George S. Boutwell
Encyclopedia
George Sewall Boutwell was an American
statesman who served as Secretary of the Treasury under President
Ulysses S. Grant
, the 20th Governor of Massachusetts
, a Senator
and Representative
from Massachusetts
and the first Commissioner of Internal Revenue
under President Abraham Lincoln
.
Born in Brookline, Massachusetts
, Boutwell was raised on his family's farm and attended the public schools as a child. He worked as a schoolteacher in Shirley, Massachusetts
and as a clerk and shopkeeper in Groton, Massachusetts
. In 1836 he began by himself to study law, and was admitted to the bar, but did not enter into active practice for many years. He also began a course of reading, by which he hoped to make up for his want of a college education. Entering politics as a Democrat
and supporter of Martin Van Buren
, he was appointed postmaster
of Groton in 1841 and served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives
from 1842 to 1844 and from 1847 to 1850. He made three unsuccessful runs for the United States House of Representatives
in 1844, 1846 and 1848 and two unsuccessful runs for the governorship in 1849 and 1850. He served as state bank commissioner from 1849 to 1851, was a member of the Harvard University Board of Overseers
from 1850 to 1860 and was elected twice Governor of Massachusetts
in 1851 and 1852, serving from 1851 to 1853. He was a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1853
, helped in founding the Republican Party
in 1854 and was secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education
from 1855 to 1861.
Boutwell attended the Peace Conference of 1861
in Washington, D.C.
which attempted to devise means to prevent the impending American Civil War
. He switched party affiliations to the Republican Party
and served on the military commission
in the Department of War
in 1862 before being appointed the first Commissioner of Internal Revenue
by President
Abraham Lincoln
the same year. He served as commissioner until his election to the United States House of Representatives
where he served from 1863 to 1869. As a congressman, he served on the Joint Committee on Reconstruction
which drafted the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
. In 1868, as a congressman, he served as one of the special prosecutor
s in the impeachment trials of President Andrew Johnson
.
Boutwell resigned from the House in 1869 to accept the appointment of Secretary of the Treasury
from President Ulysses S. Grant
in 1869. As Treasury Secretary, his primary achievements were reorganizing and reforming the Treasury Department
, improving bookkeeping by customs houses
, incorporating the United States Mint
into the Treasury and reducing the national debt. He also managed the Black Friday
crisis of September 23, 1869, warding off gold speculators by flooding the market with Treasury gold.
As Secretary, he opposed diminution of taxation and favored a large reduction of the national debt. In 1870 Congress, at his recommendation, passed an act providing for the funding of the national debt and authorizing the selling of certain bonds, but not authorizing an increase of the debt. Secretary Boutwell attempted to implement the legislation by means of a syndicate, but expended more than half of one per cent, for which he was accused of violating the law. The House Committee of Ways and Means afterward absolved him from this charge.
In 1873, when Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson
was elected to the vice presidency
, Boutwell was elected to Wilson's Senate seat and resigned as Treasury Secretary. In the Senate
, he served as chairman of the Committee on the Revision of the Laws in the 44th Congress
. After leaving the Senate, President Rutherford B. Hayes
appointed him commissioner to codify and edit the Revised Statutes of the United States in 1877 and was the United States counsel before the French and American Claims Commission in 1880.
Boutwell practiced international and patent law in Boston and Washington, D.C.
and turned down the appointment of Secretary of the Treasury from President Chester A. Arthur
in 1884.
He opposed the acquisition by the United States of the Philippines
, became president of the American Anti-Imperialist League
, and was a presidential elector on the William Jennings Bryan
ticket in 1900.
He published several books on education
, taxation
and political economy
. His book The Constitution of the United States at the End of the First Century was considered particularly significant.
Boutwell died in Groton, Massachusetts
, and is buried at Groton Cemetery. His house in the center of Groton, built in 1851 while he was governor, was given to the Groton Historical Society by his daughter, Georgianna. It now serves as the society's headquarters and is opened in the summer as a museum known as the Gov. George S. Boutwell House
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
statesman who served as Secretary of the Treasury under President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
, the 20th Governor of Massachusetts
Governor of Massachusetts
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...
, a Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
and Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and the first Commissioner of Internal Revenue
Commissioner of Internal Revenue
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue is the head of the Internal Revenue Service , a bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury.The office of Commissioner was created by Congress by the Revenue Act of 1862...
under President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
.
Born in Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
, Boutwell was raised on his family's farm and attended the public schools as a child. He worked as a schoolteacher in Shirley, Massachusetts
Shirley, Massachusetts
-Demographics:This article describes the town of Shirley as a whole. Additional demographic detail is available which describes only the central settlement or village within the town, although that detail is included in the aggregate values reported here...
and as a clerk and shopkeeper in Groton, Massachusetts
Groton, Massachusetts
Groton is a town located in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The population was 10,646 at the 2010 census. It is home to two noted prep schools: Groton School, founded in 1884, and Lawrence Academy at Groton, founded in 1793. The historic town hosts the National Shepley Hill Horse...
. In 1836 he began by himself to study law, and was admitted to the bar, but did not enter into active practice for many years. He also began a course of reading, by which he hoped to make up for his want of a college education. Entering politics as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and supporter of Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....
, he was appointed postmaster
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
of Groton in 1841 and served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
from 1842 to 1844 and from 1847 to 1850. He made three unsuccessful runs for the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in 1844, 1846 and 1848 and two unsuccessful runs for the governorship in 1849 and 1850. He served as state bank commissioner from 1849 to 1851, was a member of the Harvard University Board of Overseers
Harvard Board of Overseers
The Harvard Board of Overseers is one of Harvard University's two governing boards...
from 1850 to 1860 and was elected twice Governor of Massachusetts
Governor of Massachusetts
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...
in 1851 and 1852, serving from 1851 to 1853. He was a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1853
Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1853
The Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1853 met in order to consider changes to the Massachusetts Constitution. This was the third such convention in Massachusetts history; the first, in 1779–80, had drawn up the original document, while the second, in 1820-21, submitted the first nine...
, helped in founding the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
in 1854 and was secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education
Massachusetts Board of Education
The Massachusetts Board of Education is the state education agency responsible for interpreting and implementing laws relevant to public education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Public education in the Commonwealth is organized according to the regulations adopted by the BOE, which are good...
from 1855 to 1861.
Boutwell attended the Peace Conference of 1861
Peace conference of 1861
The Peace Conference of 1861 was a meeting of more than 100 of the leading politicians of the antebellum United States held in Washington, D.C., in February 1861 that was meant to prevent what ultimately became the Civil War. The success of President Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party in the...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
which attempted to devise means to prevent the impending American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He switched party affiliations to the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and served on the military commission
Military tribunal
A military tribunal is a kind of military court designed to try members of enemy forces during wartime, operating outside the scope of conventional criminal and civil proceedings. The judges are military officers and fulfill the role of jurors...
in the Department of War
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
in 1862 before being appointed the first Commissioner of Internal Revenue
Commissioner of Internal Revenue
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue is the head of the Internal Revenue Service , a bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury.The office of Commissioner was created by Congress by the Revenue Act of 1862...
by President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
the same year. He served as commissioner until his election to the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
where he served from 1863 to 1869. As a congressman, he served on the Joint Committee on Reconstruction
United States Congress Joint Committee on Reconstruction
The Joint Committee on Reconstruction, also known as the Joint Committee of Fifteen, was a joint committee of the United States Congress that played a major role in Reconstruction in the wake of the American Civil War...
which drafted the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
. In 1868, as a congressman, he served as one of the special prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
s in the impeachment trials of President Andrew Johnson
Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States, was one of the most dramatic events in the political life of the United States during Reconstruction, and the first impeachment in history of a sitting United States president....
.
Boutwell resigned from the House in 1869 to accept the appointment of Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
from President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
in 1869. As Treasury Secretary, his primary achievements were reorganizing and reforming the Treasury Department
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
, improving bookkeeping by customs houses
Custom House
A custom house or customs house was a building housing the offices for the government officials who processed the paperwork for the import and export of goods into and out of a country. Customs officials also collected customs duty on imported goods....
, incorporating the United States Mint
United States Mint
The United States Mint primarily produces circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792, and placed within the Department of State...
into the Treasury and reducing the national debt. He also managed the Black Friday
Black Friday (1869)
Black Friday, September 24, 1869 also known as the Fisk/Gould scandal, was a financial panic in the United States caused by two speculators’ efforts to corner the gold market on the New York Gold Exchange. It was one of several scandals that rocked the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant...
crisis of September 23, 1869, warding off gold speculators by flooding the market with Treasury gold.
As Secretary, he opposed diminution of taxation and favored a large reduction of the national debt. In 1870 Congress, at his recommendation, passed an act providing for the funding of the national debt and authorizing the selling of certain bonds, but not authorizing an increase of the debt. Secretary Boutwell attempted to implement the legislation by means of a syndicate, but expended more than half of one per cent, for which he was accused of violating the law. The House Committee of Ways and Means afterward absolved him from this charge.
In 1873, when Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson
Henry Wilson
Henry Wilson was the 18th Vice President of the United States and a Senator from Massachusetts...
was elected to the vice presidency
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
, Boutwell was elected to Wilson's Senate seat and resigned as Treasury Secretary. In the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, he served as chairman of the Committee on the Revision of the Laws in the 44th Congress
44th United States Congress
The Forty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1875 to March 4, 1877, during the seventh and...
. After leaving the Senate, President Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
appointed him commissioner to codify and edit the Revised Statutes of the United States in 1877 and was the United States counsel before the French and American Claims Commission in 1880.
Boutwell practiced international and patent law in Boston and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and turned down the appointment of Secretary of the Treasury from President Chester A. Arthur
Chester A. Arthur
Chester Alan Arthur was the 21st President of the United States . Becoming President after the assassination of President James A. Garfield, Arthur struggled to overcome suspicions of his beginnings as a politician from the New York City Republican machine, succeeding at that task by embracing...
in 1884.
He opposed the acquisition by the United States of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, became president of the American Anti-Imperialist League
American Anti-Imperialist League
The American Anti-Imperialist League was an organization established in the United States on June 15, 1898 to battle the American annexation of the Philippines as an insular area...
, and was a presidential elector on the William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
ticket in 1900.
He published several books on education
Education in the United States
Education in the United States is mainly provided by the public sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. Child education is compulsory.Public education is universally available...
, taxation
Taxation in the United States
The United States is a federal republic with autonomous state and local governments. Taxes are imposed in the United States at each of these levels. These include taxes on income, property, sales, imports, payroll, estates and gifts, as well as various fees.Taxes are imposed on net income of...
and political economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
. His book The Constitution of the United States at the End of the First Century was considered particularly significant.
Boutwell died in Groton, Massachusetts
Groton, Massachusetts
Groton is a town located in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The population was 10,646 at the 2010 census. It is home to two noted prep schools: Groton School, founded in 1884, and Lawrence Academy at Groton, founded in 1793. The historic town hosts the National Shepley Hill Horse...
, and is buried at Groton Cemetery. His house in the center of Groton, built in 1851 while he was governor, was given to the Groton Historical Society by his daughter, Georgianna. It now serves as the society's headquarters and is opened in the summer as a museum known as the Gov. George S. Boutwell House
Gov. George S. Boutwell House
Gov. George S. Boutwell House is a historic house at 172 Main Street in Groton, Massachusetts that was home to Governor George S. Boutwell.It was built in 1851 and added to the National Register in 2005....
.
Publications
- Educational Topics and Institutions (Boston, 1859)
- Manual of the United States Direct and Revenue Tax (1863)
- Decisions on the Tax Law (New York, 1863)
- Tax-Payer's Manual (Boston, 1865)
- Speeches and Papers (1867)
- Why I am a Republican (Hartford, Conn., 1884)
- The Constitution of the United States at the End of the First Century (1895)
- Reminiscences of Sixty Years in Public Affairs (2 vols., New York, 1902)