George W. Campbell

George Washington Campbell
Engraved portrait of George W. Campbell
5th United States Secretary of the Treasury
In office February 9, 1814 – October 5, 1814
President	James Madison
Preceded by	Albert Gallatin
Succeeded by	Alexander J. Dallas
United States Senator from Tennessee
In office October 10, 1815 – April 20, 1818
Preceded by	Joseph Anderson
Succeeded by	John H. Eaton
In office October 8, 1811 – February 11, 1814
Preceded by	Jenkin Whiteside
Succeeded by	Jesse Wharton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 2nd district
In office March 4, 1805 – March 3, 1809
Preceded by	New district
Succeeded by	Robert Weakley
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's AL district
In office March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1805
Preceded by	New seat
Succeeded by	None
Personal details
Born	(1769-02-09)February 9, 1769 Tongue, Highland, Scotland
Died	February 17, 1848(1848-02-17) (aged 79) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Political party	Democratic-Republican
Spouse(s)	Harriot Stoddert Campbell
Alma mater	College of New Jersey
Profession	Politician, Lawyer

George Washington Campbell (February 9, 1769 – February 17, 1848) was an American statesman who served as a U.S. Representative, Senator, Tennessee Supreme Court Justice, U.S. Ambassador to Russia and the 5th United States Secretary of the Treasury from February to October 1814.

Biography

Born in Tongue, Highland, he immigrated as a young boy to North Carolina in 1772 with his parents. He graduated from the College of New Jersey (which is now Princeton University) in 1794^[1] and began studying law. He was admitted to the bar in North Carolina and began practicing in Knoxville, Tennessee.

U.S. House

He was elected to the United States House of Representatives as the Representative from Tennessee's at-large congressional district in 1803. He served in the House from 1805–1809, in the 8th, 9th, and 10th Congresses. During the 10th Congress, he was the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. He was also one of the managers appointed in 1804 to conduct the impeachment hearings for John Pickering, judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire, and later in the same year, the impeachment hearings against Samuel Chase, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He wounded Representative Barrent Gardiner of New York during a duel at Blandensburg, Maryland in 1808. Source Wikipedia article on Barrent Gardiner

He left Congress in 1809 to become judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court, serving until 1811.

U.S. Senate and ambassadorship

He served as a United States Senator from Tennessee twice, once from 1811 to 1814, having been elected to fill the seat of Jenkin Whiteside, and again from 1815 to 1818. His first service was from October 8, 1811 to February 11, 1814, when he resigned to accept appointment as the United States Secretary of the Treasury. He returned to the Senate on October 10, 1815. He served as the first chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and its predecessor from December 4, 1815, until his resignation from the Senate on April 20, 1818; on this occasion to accept appointment as United States Ambassador to Russia, a position he held from 1818-1821. Campbell served as a member of the French Spoliation Claims Commission in 1831.

Secretary of the Treasury

Appointed Secretary of the Treasury by James Madison, he faced national financial disorder brought on by the War of 1812. Congress had failed to recharter the First Bank of the United States after its charter expired in 1811, and appropriations for the war were unavailable, so Campbell had to convince Americans to buy government bonds. He was forced to meet to lenders terms, selling government bonds at exorbitant interest rates. In September, 1814 the British occupied Washington, D.C. and the credit of the government was lowered even further. Campbell was unsuccessful in his efforts to raise money through additional bond sales and he resigned that October after only eight months in office, disillusioned and in bad health.

He died in 1848 and is buried at Nashville City Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee.

Campbell County, Tennessee, is named in his honor.

References

• United States Congress. "George W. Campbell (id: C000083)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. 
• Google Books, page 272 for Year 1794

External links

• Media related to George W. Campbell at Wikimedia Commons

United States Secretaries of the Treasury
18th century	Hamilton Wolcott Dexter
19th century	Gallatin Campbell Dallas Crawford Rush Ingham McLane Duane Taney Woodbury Ewing Forward Spencer Bibb Walker Meredith Corwin Guthrie Cobb Thomas Dix Chase Fessenden McCulloch Boutwell Richardson Bristow Morrill Sherman Windom Folger Gresham McCulloch Manning Fairchild Windom Foster Carlisle Gage
20th century	Shaw Cortelyou MacVeagh McAdoo Glass Houston Mellon Mills Woodin Morgenthau Vinson Snyder Humphrey Anderson Dillon Fowler Barr Kennedy Connally Shultz Simon Blumenthal Miller Regan Baker Brady Bentsen Rubin Summers
21st century	O'Neill Snow Paulson Geithner Lew Mnuchin (nominee)

United States Senators from Tennessee
Class 1	Cocke A. Jackson Smith J. Anderson Campbell Eaton Grundy Foster Grundy Nicholson Foster Turney Jones Johnson Patterson Brownlow Johnson Key Bailey H. Jackson Whitthorne Bate Frazier Lea McKellar Gore Sr. Brock III Sasser Frist Corker
Class 2	Blount J. Anderson Cocke Smith Whiteside Campbell Wharton Williams A. Jackson White A. Anderson Jarnagin Bell Nicholson Fowler Cooper Harris Turley Carmack Taylor Sanders Webb Shields Tyson Brock I Hull Bachman Berry Stewart Kefauver Walters Bass Baker Gore Jr. Mathews Thompson Alexander

Chairmen of the United States Senate Committee on Finance
Campbell Eppes Sanford Holmes Lowrie Smith Webster Wright Clay Evans Woodbury Calhoun Lewis Atherton Dickinson Hunter Pearce Fessenden Sherman Fessenden Sherman Morrill Bayard Morrill Voorhees Morrill Aldrich Penrose Simmons Penrose McCumber Smoot Harrison George Millikin George Millikin Byrd Long Dole Packwood Bentsen Moynihan Packwood Roth Baucus Grassley Baucus Grassley Baucus Wyden Hatch

Chairmen of the United States House Committee on Ways and Means
Fitzsimons W. Smith Harper Griswold Randolph Clay G. Campbell Eppes Bacon Cheves Eppes Lowndes S. Smith McLane Randolph McDuffie Verplanck Polk Cambreleng J. W. Jones Fillmore McKay Vinton Bayly Houston L. Campbell J. G. Jones Phelps Sherman Stevens Morrill Schenck Hooper Dawes Morrison Wood Tucker Kelley Morrison R. Mills McKinley Springer Wilson Dingley Payne Underwood Kitchin Fordney Green Hawley Collier Doughton Knutson Doughton Reed Cooper W. Mills Ullman Rostenkowski Gibbons Archer Thomas Rangel Levin Camp Ryan Johnson Brady