Walter Forward (January 24, 1786 – November 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and politician. He was the brother of

Chauncey Forward Chauncey Forward (February 4, 1793 – October 19, 1839) was an American politician who served as a Jacksonian member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Early life and education Forward was born in Old Granby, Connecticut, ...

Biography

Born in

East Granby, Connecticut East Granby is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 5,214 at the 2020 census. History Original inhabitants of the current East Granby area were Native American peoples, including the Algonquin/Poquonock, th ...

, he attended the

common schools A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary ...

. After moving with his father to

Aurora, Ohio Aurora is a city in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Cleveland and Akron, Ohio, and is co-extensive with, and formed from, the former township of Aurora, which was formed from the Connecticut Western Reserve The Connecti ...

, he settled in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

in 1803. There he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1806. He practiced in Pittsburgh and also served for more than a year as editor of ''The Tree of Liberty'' newspaper. He also served in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. In 1822, he was elected to the 17th Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Henry Baldwin, and was reelected to the 18th Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1824 to the 19th Congress. He was a member of the Pennsylvania constitutional convention in 1837 and played an important role in the establishment of the

United States Whig Party The Whig Party was a political party in the United States during the middle of the 19th century. Alongside the slightly larger Democratic Party, it was one of the two major parties in the United States between the late 1830s and the early 18 ...

in the 1830s. Forward was an active supporter of the Harrison-Tyler ticket in the U.S. presidential election, 1840. As a reward, Forward was offered the office of

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He declined that appointment but on March 6, 1841 was appointed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

to be First Comptroller of the Treasury. He served in that post until September 13, 1841, when he was appointed 15th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury by President

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president in 1841. He was elected vice president on the 1840 Whig tick ...

FORWARD, Walter-Treasury (BEP engraved portrait)

During his tenure as Treasury Secretary, the

Independent Treasury System The Independent Treasury was the system for managing the money supply of the United States federal government through the U.S. Treasury and its sub-treasuries, independently of the national banking and financial systems. It was created on August ...

of 1840 was abolished, and the government's funds were deposited once more with commercial banks. Soon after Forward took office, he was asked by

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

, then chairman of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, to devise a plan to increase the tariff, in response to the serious decrease in revenue caused by the Panic of 1837. He was also asked to develop plans for a "Board of Exchequer" to receive and disburse customs revenue, since the Independent Treasury System was no longer in effect. In August 1842 a strongly

protective tariff Protective tariffs are tariffs that are enacted with the aim of protecting a domestic industry. They aim to make imported goods cost more than equivalent goods produced domestically, thereby causing sales of domestically produced goods to rise, ...

was passed. Since constant friction with the new President marred his entire tenure as Secretary of the Treasury, he left Tyler's cabinet on February 28, 1843. After leaving his Cabinet post, Forward resumed the practice of law in Pittsburgh until 1849, when he was appointed Chargé d'Affaires to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

by President

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

. He returned from Denmark in 1851 to serve as presiding judge of the district court of Allegheny County. He died in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

and is interred in

Allegheny Cemetery Allegheny Cemetery is one of the largest and oldest burial grounds in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is a historic rural cemetery. The non-sectarian, wooded hillside park is located at 4734 Butler Street in the Lawrenceville neighborhood, and bou ...

Honors

Forward Township in Allegheny County is named for Walter Forward, as is the Coast Guard Cutter USCGC Forward (WMEC-911).

References

External links

Retrieved on 2009-5-20 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forward, Walter 1786 births 1852 deaths 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American diplomats 19th-century American newspaper editors People from Hartford County, Connecticut United States Secretaries of the Treasury Politicians from Pittsburgh Ambassadors of the United States to Denmark Pennsylvania Whigs Tyler administration cabinet members People from Aurora, Ohio Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Burials at Allegheny Cemetery