Robert J. Walker

Robert John Walker
18th United States Secretary of the Treasury
In office March 8, 1845 – March 5, 1849
President	James K. Polk
Preceded by	George M. Bibb
Succeeded by	William M. Meredith
United States Senator from Mississippi
In office March 4, 1835 – March 5, 1845
Preceded by	George Poindexter
Succeeded by	Joseph W. Chalmers
4th Territorial Governor of Kansas
In office May 27, 1857 – December 15, 1857
Preceded by	John W. Geary
Succeeded by	James W. Denver
Personal details
Born	(1801-07-19)July 19, 1801 Northumberland, Pennsylvania
Died	November 11, 1869(1869-11-11) (aged 68) Washington, D.C.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Mary Bache Walker
Children	Mary Walker Brewster
Profession	Politician, Lawyer

Robert John Walker (July 19, 1801 – November 11, 1869) was an American economist and statesman.

Early life and education

Born in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, the son of a judge. He lived in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania from 1806 to 1814, where his father was presiding judge of the judicial district. Walker was educated at the Bellefonte Academy.^[1] He graduated in 1819 at the top of his class at the University of Pennsylvania where he was a member of the Philomathean Society, and was admitted to the bar in Pittsburgh in 1821. He practiced law in Pittsburgh from 1822 until 1826 when he moved to Mississippi. There he joined his brother, Duncan Walker, in a lucrative law practice. Walker became a speculator in cotton, land and slaves. (In 1838 he freed his own slaves due to immense pressure from Congress.)

Political life

Senate, 1836-45

He became politically prominent during the nullification crisis, and from 1836 to 1845 he sat in the United States Senate as a Unionist Democrat. Being an ardent expansionist, he voted for the recognition of the Republic of Texas in 1837 and for the joint annexation resolution of 1845, and advocated the nomination and election of James K. Polk in 1844. He favored the award of public lands to new states; endorsed a low tariff; opposed distribution of the federal surplus funds for fear of creating an excuse to raise tariff rates; and, significantly, supported the independent Treasury system idea. He also opposed the Bank of the United States.

As a Mississippi senator, Walker was a passionate defender of slavery, both for economic benefits, and because he believed Negroes would fall into turpitude or insanity without firm masters. He claimed that independent Texas had to be annexed to prevent it from falling into the hands of Great Britain, which would use it to spread subversion throughout the South. He warned northerners that if Britain succeeded in undermining slavery, the freedmen would go north, where "the poor-house and the jail, the asylums of the deaf and dumb, the blind, the idiot and insane, would be filled to overflowing."^[2]

Treasury, 1845-49

Bureau of Engraving and Printing portrait of Walker as Secretary of the Treasury.

He was U.S. Secretary of the Treasury throughout the Polk administration, from March 8, 1845 until March 5, 1849, and was an influential member of the President's Cabinet.

As Treasury Secretary, Walker financed the Mexican-American War and drafted the 1849 bill to establish the United States Department of the Interior.^[3] One example of financing the Mexican-American war can be seen in correspondence; he wrote to Major General William Orlando Butler, "February 23, 1848. Sir, Upon the ratification of a treaty of peace by the Republic of Mexico in conformity with the provisions of the act of the congress of the United States of America approved March 3, 1847 stated 'an act making further appropriation to bring the existing war with Mexico to a speedy and honorable conclusion' you are authorized to draw on this department for any sum not exceeding three millions of dollars to be paid in pursuance of the promotion of said act."^[4] He also supported the independent Treasury system, pushed for a tariff for revenue, and established a warehousing system for handling imports that has had lasting influence.

Walker depicted on the 5th issue 25-cent Fractional currency note.

Walker was involved in a prominent Treasury report of December 3, 1845. It is regarded as the most powerful attack upon the protection system that has ever been made in an American state paper. The Walker Tariff of 1846 was based upon the principles of this paper and was in fact largely the secretary's own work.

It was during the Mexican-American War that the US treasury seemed to be running out of money. An astonishingly large amount of funds (about $6 million) had been withdrawn from the army's quartermaster and commissary departments. It turned out that $1.1 million had been deposited in the bank of Corcoran and Riggs, which had turned around and invested the funds in stock securities. Polk, who had run on an anti-bank platform, wrote in his diary that it was the most troubling moment of his presidency. Confronting Walker yielded only casual, vague replies. Polk ordered an investigation, but Walker still couldn't give Polk the answers he needed. Eventually Walker told Polk that the $600,000 remaining in the bankers' hands would be distributed to the army and Polk lost interest in the matter. It was never proved whether any chicanery had been going on, but before Walker was appointed, Polk's mentor Andrew Jackson had warned him "that Walker wasn't a man to be trusted with the nation's cash."^[5]

After leaving Treasury in 1849, Walker became a lawyer in Washington, DC, devoted himself to business and land speculation and became involved in mining interests.

Kansas Territorial Governor, 1857

Walker at first opposed the Compromise of 1850, but was won over later by the arguments of Stephen A. Douglas. He was appointed governor of Kansas Territory in the spring of 1857 by President James Buchanan, but resigned within the year because of his opposition to the Lecompton Constitution. In a resignation letter to Secretary of State Lewis Cass dated December 15, 1857, he cited clear voting fraud and improper political pressure from the Administration. He did not, however, break with his party immediately, and favored the so-called English Bill. It was partly due to his influence that a sufficient number of anti-Lecompton Democrats were induced to vote for that measure to secure its passage.

Civil War and later life

He supported the Union cause during the American Civil War and in 1863 and 1864, as financial agent of the United States, did much to create confidence in Europe in the financial resources of the United States. During this time Walker was instrumental in securing a loan of $250,000,000 from the German Confederation.

He practiced law in Washington, D.C., from 1864 until his death there in 1869. Both during and after the Civil War he was a contributor to the Continental Monthly, which for a short time he also, with James R. Gilmore, conducted.

Walker was the father-in-law of Benjamin H. Brewster, Attorney General under Chester A. Arthur.

Initially, Walker County, Texas, was named in his honor. However, due to his support of the Union during the Civil War, the Texas Legislature withdrew the honor and honored Samuel Walker (no relation), a Texas Ranger, instead.

Commemoration

The survey ship Robert J. Walker, which served in the United States Coast Survey from 1848 to 1860, was named for Walker.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert J. Walker.

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Robert John Walker

• Robert J. Walker at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Robert J. Walker at Find A Grave
• The Colt Revolver in the American West—Robert J. Walker's Presentation Model 1851 Navy

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

United States Senators from Mississippi Class 1 Leake Holmes Ellis Reed Ellis Black Trotter T. Hickman Williams Henderson Speight Davis McRae S. Adams Davis Ames Pease Bruce George Money J. Williams Stephens Bilbo Stennis Lott Wicker Class 2 T. Hill Williams Reed R. Adams Poindexter Walker Chalmers Foote Brooke Brown Revels Alcorn Lamar Walthall McLaurin Walthall Sullivan McLaurin Gordon Percy Vardaman Harrison Eastland Doxey Eastland Cochran

United States Secretaries of the Treasury 18th century Hamilton Wolcott Dexter 19th century Gallatin Campbell Dallas Crawford Rush Ingham McLane Duane Taney Woodbury Ewing Forward Spencer Bibb Walker Meredith Corwin Guthrie Cobb Thomas Dix Chase Fessenden McCulloch Boutwell Richardson Bristow Morrill Sherman Windom Folger Gresham McCulloch Manning Fairchild Windom Foster Carlisle Gage 20th century Shaw Cortelyou MacVeagh McAdoo Glass Houston Mellon Mills Woodin Morgenthau Vinson Snyder Humphrey Anderson Dillon Fowler Barr Kennedy Connally Shultz Simon Blumenthal Miller Regan Baker Brady Bentsen Rubin Summers 21st century O'Neill Snow Paulson Geithner Lew

Chairmen of the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Public Lands (1816–1921) Morrow Williams Thomas Barton King Kane Poindexter Ewing Walker Smith Woodbridge Breese Felch Borland Dodge Stuart Johnson Harlan Pomeroy Sprague Oglesby McDonald Plumb Dolph Berry Dubois Hansbrough Nelson Smoot Chamberlain Myers Smoot Public Lands and Surveys (1921–1947) Smoot Lenroot Ladd Stanfield Nye Kendrick Wagner Adams Hatch Interior and Insular Affairs (1947–1977) Butler O'Mahoney Butler Cordon Murray Anderson Jackson Energy and Natural Resources (1977–) Jackson McClure Johnston F. Murkowski Bingaman F. Murkowski Bingaman Domenici Bingaman Wyden Landrieu L. Murkowski

Governors of Kansas Territorial (1854–61) Reeder Shannon Geary Walker Denver Medary State (since 1861) Robinson Carney Crawford Green Harvey Osborn Anthony St. John Glick Martin Humphrey Lewelling Morrill Leedy Stanley Bailey Hoch Stubbs Hodges Capper Allen Davis Paulen Reed Woodring Landon Huxman Ratner Schoeppel Carlson Hagaman Arn Hall McCuish G. Docking Anderson Avery R. Docking Bennett Carlin Hayden Finney Graves Sebelius Parkinson Brownback