Thomas Ewing
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Thomas Ewing | |
---|---|
1st United States Secretary of the Interior | |
In office March 8, 1849 – July 22, 1850 | |
President | Zachary Taylor Millard Fillmore |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Thomas McKennan |
14th United States Secretary of the Treasury | |
In office March 4, 1841 – September 11, 1841 | |
President | William Henry Harrison John Tyler |
Preceded by | Levi Woodbury |
Succeeded by | Walter Forward |
United States Senator from Ohio | |
In office July 20, 1850 – March 3, 1851 | |
Appointed by | Seabury Ford |
Preceded by | Thomas Corwin |
Succeeded by | Benjamin Wade |
In office March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1837 | |
Preceded by | Jacob Burnet |
Succeeded by | William Allen |
Personal details | |
Born | West Liberty, Virginia, U.S. (now West Virginia) | December 28, 1789
Died | October 26, 1871 Lancaster, Ohio, U.S. | (aged 81)
Political party | National Republican (Before 1833) Whig (1833–1871) |
Spouse | Maria Wills Boyle |
Education | Ohio University (BA) |
Signature | |
Thomas Ewing Sr. (December 28, 1789 – October 26, 1871) was a
Biography
Born in West Liberty, Ohio County, Virginia (now West Virginia), he was the son of American Revolutionary War veteran George Ewing. After studying at Ohio University and reading law under Philemon Beecher, Ewing began practicing law in Lancaster, Ohio, in 1816. In 1824, he was joined in that practice by Henry Stanbery.
As a colorful
Ewing was later appointed to serve as the first Secretary of the Interior by President Zachary Taylor. Ewing served in the position from March 8, 1849 to July 22, 1850 under Taylor and Millard Fillmore. As James G. Blaine later wrote:
Thomas Ewing of Ohio, selected to organize the Department of the Interior, just then authorized by law, was a man of intellectual power, a lawyer of the first rank, possessing a stainless character, great moral courage, unbending will, an incisive style, both with tongue and pen, and a breadth of reading and wealth of information never surpassed by any public man in America.[1]
As first secretary, Ewing consolidated bureaus from various Departments, such as the Land Office from the Treasury Department and the Indian Bureau from the War Department. The bureaus were being kicked out of their offices as unwanted tenants in their former departments. However, the Interior Department had no office space, so Ewing rented space. Later, the Patent Office building, with a new east wing, provided permanent space in 1852. Ewing initiated the Interior Department's culture of corruption by wholesale replacement of officials with political patronage. Newspapers called him "Butcher Ewing" for his efforts.
In 1850, Ewing was appointed to the Senate to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of
Ewing married Maria Wills Boyle, a Roman Catholic, and raised their children in her faith. His foster son was the famous general
Ewing was born a Presbyterian, but for many years attended Catholic services with his family. He was formally baptized into the Catholic faith during his last illness.[3]
Ewing remained a Whig following his joining of the party in 1833, even when the national Whig Party collapsed and was replaced by the Republican Party. This makes Ewing one of the only federal politicians to remain a member the Whig Party when many others bolted to the Republican or American parties.
Prior to his death on October 26, 1871, Ewing had been the last surviving member of the Harrison and Tyler Cabinets. Future
See also
References
- ^ Blaine, James Gillespie, Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. 1, Ch. V.
- ISBN 9781425565756.
- ^ Lewis, 33-34, 609-10.
Further reading
- Memorial of Thomas Ewing, of Ohio (New York: Catholic Publication Society, 1873), compiled by his daughter, Ellen Ewing Sherman.
- Lewis, Lloyd, Sherman: Fighting Prophet (New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1932)
- Miller, Paul I., "Thomas Ewing, Last of the Whigs," Ph.D. diss., Ohio State University, 1933.
- Heineman, Kenneth J. Civil War Dynasty: The Ewing Family of Ohio, (New York: New York University Press, 2012).