Samuel Dexter was an early American statesman who served both in Congress and in the Presidential Cabinets of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
22 Facts About Samuel Dexter
2.
Samuel Dexter resigned his senate seat to accept appointment as the fourth United States Secretary of War, and he served from 1800 to 1801.
3.
In January 1801, Samuel Dexter was appointed the third United States Secretary of the Treasury, and he served until resigning in the day before his fortieth birthday.
4.
Samuel Dexter joined the Democratic-Republican Party because of its support for the War of 1812, and he was a candidate for governor in 1814 and 1815.
5.
In 1815, Samuel Dexter declined President James Madison's appointment as Minister to Spain.
6.
Samuel Dexter was a candidate for governor again in 1816, but died on May 4,1816, aged 54, while visiting his son in Athens, New York.
7.
Samuel Dexter was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
8.
Samuel Dexter was the grandson of Samuel Dexter, the fourth minister of Dedham.
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Samuel Dexter graduated from Harvard University in 1781 and then studied law in Worcester under Levi Lincoln Sr.
10.
Samuel Dexter was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives and served from 1788 to 1790.
11.
Samuel Dexter was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Federalist, serving in the 3rd Congress.
12.
Samuel Dexter served in the United States Senate from March 4,1799, to May 30,1800.
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Samuel Dexter responded by questioning why Catholics were not required to denounce allegiance to the Pope, because priestcraft had initiated more problems throughout history than aristocracy.
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Samuel Dexter's points caused an infuriated James Madison to defend American Catholics, many of whom, such as Charles Carroll of Carrollton, had been good citizens during the American Revolution, and to point out that hereditary titles were barred under the Constitution in any event.
15.
Samuel Dexter served in the Senate for less than a year, and resigned in order to accept his appointment as United States Secretary of War in the administration of President John Adams.
16.
Samuel Dexter returned to Boston in 1805 and resumed the practice of law.
17.
Samuel Dexter left the Federalists and became a Democratic-Republican because he supported the War of 1812.
18.
Samuel Dexter was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in 1814,1815 and 1816.
19.
Samuel Dexter was an ardent supporter of the temperance movement and presided over its first formal organization in Massachusetts.
20.
Samuel Dexter was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1800.
21.
Samuel Dexter died at the age of fifty-four in Athens, New York on May 4,1816, ten days shy of his fifty-fifth birthday.
22.
Samuel Dexter was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.