Samuel Dexter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 3rdUnited States Secretary of the Treasury | |
| In office January 1, 1801 – May 13, 1801 | |
| President | John Adams Thomas Jefferson |
| Preceded by | Oliver Wolcott |
| Succeeded by | Albert Gallatin |
| 4thUnited States Secretary of War | |
| In office June 1, 1800 – January 31, 1801 | |
| President | John Adams |
| Preceded by | James McHenry |
| Succeeded by | Henry Dearborn |
| United States Senator fromMassachusetts | |
| In office March 4, 1799 – May 30, 1800 | |
| Preceded by | Theodore Sedgwick |
| Succeeded by | Dwight Foster |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's1st district | |
| In office March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795 | |
| Preceded by | Fisher Ames |
| Succeeded by | Theodore Sedgwick |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1761-05-14)May 14, 1761 Boston,Massachusetts,British America |
| Died | May 4, 1816(1816-05-04) (aged 54) Athens, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Mount Auburn Cemetery,Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Political party | Federalist (before 1812) Democratic-Republican (from 1812) |
| Spouse | Katharine Gordon (m. 1786) |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Harvard University(BA) |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Signature |  |
Samuel Dexter (May 14, 1761 – May 4, 1816)[1] was an earlyAmerican statesman who served both in Congress and in thePresidential Cabinets ofJohn Adams andThomas Jefferson. A native ofBoston,Massachusetts, Dexter was a 1781 graduate ofHarvard College. After receiving his degree hestudied law, attainedadmission to the bar in 1784, and began to practice inLunenburg, Massachusetts.
AFederalist, Dexter served in theMassachusetts House of Representatives from 1788 to 1790. In 1792 he was elected to theUnited States House of Representatives, and he served in the3rd United States Congress. The state legislature subsequently elected Dexter to theUnited States Senate, and he served from March 1799 to May 1800. Dexter resigned his senate seat to accept appointment as the fourthUnited States Secretary of War, and he served from 1800 to 1801. In January 1801, Dexter was appointed the thirdUnited States Secretary of the Treasury, and he served until resigning in the day before his fortieth birthday.
After leaving office, Dexter practiced law inWashington, D.C. until he returned to Boston in 1805. Dexter joined theDemocratic-Republican Party because of its support for theWar of 1812, and he was a candidate forgovernor in 1814 and 1815. In 1815, Dexter declined PresidentJames Madison's appointment asMinister to Spain. He was a candidate for governor again in 1816, but died on May 4, 1816, aged 54, while visiting his son inAthens, New York. Dexter was buried atMount Auburn Cemetery inCambridge, Massachusetts.
Born inBoston in theProvince of Massachusetts Bay, toSamuel Dexter, a Massachusetts politician and Hannah (Sigourney) Dexter. He was the grandson ofSamuel Dexter, the fourth minister ofDedham. Dexter graduated fromHarvard University in 1781 and thenstudied law inWorcester underLevi Lincoln Sr., the futureAttorney General of the United States.[2] After he passed the bar in 1784, he began practicing inLunenburg,Massachusetts.
.jpg)
He was elected to theMassachusetts House of Representatives and served from 1788 to 1790.[1] He was elected to theUnited States House of Representatives as aFederalist, serving in the3rd Congress.[3] He served in theUnited States Senate from March 4, 1799, to May 30, 1800 (the6th Congress).[4] Between his terms in Congress, he unsuccessfully ran in the9th congressional district in 1796.[5]
During a House discussion on a Naturalization Bill in 1795, Virginia RepresentativeWilliam Branch Giles controversially suggested that all immigrants be forced to take an oath renouncing any titles of nobility they previously held. Dexter responded by questioning why Catholics were not required to denounce allegiance to the Pope, because priestcraft had initiated more problems throughout history than aristocracy. Dexter's points caused an infuriated James Madison to defend American Catholics, many of whom, such asCharles Carroll of Carrollton, had been good citizens during the American Revolution, and to point out that hereditary titles were barred under the Constitution in any event.[6]
In December 1799, he wrote the Senateeulogy forGeorge Washington.[7] Dexter served in the Senate for less than a year, and resigned in order to accept his appointment asUnited States Secretary of War in the administration ofPresidentJohn Adams.[8]
During his time at the War Department he urged congressional action to permit appointment and compensation of field officers for general staff duty.
WhenSecretary of the TreasuryOliver Wolcott Jr. resigned in December 1800, Adams appointed Dexter as interim secretary, and Dexter served from January to May 1801.[1] With incoming President Thomas Jefferson wanting to delay his choice for Secretary of the Treasury,Albert Gallatin, for arecess appointment in May, Dexter agreed to retain his duties as Secretary of the Treasury for the first two months of Jefferson's term.[9] In a letter to his wife on March 5, 1801, Gallatin said that Dexter had behaved "with great civility."[10]
-%240.50-Fr.1379.jpg)
He returned to Boston in 1805 and resumed the practice of law.[1] He also invested in theDedham Manufacturing Company.[11]
He left the Federalists and became aDemocratic-Republican because he supported theWar of 1812. He was an unsuccessful candidate forGovernor of Massachusetts in 1814, 1815 and 1816.[3][2]
Dexter was an ardent supporter of thetemperance movement and presided over its first formal organization inMassachusetts. He was elected a Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1800.[12]
Dexter died at the age of fifty-four inAthens, New York on May 4, 1816, ten days shy of his fifty-fifth birthday. He was buried atMount Auburn Cemetery inCambridge, Massachusetts.[4]
Simon Newton Dexter andAndrew Dexter Jr. were his nephews.
Samuel W. Dexter, founder ofDexter, Michigan, was his son.
Samuel Dexter is the namesake ofDexter, Maine.[13] TheUSRC Dexter (1830) was named in his honor.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives Massachusetts's 1st congressional district 1793–1795 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Massachusetts 1799–1800 Served alongside:Benjamin Goodhue | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of War 1800–1801 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of the Treasury 1801 | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 2 | ||
| Secretary of State |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Secretary of the Treasury |
| |
| Secretary of War |
| |
| Attorney General |
| |
| Secretary of the Navy |
| |
| Secretary of State |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Secretary of the Treasury |
| |
| Secretary of War |
| |
| Attorney General |
| |
| Secretary of the Navy |
| |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
