John G. Carlisle

John Griffin Carlisle (September 5, 1834  July 31, 1910) was an American politician from the commonwealth of Kentucky and was a member of the Democratic Party. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives seven times, first in 1876, and served as Speaker of the House, from 1883 to 1889. He subsequently served as a U.S. senator from Kentucky, from 1890 to 1893, and then as Secretary of the Treasury, from 1893 to 1897, during the Panic of 1893. As a Bourbon Democrat he was a leader of the conservative, pro-business wing of the party, along with President Grover Cleveland.

John G. Carlisle
41st United States Secretary of the Treasury
In office
March 7, 1893  March 5, 1897
PresidentGrover Cleveland
Preceded byCharles Foster
Succeeded byLyman J. Gage
United States Senator
from Kentucky
In office
May 26, 1890  February 4, 1893
Preceded byJames B. Beck
Succeeded byWilliam Lindsay
31st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office
December 3, 1883  March 4, 1889
Preceded byJ. Warren Keifer
Succeeded byThomas Reed
Leader of the House Democratic Caucus
In office
December 3, 1883  March 4, 1889
Preceded bySamuel J. Randall
Succeeded byCharles Frederick Crisp
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 6th district
In office
March 4, 1877  May 26, 1890
Preceded byThomas Jones
Succeeded byWilliam Dickerson
20th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
In office
September 5, 1871  August 31, 1875
GovernorPreston Leslie
Preceded byPreston Leslie
Succeeded byJohn C. Underwood
Personal details
Born
John Griffin Carlisle

(1834-09-05)September 5, 1834
Campbell County, Kentucky, U.S. (now Kenton County)
DiedJuly 31, 1910(1910-07-31) (aged 75)
New York City, U.S.
Resting placeLinden Grove Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Mary Goodson
Children5
Signature

Biography

Mary Jane Goodson Carlisle

Carlisle was born in what is now Kenton County, Kentucky. He was well educated and took a post as a teacher in Covington, Kentucky. His father died in 1853 and he was left to support his family. He studied law under John W. Stevenson and joined the law firm of William Kinkeard in Covington at the age of 23. Carlisle married Mary Jane Goodson on January 15, 1857, and they had five children, all of whom predeceased them.[1]

Despite the political difficulties that taking a neutral position during the American Civil War caused him, Carlisle spent most of the 1860s in the Kentucky General Assembly, serving in the Kentucky House of Representatives and two terms in the Kentucky State Senate, and was elected Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky in 1871, succeeding his former law mentor Stevenson.

After Carlisle's term as Lieutenant governor ended in 1875, he ran for and won a seat in the United States House of Representatives for Kentucky's 6th district. On the main issues of the day, Carlisle was in favor of coining silver, but not for free coinage, and favored lower tariffs. He became a leader of the low-tariff wing of the Democratic Party, and was chosen by House Democrats to become Speaker in 1883 over Samuel J. Randall, a leader of the party's protectionist wing.

Carlisle became a leader of the conservative Bourbon Democrats and was mentioned as a presidential candidate but the Democrats passed him over at their conventions for Winfield S. Hancock in 1880 and Grover Cleveland in 1884. Discomfort with nominating a southerner after the Civil War played a role in Carlisle's failure to win either nomination. In 1892 Carlisle was again proposed as a candidate for president at the Democratic convention, but this time Carlisle asked that he not be considered. It was reported at the time that Carlisle dropped out with the understanding that Cleveland, once nominated, would appoint him to his Cabinet.

In 1890, Carlisle was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the unexpired term of James B. Beck. When Cleveland was again elected to the Presidency in 1892, he chose Carlisle as his Secretary of the Treasury.

Carlisle's tenure as Secretary was marred by the Panic of 1893, a financial and economic disaster so severe that it ended Carlisle's political career. In response to a run on the American gold supply, Carlisle felt forced to end silver coinage. He also felt compelled to oppose the 1894 Wilson–Gorman Tariff bill. These two stands were widely unpopular among agrarian Democrats. In 1896 Carlisle strenuously opposed Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan, supporting a splinter Gold Democrat candidate, once-Illinois Governor Palmer, instead.[2]

By 1896, the once remarkably popular Carlisle was so disliked due to his stewardship of the currency that he was forced to leave the stage in the middle of a speech in his home town of Covington due to a barrage of abuse. Feeling rejected, he retired from public life and sold his house in Covington.[1]

By May 1899, the North American Trust Company had directors such as John G. Carlisle, Adlai E. Stevenson, and Wager Swayne.[3]

He moved to New York City, where he practiced law, and died on July 31, 1910, at age 75, and is buried in Linden Grove Cemetery in Covington, Kentucky.[4]

Legacy

Carlisle County, Kentucky was established in 1886.[5]

References

  1. Paul A. Tenkotte; James C. Claypool (2014). The Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-8131-5996-6.
  2. David T. Beito and Linda Royster Beito, "Gold Democrats and the Decline of Classical Liberalism, 1896-1900," Independent Review 4 (Spring 2000), 555-75
  3. "Trust Company Election; The North American Chooses Alvah Trowbridge as Its Leader. He Succeeds Col. Trenholdm - The New Head Brings to the Corporation Important Financial Interests -- No Friction". The New York Times. May 27, 1899. p. 3. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  4. Federal Writers' Project (1996). The WPA Guide to Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky. p. 154. ISBN 0813108659. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  5. The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Volume 1. Kentucky State Historical Society. 1903. pp. 34.
Political offices
Preceded by
Preston Leslie
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
1871–1875
Succeeded by
John C. Underwood
Preceded by
J. Warren Keifer
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
1883–1889
Succeeded by
Thomas Reed
Preceded by
Charles Foster
United States Secretary of the Treasury
1893–1897
Succeeded by
Lyman J. Gage
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Thomas Jones
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 6th congressional district

1877–1890
Succeeded by
William Dickerson
Preceded by
J. Warren Keifer
Chair of the House Rules Committee
1883–1889
Succeeded by
Thomas Reed
U.S. Senate
Preceded by
James B. Beck
U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Kentucky
1890–1893
Served alongside: Joseph Blackburn
Succeeded by
William Lindsay
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