William Marcy | |
|---|---|
 Marcy c. 1856 | |
| 21stUnited States Secretary of State | |
| In office March 7, 1853 – March 6, 1857 | |
| President | Franklin Pierce James Buchanan |
| Preceded by | Edward Everett |
| Succeeded by | Lewis Cass |
| 20thUnited States Secretary of War | |
| In office March 6, 1845 – March 4, 1849 | |
| President | James K. Polk |
| Preceded by | William Wilkins |
| Succeeded by | George W. Crawford |
| 11th Governor of New York | |
| In office January 1, 1833 – December 31, 1838 | |
| Lieutenant | John Tracy |
| Preceded by | Enos T. Throop |
| Succeeded by | William H. Seward |
| United States Senator fromNew York | |
| In office March 4, 1831 – January 1, 1833 | |
| Preceded by | Nathan Sanford |
| Succeeded by | Silas Wright |
| Associate Justice of theNew York Supreme Court | |
| In office 1829 – March 4, 1831 | |
| 8thComptroller of New York | |
| In office February 13, 1823 – January 21, 1829 | |
| Governor | Joseph C. Yates DeWitt Clinton Nathaniel Pitcher Martin Van Buren |
| Preceded by | John Savage |
| Succeeded by | Silas Wright |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Learned Marcy (1786-12-12)December 12, 1786 Southbridge, Massachusetts |
| Died | July 4, 1857(1857-07-04) (aged 70) Ballston Spa, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Albany Rural Cemetery |
| Party | Democratic-Republican (before 1825) Democratic (after 1825) |
| Spouse(s) | Dolly Newell Cornelia Knower |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Brown University (BA) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service | New York State Militia |
| Years of service | 1812–1823 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Commands | Adjutant General of New York |
| Battles/wars | War of 1812 |
William Learned Marcy (December 12, 1786 – July 4, 1857) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge who served asU.S. Senator, the eleventhGovernor ofNew York,U.S. Secretary of War and the twenty-firstU.S. Secretary of State. In the latter office, he negotiated theGadsden Purchase, the last major acquisition of land in thecontiguous United States.
Born in Southbridge, Massachusetts, Marcy established a legal practice inTroy, New York, after graduating fromBrown University. He fought in theWar of 1812, as anensign,first lieutenant andcaptain in the 155th New York Infantry Regiment. Politically, he aligned with theBucktail faction of theDemocratic-Republican Party[1] and became a leading member of theAlbany Regency. As the Democratic-Republicans fractured in the 1820s, he became a member of theDemocratic Party. Between 1821 and 1831, he successively served asAdjutant General of New York,New York State Comptroller, and as an associate justice of theNew York Supreme Court. In 1831, the New York legislature elected Marcy to the U.S. Senate, and he held that position until 1833, when he became the Governor of New York. He served three terms as governor until his defeat in 1838 by theWhig nominee,William Seward.
He served as Secretary of War underJames K. Polk from 1845 to 1849,[1] overseeing theMexican–American War. After leaving the Polk administration, he resumed the practice of law and became a leader of the"Soft" Hunker faction of the New York Democratic Party. He returned to the Cabinet in 1853, serving as Secretary of State underFranklin Pierce. In this role, he resolved adispute about the status of U.S. immigrants abroad and directed U.S. diplomats to dress in the plain style of an ordinary American rather than the court-dress many had adopted from Europe. He also negotiated areciprocity treaty withBritish North America and the 30,000-square-mile (78,000 km2) Gadsden purchase withMexico, acquiring territory in present-dayArizona andNew Mexico. He left office in 1857 and died shortly thereafter.
William Learned Marcy was born in what is nowSouthbridge, Massachusetts, the son of farmer Jedediah Marcy and Ruth (Learned) Marcy. He attended schools inLeicester and graduated from TheWoodstock Academy in Woodstock,Connecticut, before enrolling atBrown University, from which he graduated in 1808. After receiving his degree, Marcy, taught school inDedham, Massachusetts[2] andNewport, Rhode Island. Hestudied law withTroy, New York attorney William L. Bliss, was admitted to the bar in 1811, and began a practice in Troy. Marcy served in the militia during theWar of 1812, first as anensign in the 155th New York Infantry Regiment, and later advancing through the ranks tofirst lieutenant andcaptain. On October 22, 1812, he took part in the storming of the British post atSt. Regis, Canada.[1] He remained with the regiment after the war and attained the rank oflieutenant colonel as its second in command.
Afterward he served as Troy CityRecorder from 1816 to 1818 and 1821 to 1823. As he sided with the Anti-Dewitt Clinton faction of theDemocratic-Republican Party, known as theBucktails, he was removed from office in 1818 after Clinton was elected governor. He was the editor of theTroy Budget newspaper.[1]
In 1812, Marcy married Dolly Newell of Southbridge, who died in 1821. On April 28, 1824, he married Cornelia Knower (1801–1889, daughter ofBenjamin Knower) at theKnower House inGuilderland, New York. They had three children—Samuel (1820–1862), Edmund (1832–1853), and Cornelia (1834–1888). Samuel Marcy was aUnited States Navy officer who was killed on board the USSVincennes during theAmerican Civil War. Edmund was ill when he died on board the USSPreble while going to theAzores in the hopes of regaining his health. Cornelia Marcy was the wife of Edmund Henry Pendleton (1845–1910), aUnion Army veteran who later became a successful author.
Marcy became the leading member of theAlbany Regency, a group of Democratic politicians who controlled State politics between 1821 and 1838. He wasAdjutant General of New York with the rank ofbrigadier general from 1821 to 1823,New York State Comptroller from 1823 to 1829, and an associate justice of theNew York Supreme Court from 1829 to 1831.[1]
In1831, he was electedU.S. Senator from New York by the state legislature as aJacksonian Democrat, and served from March 4, 1831, to January 1, 1833. He resigned upon taking office as governor, to which position he was elected in 1832. He sat on theU.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary in the22nd Congress. Defending Jackson's nomination ofMartin Van Buren as minister to the United Kingdom in 1832, Marcy used the phrase "'to the victor belong the spoils," from which the termspoils system is derived to refer to patronage political appointments.[3][1]
Marcy was elected asGovernor of New York for three terms, from 1833 until 1838. As governor he checked the issue of bank charters by the legislature and secured the enactment, in 1838, of a general banking law, which abolished the monopoly features that resulted from the old banking system.[1] In1838, he was defeated byWhigWilliam H. Seward, which led to a radical change in state politics and then ended the Regency. To the abolitionists who questioned the candidates for governor, Marcy was considered a "doughface," a man with Southern sympathies. He was well aware of the importance of Southern cotton and trade for New York state, both as a major part of exports from New York City and to the textile mills of upstate that processed cotton from the Deep South.
Marcy was appointed as a member of theMexican Claims Commission, serving from 1839 to 1842. Later he was recognized as one of the leaders of theHunkers, the conservative, office-seeking, and pro-compromise-on-slavery faction of theDemocratic Party in New York.[1] He later served in the two pro-slavery administration of James K. Polk and Franklin Pierce.[4]
Marcy served asUnited States Secretary of War in theCabinet ofPresidentJames K. Polk from 1845 until 1849, when he resumed the practice of law in New York. After 1849, Marcy led the "Soft" faction of the Hunkers that supported reconciliation with the Barnburners. He sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1852 but was unsuccessful, in part by "Hard" opposition led byDaniel S. Dickinson.
Marcy returned to public life in 1853 to serve asUnited States Secretary of State under PresidentFranklin Pierce. On June 1 of that year, he issued a circular to American diplomatic agents abroad, recommending that whenever practicable, they should appear in the simple dress of an American citizen. This directive created much discussion in Europe, where diplomats typically worecourt dress. In 1867, Marcy's recommendation was enacted into law by the US Congress.[1]
Marcy resolved theKoszta Affair (1853), related to detention of an unnaturalized American resident by Austria, gaining his freedom. He negotiated theGadsden Purchase from Mexico in the Southwest, the last major land acquisition in thecontiguous United States. It added land to what are now the states of New Mexico and Arizona. With a southern route of territory all under United States control, southerners worked to promote a railroad from Texas to San Diego but were not successful.[citation needed]
In 1854 Marcy had to deal with the complications growing out of the bombardment of Greytown (nowSan Juan de Nicaragua), by the United States warshipCyane in retaliation for insults offered the American minister by its inhabitants and for their refusal to make restitution for damages to American property. The expedition ofWilliam Walker to Nicaragua, and his assumption of its Presidency, in 1855, further complicated the Central American question.[5]
Upon the 1854 seizure bySpain of the American vesselBlack Warrior, on the ground that this vessel had violated the customs regulations of the port ofHavana, some propagandists in theUnited States Congress as well asPierre Soulé, the American minister in Spain, seemed to prefer war and make possible the seizure ofCuba. It was largely due to Marcy's influence that war was averted, Spain restored the confiscated cargo, paid restitution, and remitted the captain's fine. Three American diplomats met to discuss the future of Cuba, but the resultingOstend Manifesto was quite unexpected, and Marcy promptly disavowed the document.[5]
TheCrimean War led to a diplomatic controversy withGreat Britain because of British recruiting in several American cities, and in May 1856, the papers of the British representativeSir John Crampton and several consuls were revoked. The following year the British government sentSir Francis Napier to Washington to take Crampton's place. A diplomatic disagreement with Britain caused Marcy to reject theDeclaration of Paris of 1856, which would have set the rules of international maritime law.[5]
Other affairs that demanded Marcy's attention were aCanadian tariff reciprocity treaty, CommodoreMatthew C. Perry's negotiations for naval and trade access with Japan, and a British fishery dispute.[6]
Marcy died atBallston Spa, New York, on July 4, 1857.[5][7] He was buried at theRural Cemetery inAlbany, New York.[8]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Marcy, William Learned".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 696–697.| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Comptroller of New York 1823–1829 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of New York 1833–1838 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of War 1845–1849 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of State 1853–1857 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 3) from New York 1831–1833 Served alongside:Charles E. Dudley | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of New York 1832,1834,1836,1838 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
