William John Duane (May 9, 1780 – September 27, 1865) was an American politician and lawyer from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Duane served a brief term as

United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

in 1833. His refusal to withdraw Federal deposits from the

Second Bank of the United States The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January 1836.. The Bank's formal name, ...

led to his dismissal by President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

Early life

Duane was born on May 9, 1780, in Clonmel,

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after t ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Duane emigrated to the United States with his parents, William Duane, and Catherine Corcoran in 1796, settling in Philadelphia. He assisted his father in publishing the ''Aurora'', a pro- Jeffersonian Philadelphia newspaper, until 1806. He became an influential lawyer and served several terms in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, becoming one of the most powerful state politicians in Pennsylvania at the time.

Marriage

He was married on December 31, 1805, in Philadelphia,

, to Deborah Franklin Bache, who was born on October 1, 1781, in Philadelphia, and died on February 12, 1863, in Philadelphia. His father-in-law was Richard Bache Sr., a marine insurance underwriter and importer in Philadelphia. Bache served as United States Postmaster General from 1776 to 1782. His mother-in-law was Sarah Franklin Bache, the daughter of Benjamin Franklin.

Support for Andrew Jackson

Duane supported Jackson for president in 1824 United States presidential election, 1824 and 1828 United States presidential election, 1828. He declined appointments to serve as government director of the

and United States District Attorney.

Secretary of the Treasury

In 1833, in the midst of the Bank War, President

attempted to remove federal deposits from the Second Bank of the United States, whose money-lending functions were taken over by the legions of local and state banks that materialized across America, thus drastically increasing credit and speculation. Jackson's moves were greatly controversial. He removed his moderately pro-Bank Treasury Secretary Louis McLane, having him serve instead as Secretary of State, replacing Edward Livingston. On May 29, he replaced McLane with Duane. However, Duane also refused to remove the deposits. As a result, Jackson fired him in September. He replaced him with Attorney General Roger B. Taney, a strong opponent of the Bank. Under Taney, the deposits began to be removed. Duane defended his own position in his book ''Narrative and Correspondence Concerning the Removal of the Deposites, and Occurrences Connected Therewith'', published in 1838. Jackson biographer James Parton heaps high praise upon Duane. He lauds the Treasury Secretary for refusing to yield to a position that he could not in good conscience accept, therefore preserving his integrity and honor. "In not yielding," Parton says, "he displayed a genuine moral heroism." Later Jackson biographer Robert V. Remini treats Duane far less favorably. He faults both Jackson and Duane for the turmoil that characterized Duane's brief time in office. He criticizes Jackson for not adequately screening Duane before nominating him, for allowing members of his administration to treat him poorly upon taking office, and for his dismissal of Duane. He continues:

He died on September 27, 1865, in Philadelphia and was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery.Founders Online
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References

Bibliography

* * * * Phillips, Kim T. "William Duane, Philadelphia's Democratic Republicans, and the Origins of Modern Politics." ''Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' (1977): 365–387
online
* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duane, William John 1780 births 1865 deaths 18th-century Irish people 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) 19th-century American politicians 19th-century Irish people Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Editors of Pennsylvania newspapers Franklin family Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Jackson administration cabinet members Members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly Pennsylvania lawyers People from Clonmel Politicians from County Tipperary Politicians from Philadelphia United States Secretaries of the Treasury