The Swartwout-Hoyt scandal was a political scandal in 1829. It arose from corruption in the Office of the
Collector of the Port of New York
The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at ...
.
Background
In 1829, President
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
appointed
Samuel Swartwout to serve as
Collector of the Port of New York
The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at ...
.
Nine years later, Swartwout left office at the expiration of his term in 1838, retaining $201,096.40 with which to pay any pending claims that might be brought against him. He then went to England to raise money on his coal property before ensuring that his account at the customhouse was closed. After he left the country, or perhaps before, his account was "adjusted" by a subordinate and possibly by his successor, through the instigation of President
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...
.
It was then alleged that Swartwout had
embezzle
Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...
d $1,225,705.09 ($ in dollars) and fled.
One of his assistants was indicted in 1841 for embezzling $609,525.71 of the sum, and, according to Swartwout's trustee, a federal court further reduced the amount by $435,052.21, leaving the remaining amount which Swartwout claimed he owed.
Swartwout forfeited his personal property to meet the deficit and returned to the United States in 1841 after federal officials assured him that they would not prosecute him.
President Martin Van Buren then appointed
Jesse Hoyt to replace Swartwout and to take corrective measures to prevent any future problems in the Collector's office.
However, in 1841, allegations began to circulate that Hoyt had also been embezzling, and Hoyt was removed by Van Buren on February 27.
Scandal with the scandal
There was also something of a "scandal with the scandal."
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 of the United States, vice president in 1841. He was elected ...
appointed a special three-person committee, headed by Senator
George Poindexter
George Poindexter (1779 – September 5, 1853) was an American politician, lawyer, and judge from Mississippi. Born in Virginia, he moved to the Mississippi Territory in 1802. He served as United States Representative from the newly admitted sta ...
of
Mississippi
Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
, to investigate the allegations of fraud and embezzlement in the Collector's Office.
The committee's report found overwhelming evidence of massive corruption. However, President Tyler had made the political mistake of failing to secure the approval of
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
for the creation of the Poindexter committee; the Congress, miffed at what it viewed as an usurpation of its powers, repudiated President Tyler's action in creating the commission.
Legacy
It is believed that Swartwout's story is the origin of the term "Swartwouted out", which has since come to define the embezzlement of a large sum of money from the United States government and subsequent escape to a foreign nation to escape punishment.
See also
*
Spoils system
In politics and government, a spoils system (also known as a patronage system) is a practice in which a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its supporters, friends (cronyism), and relatives (nepotism) as a rewar ...
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swartwout-Hoyt Scandal
Political corruption scandals in the United States
1838 in the United States
1
Political scandals in New York (state)
1838 in New York (state)
Andrew Jackson administration controversies