John Forsyth (Georgia)

John Forsyth
13th United States Secretary of State
In office
July 1, 1834  March 3, 1841
President Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren
Preceded by Louis McLane
Succeeded by Daniel Webster
33rd Governor of Georgia
In office
November 7, 1827  November 4, 1829
Preceded by George M. Troup
Succeeded by George R. Gilmer
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's at-large district
In office
March 4, 1813  November 23, 1818
Preceded by New appointment
Succeeded by Robert R. Reid
In office
March 4, 1823  March 3, 1827
Preceded by Robert R. Reid
Succeeded by converted to districts
United States Senator
from Georgia
In office
November 23, 1818  February 17, 1819
Preceded by George Troup
Succeeded by Freeman Walker
In office
November 9, 1829  June 27, 1834
Preceded by John M. Berrien
Succeeded by Alfred Cuthbert
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
Personal details
Born (1780-10-22)October 22, 1780
Fredericksburg, Virginia, U.S.
Died October 21, 1841(1841-10-21) (aged 60)
Washington D.C., U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Clara Meigs Forsyth
Alma mater College of New Jersey
Profession Politician, Lawyer

John Forsyth, Sr. (October 22, 1780  October 21, 1841) was a 19th-century American politician from Georgia.

Biography

Forsyth was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia. His father Robert Forsyth was the first U.S. Marshal to be killed in the line of duty in 1794. He was an attorney who graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1799. He married Clara Meigs, daughter of Josiah Meigs, in 1801 or 1802. One of his sons, John Forsyth, Jr., later became a newspaper editor. He served in the United States House of Representatives (1813–1818 and 1823–1827), the United States Senate (1818–1819 and 1829–1834), and as the 33rd Governor of Georgia (1827–1829). He was the United States Secretary of State from 1834 until 1841. In this role he led the government's response to the Amistad case. He was a loyal follower of Andrew Jackson and opposed John C. Calhoun in the issue of nullification. Forsyth was appointed as Secretary of State in reward for his efforts. He led the pro-removal reply to Theodore Frelinghuysen about the Indian Removal Act of 1830. He supported slavery and was a slaveholder himself. He died in Washington, D.C., and was buried in Congressional Cemetery. Forsyth County, Georgia is named for him.[1] He died the day before his 61st birthday.

In popular culture

Notes

  1. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 128.

References

External links

John Forsyth at Find a Grave

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
New seat from congressional apportionment
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's at-large congressional district

March 4, 1813 – November 23, 1818
Succeeded by
Robert R. Reid
Preceded by
Robert R. Reid
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's at-large congressional district

March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1827
Succeeded by
Converted to districts
Preceded by
Redistricted from At Large District
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's 2nd congressional district

March 4, 1827 – November 7, 1827
Succeeded by
Richard Henry Wilde
United States Senate
Preceded by
George Troup
U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Georgia
November 23, 1818  February 17, 1819
Served alongside: Charles Tait
Succeeded by
Freeman Walker
Preceded by
John M. Berrien
U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Georgia
November 9, 1829 – June 27, 1834
Served alongside: George Troup and John P. King
Succeeded by
Alfred Cuthbert
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
George W. Erving
United States Minister to Spain
May 18, 1819 – March 2, 1823
Succeeded by
Hugh Nelson
Political offices
Preceded by
George Troup
Governor of Georgia
1827–1829
Succeeded by
George R. Gilmer
Preceded by
Louis McLane
U.S. Secretary of State
Served under: Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren

July 1, 1834 – March 3, 1841
Succeeded by
Daniel Webster
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, May 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.