William M. Meredith: Difference between revisions
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{{otheruses4|the US Secretary of the Treasury|the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet|William Morris Meredith, Jr.}} |
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{{Infobox US Cabinet official |
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| name=William Morris Meredith |
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| image=WMMeredith.jpg |
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| image_width=200px |
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| caption=[[Mathew Brady|Brady]] [[Daguerreotype]] of William Meredith taken during the 1840s |
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| order=19th |
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| title=[[United States Secretary of the Treasury]] |
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| term_start=[[March 8]], [[1849]] |
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| term_end=[[July 22]], [[1850]] |
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| president=[[Zachary Taylor]] |
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| predecessor=[[Robert J. Walker]] |
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| successor=[[Thomas Corwin]] |
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| birth_date={{birth date|1799|6|8|mf=y}} |
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| birth_place=[[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], [[United States|U.S.]] |
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| death_date={{death date and age|1873|8|17|1799|6|8}} |
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| death_place=[[United States|U.S.]] |
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| party=[[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] |
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| spouse= |
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| alma_mater=[[University of Pennsylvania]] |
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| profession=[[Politician]], [[Lawyer]] |
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| religion= |
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}} |
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'''William Morris Meredith''' ([[June 8]], [[1799]] – [[August 17]], [[1873]]) was an [[United States|American]] lawyer and politician. |
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Born in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], he graduated from the [[University of Pennsylvania]] in 1812. After he was admitted to the bar 1817, he began practicing law. |
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He served in the [[Pennsylvania General Assembly]] from 1824 to 1828, and was president of the [[Philadelphia City Council]] from 1834 until 1849. He was also [[United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania]] in 1841. |
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[[Image:The Taylor Administration.jpg|thumb|left|320px|''The Zachary Taylor Administration'', 1849 Daguerreotype by [[Mathew Brady|Matthew Brady]]<<br>From left to right: [[William Ballard Preston|William B. Preston]], [[Thomas Ewing]], [[John M. Clayton]], [[Zachary Taylor]], William M. Meredith, [[George W. Crawford]], [[Jacob Collamer]] and [[Reverdy Johnson]], (1849).]] |
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[[President of the United States|President]] [[Zachary Taylor]], wanting a [[Pennsylvania]]n [[United States Whig Party|Whig]] for his cabinet, appointed William M. Meredith to be the 19th Secretary of the Treasury. He began his term in office in March 1849. Meredith strongly opposed the [[free trade]] [[legislation]] passed the year before under his predecessor [[Robert J. Walker]]. He felt that there was a need to protect the American workman, who was subject to competition from poorly paid European labor. Meredith's principal contribution in office was his ''Annual Report of 1849'' in which he set forth an elaborate argument for a [[protective tariff]]. |
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The increase in the public debt due to the [[Mexican-American War]] and the acquisition of [[California]] gave Meredith additional argument for raising revenue through higher import duties, but no action was taken on the tariff during Meredith's term. He also recommended a revision of the [[Coast Survey Code]], which had not been changed since its implementation in 1806, because the Coast Survey had seen great expansion and improvement with the introduction of [[steam power]]ed ships. Meredith resigned with the rest of the [[Presidential Cabinet]] upon Taylor's death in 1850. |
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He was the state attorney general of Pennsylvania from 1861 from 1867. In 1870, Meredith served as a member of a commission working out the settlement of the [[Alabama claims|''Alabama'' claims]]. He died in 1873. |
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He was a grandnephew of [[Gouverneur Morris]]. |
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==References== |
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''Parts of this article are based on information taken from the official web site of the [[United States Department of the Treasury|US Treasury]], which is a branch of the US Government, and thus presumed to be in the public domain.'' |
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{{s-gov}} |
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{{succession box | |
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before=[[Robert J. Walker]]| |
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title=[[United States Secretary of the Treasury]]| |
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years=1849–1850| |
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after=[[Thomas Corwin]] |
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}} |
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{{end box}} |
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{{USSecTreas}} |
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{{Taylor cabinet}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Meredith, William M.}} |
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[[Category:1799 births]] |
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[[Category:1873 deaths]] |
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[[Category:United States Secretaries of the Treasury]] |
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[[Category:Pennsylvania Attorneys General]] |
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[[Category:Pennsylvania lawyers]] |
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[[Category:Welsh Americans]] |
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[[Category:United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania]] |
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[[de:William M. Meredith]] |
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[[ja:ウィリアム・メレディス]] |
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[[no:William M. Meredith]] |
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[[sv:William M. Meredith]] |
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