George M. Dallas
Encyclopedia
George Mifflin Dallas was a U.S. Senator
from Pennsylvania
and the 11th Vice President of the United States
(1845-1849), serving under James K. Polk
.
ancestry, George Mifflin Dallas was born on July 10, 1792, to Alexander James Dallas
and Arabella Smith Dallas in Philadelphia. Dallas was the second of six children, another of whom, Alexander
, would become the commander of Pensacola Navy Yard. Born in Kingston, Jamaica
and educated in Edinburgh
, the senior Alexander was the Secretary of the Treasury
under United States President James Madison
, and was also briefly the Secretary of War
. Dallas graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University
) with highest honors in 1810, studied law thereafter, and was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1813.
, a plan which he dropped due to his father's objection. Just after this, Dallas accepted an offer to be the private secretary of Albert Gallatin
, and he went to Russia
with Gallatin who was sent there to try to secure its aid in peace negotiations between Great Britain and the United States. Dallas enjoyed the opportunities offered to him by being in Russia, but after six months there he was ordered to go to London
to determine whether the War of 1812 could be resolved diplomatically. In August 1814, he arrived in Washington, D.C.
and delivered a preliminary draft of Britain's peace terms. There, he was appointed by James Madison to become the remitter of the treasury, which is considered a "convenient arrangement" because Dallas's father was serving at the time as that department's secretary. Since the job did not entail a large workload, Dallas found time to develop his grasp of politics, his major vocational interest. He later became the counsel to the Second Bank of the United States
. In 1817, Dallas's father died, ending Dallas's plan for a family law practice, and he stopped working for the Second Bank of the United States and became the deputy attorney general of Philadelphia, a position he held until 1820.
.
Voters elected Dallas Mayor of Philadelphia as the candidate of the Family party, after the party had gained control of the city councils. However, he quickly grew bored of that post, and became the district attorney for the eastern district of Pennsylvania in 1829, a position his father had held from 1801 to 1814, and continued in that role until 1831. In December of that year, he won a five-man, eleven-ballot contest in the state legislature, that enabled him to become the Senator
from Pennsylvania in order to complete the unexpired term of the previous senator who had resigned.
Dallas served less than 15 months — from December 13, 1831, to March 4, 1833 — and declined to be a candidate for reelection. He was chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs.
Dallas resumed the practice of law, was attorney general of Pennsylvania from 1833 to 1835, and served as the Grand Master of Freemasons in Pennsylvania in 1835. He was appointed by President Martin Van Buren
as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Russia from 1837 to 1839, when he was recalled at his own request. Dallas was elected Vice President of the United States on the Democratic ticket in 1844 with James K. Polk
and served from March 4, 1845 to March 4, 1849.
President Franklin Pierce
appointed Dallas in 1856 as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Britain
, where he served until 1861, when he returned to Philadelphia. He died there in 1864 at the age of 72 and was interred in St. Peter's Churchyard
. Dallas County, Iowa
, Dallas County, Missouri, and Dallas County, Texas
, and several U.S. cities and towns elsewhere were named in his honor such as Dallas, Georgia
, Dallas, North Carolina
(the former county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina
), Dallas, Oregon
(the county seat of Polk County, Oregon
) and Dallastown, Pennsylvania
. (It is debated that the city of Dallas, Texas is named after the Vice President—see History of Dallas, Texas (1839-1855) for more information.)
Dallas is the great-great-granduncle of former U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell
of Rhode Island
, and was the uncle of George M. Bache
and Alexander Dallas Bache
.
|-
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and the 11th Vice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
(1845-1849), serving under James K. Polk
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...
.
Family and early life
Of ScottishScottish American
Scottish Americans or Scots Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. Scottish Americans are closely related to Scots-Irish Americans, descendants of Ulster Scots, and communities emphasize and celebrate a common heritage...
ancestry, George Mifflin Dallas was born on July 10, 1792, to Alexander James Dallas
Alexander J. Dallas (statesman)
Alexander James Dallas was an American statesman who served as the U.S. Treasury Secretary under President James Madison....
and Arabella Smith Dallas in Philadelphia. Dallas was the second of six children, another of whom, Alexander
Alexander J. Dallas (U.S. Navy officer)
Alexander James Dallas was an officer in the United States Navy....
, would become the commander of Pensacola Navy Yard. Born in Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
and educated in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, the senior Alexander was the Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
under United States President James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
, and was also briefly the Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
. Dallas graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
) with highest honors in 1810, studied law thereafter, and was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1813.
Early legal, diplomatic and financial service
Dallas did not have much enthusiasm at the time for legal practice, and wanted to fight in the War of 1812War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, a plan which he dropped due to his father's objection. Just after this, Dallas accepted an offer to be the private secretary of Albert Gallatin
Albert Gallatin
Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin was a Swiss-American ethnologist, linguist, politician, diplomat, congressman, and the longest-serving United States Secretary of the Treasury. In 1831, he founded the University of the City of New York...
, and he went to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
with Gallatin who was sent there to try to secure its aid in peace negotiations between Great Britain and the United States. Dallas enjoyed the opportunities offered to him by being in Russia, but after six months there he was ordered to go to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to determine whether the War of 1812 could be resolved diplomatically. In August 1814, he arrived in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and delivered a preliminary draft of Britain's peace terms. There, he was appointed by James Madison to become the remitter of the treasury, which is considered a "convenient arrangement" because Dallas's father was serving at the time as that department's secretary. Since the job did not entail a large workload, Dallas found time to develop his grasp of politics, his major vocational interest. He later became the counsel to the Second Bank of the United States
Second Bank of the United States
The Second Bank of the United States was chartered in 1816, five years after the First Bank of the United States lost its own charter. The Second Bank of the United States was initially headquartered in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, the same as the First Bank, and had branches throughout the...
. In 1817, Dallas's father died, ending Dallas's plan for a family law practice, and he stopped working for the Second Bank of the United States and became the deputy attorney general of Philadelphia, a position he held until 1820.
Political career
After the War of 1812 ended, Pennsylvania's political climate was chaotic, with two factions in that state's Democratic party vying for control. One, the Philadelphia-based "Family party", was led by Dallas, and it espoused the beliefs that the Constitution of the United States was supreme, that an energetic national government should exist that would implement protective tariffs, a powerful central banking system, and undertake internal improvements to the country in order to facilitate national commerce. The other faction was called the "Amalgamators", headed by the future President James BuchananJames Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
.
Voters elected Dallas Mayor of Philadelphia as the candidate of the Family party, after the party had gained control of the city councils. However, he quickly grew bored of that post, and became the district attorney for the eastern district of Pennsylvania in 1829, a position his father had held from 1801 to 1814, and continued in that role until 1831. In December of that year, he won a five-man, eleven-ballot contest in the state legislature, that enabled him to become the Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Pennsylvania in order to complete the unexpired term of the previous senator who had resigned.
Dallas served less than 15 months — from December 13, 1831, to March 4, 1833 — and declined to be a candidate for reelection. He was chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs.
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....
as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Russia from 1837 to 1839, when he was recalled at his own request. Dallas was elected Vice President of the United States on the Democratic ticket in 1844 with James K. Polk
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...
and served from March 4, 1845 to March 4, 1849.
President Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...
appointed Dallas in 1856 as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, where he served until 1861, when he returned to Philadelphia. He died there in 1864 at the age of 72 and was interred in St. Peter's Churchyard
St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia
St. Peter's Church is a historic church located on the corner of Third and Pine Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It opened for worship on September 4, 1761 and served as a place of worship for many of the United States Founding Fathers during the period of the Continental Congresses. The...
. Dallas County, Iowa
Dallas County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 66,135 in the county, with a population density of . There were 27,260 housing units, of which 25,240 were occupied.-2000 census:...
, Dallas County, Missouri, and Dallas County, Texas
Dallas County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,218,899 people, 807,621 households, and 533,837 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,523 people per square mile . There were 854,119 housing units at an average density of 971/sq mi...
, and several U.S. cities and towns elsewhere were named in his honor such as Dallas, Georgia
Dallas, Georgia
Dallas is a city in and the county seat of Paulding County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 11,544. It was named for George M. Dallas, Vice President of the United States of America under James K. Polk.-History:...
, Dallas, North Carolina
Dallas, North Carolina
Dallas is a town in Gaston County, North Carolina and a suburb of both Charlotte and Gastonia. The population was 3,402 at the 2000 census. It was named for George M. Dallas, Vice President of the United States of America under James K. Polk.-Geography:...
(the former county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina
Gaston County, North Carolina
Gaston County is a county located just west of Charlotte in the southern Piedmont in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third largest county, by population, in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area, officially designated the Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of...
), Dallas, Oregon
Dallas, Oregon
The city of Dallas is the county seat of Polk County, Oregon, United States. The population was 14,583 at the 2010 census.Dallas is located on Rickreall Creek, approximately 15 miles west of Salem, at an altitude of 325 feet above sea level...
(the county seat of Polk County, Oregon
Polk County, Oregon
Polk County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county is named for James Knox Polk, the 11th president of the United States. In 2010, its population was 75,403. The seat of the county is Dallas....
) and Dallastown, Pennsylvania
Dallastown, Pennsylvania
Dallastown is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,049 at the 2010 census.-History:Dallastown was named after George M. Dallas of Philadelphia during the presidential campaign of 1844...
. (It is debated that the city of Dallas, Texas is named after the Vice President—see History of Dallas, Texas (1839-1855) for more information.)
Dallas is the great-great-granduncle of former U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell
Claiborne Pell
Claiborne de Borda Pell was a United States Senator from Rhode Island, serving six terms from 1961 to 1997, and was best known as the sponsor of the Pell Grant, which provides financial aid funding to U.S. college students. A Democrat, he was that state's longest serving senator.-Early years:Pell...
of Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, and was the uncle of George M. Bache
George M. Bache
George Mifflin Bache was an officer in the United States Navy, fighting on the Union side in the American Civil War and continuing to serve for a decade after the war's end.-Early life and ancestors:...
and Alexander Dallas Bache
Alexander Dallas Bache
Alexander Dallas Bache was an American physicist, scientist and surveyor who erected coastal fortifications and conducted a detailed survey mapping of the United States coastline.-Biography:...
.
External links
|-