William Jones (1760September 6, 1831) was an American politician.
Early career
Jones was born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
in the
Province of Pennsylvania
The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to W ...
. Apprenticed in a shipyard, during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, he saw combat in the battles of
Trenton and
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...
and later served at sea. In the decades that followed the war, he was a successful merchant in
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
, and in Philadelphia. He was elected as a Republican to the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
in 1800 and was offered the office of
Secretary of the Navy
The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense.
By law, the se ...
in 1801, but declined and remained in Congress to the end of his term in 1803. In 1805, he was elected as a member of the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
.
Secretary of the Navy
With the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
raging, Jones became Secretary of the Navy in January 1813. His policies contributed greatly to American success on the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
and to a strategy of coastal defense and commerce raiding on the high seas. In late 1814, near the end of his term, he made recommendations on the reorganization of the
Navy Department Navy Department or Department of the Navy may refer to:
* United States Department of the Navy,
* Navy Department (Ministry of Defence), in the United Kingdom, 1964-1997
* Confederate States Department of the Navy, 1861-1865
* Department of the Na ...
. These led to the establishment of the
Board of Commissioners system which operated from 1815 until 1842.
Bank president
From May 1813 to February 1814, Jones also served as acting
Secretary of the Treasury and in 1816 was appointed President of the
Second Bank of the United States. He returned to commercial pursuits in 1819. Jones died in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...
.
Legacy
The destroyer
USS ''William Jones'' (DD-308) was named in his honor.
References
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Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, William
1760 births
1831 deaths
19th-century American politicians
Politicians from Philadelphia
People of colonial Pennsylvania
People of Pennsylvania in the American Revolution
United States Secretaries of the Navy
American people of the War of 1812
Madison administration cabinet members
Continental Army soldiers
Colonial American merchants
Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
Burials at St. Peter's churchyard, Philadelphia
Acting United States Secretaries of the Treasury