1. Christopher Gustavus Memminger was a German-born American politician and a secessionist who participated in the formation of the Confederate States government.
21 Facts About Christopher Memminger
1. 2.
Christopher Memminger was the principal author of the Provisional Constitution, as well as the founder of the Confederate financial system.
3.
Christopher Gustavus Memminger was born on January 9,1803, in Vaihingen, Wuerttemberg.
4.
Christopher Memminger's father, Gottfried Memminger, was a military officer who died a month after his son's birth.
5.
Christopher Memminger's fortunes changed when, at the age of eleven, he was taken under the care of Thomas Bennett, a prominent lawyer and future Governor.
6.
Christopher Memminger entered South Carolina College at the age of 12 and graduated second in his class at 16.
7.
Christopher Memminger passed the bar in 1825 and became a successful lawyer.
8.
Christopher Memminger was a leader of the opponents during the Nullification Crisis.
9.
Christopher Memminger published The Book of Nullification, which satirized the advocates of the doctrine in biblical style.
10.
Christopher Memminger entered state politics and served in the South Carolina state legislature from 1836 to 1852 and 1854 to 1860, where for nearly twenty years he was the head of the finance committee.
11.
Christopher Memminger was a staunch advocate of education and helped give Charleston one of the most comprehensive public school systems in the country.
12.
Christopher Memminger was considered a moderate on the secession issue, but after the election of Abraham Lincoln, he decided that secession was necessary.
13.
Christopher Memminger owned 12 slaves, listed in his estate in the Charleston, South Carolina, census of 1850.
14.
When South Carolina seceded from the United States in 1860, Christopher Memminger was asked to write the South Carolina Declaration of Secession, which outlined the reasons for secession.
15.
Christopher Memminger was the chair of the committee which drafted the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States.
16.
When Jefferson Davis formed his first cabinet, Christopher Memminger was appointed Secretary of the Treasury on February 21,1861.
17.
Christopher Memminger attempted to finance the government initially by bonds and tariffs.
18.
Christopher Memminger resigned as Secretary of the Treasury on July 1,1864, and was replaced by fellow South Carolinian George Trenholm.
19.
Christopher Memminger returned to his summer residence in Flat Rock, North Carolina.
20.
Christopher Memminger continued his work on developing South Carolina's public education system and was voted to a final term in the state legislature in 1877.
21.
Christopher Memminger died on March 7,1888, at age 85, in Charleston, South Carolina.