spencer as a replacement for the recently deceasedSmith Thompson. Tyler made the nomination on January 9; on January 31, the Senate rejected Spencer by a 26–21 vote, mainly due to Whig opposition to the president. Tyler then nominated Spencer to fillHenry Baldwin's seat in June but withdrew his name for that ofReuben Hyde Walworth.[13] As one of few northerners in an administration dominated by southern interests, Spencer had found it increasingly difficult to serve in his cabinet post and resigned as Treasury Secretary in May 1844.[9] Thereafter, he returned to Albany.[8]
In 1809, Spencer married Elizabeth Scott Smith (1789–1868). Together, they were the parents of several children, many of whom died in infancy or under unfortunate circumstances:[14]
InCanandaigua, he lived for 36 years in a house at210 Main Street, that was built by GeneralPeter Buell Porter (1773–1844), theUnited States Secretary of War underJohn Quincy Adams, in about 1800.[17]
He died inAlbany,New York, on May 17, 1855. He was interred inAlbany Rural Cemetery beside his wife, Elizabeth.[1]
His grandson, through his daughter Mary, was Henry Lewis Morris (b. 1845), who married Anna Rutherfurd Russell,[18] the daughter of Archibald Russell and Helen Rutherfurd (née Watts) Russell.[7] They were the parents ofLewis Spencer Morris (b. 1884).[19][20]
His grandchildren, through his daughter Laura, included Elizabeth Spencer Clinton (1835–1918), Spencer Clinton (1839–1914), Catharine Clinton (1841–1881), and George Clinton (1846–1934).[21]
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Media related toJohn Canfield Spencer at Wikimedia Commons| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 21st congressional district 1817–1819 Served alongside:Benjamin Ellicott | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Speaker of the New York State Assembly 1820 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State of New York 1839–1841 | Succeeded by Archibald Campbell (Acting) |
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of War 1841–1843 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of the Treasury 1843–1844 | Succeeded by |
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