Grover Cleveland Frontpage
American President Frontpage
John G. Carlisle (1893 - 1897): Secretary of the Treasury
A native of Campbell (now Kenton) County, Kentucky, John Griffin Carlisle emerged from humble farming roots to become a prominent politician and fiscal policy setter as the secretary of the treasury in Grover Cleveland’s second administration. Carlisle studied law in the offices of future Kentucky governor and senator John Stevenson and was admitted to the Kentucky state bar in 1858. The next year, he ran for the House of Representatives as a Democrat, serving only one term and returning upon the outbreak of the Civil War to Covington to practice law.
After participating in Kentucky state politics, Carlisle returned to the U.S. Congress again in 1876, serving as Speaker of the House from 1883 to 1889. After the death of Senator James Beck, Carlisle resigned the House to serve out the rest of Beck’s term.
President Cleveland named Carlisle secretary of the treasury upon taking office in March 1893, based largely on Carlisle’s prominence within the Democratic Party, his support of reduced tariffs, and his stance in opposition to Civil War veterans’ pensions. As the Cleveland administration took power, the overheated American economy entered a deflationary spiral, and Carlisle presided over a severe panic in the nation’s financial markets. Carlisle and Cleveland responded to the Panic of 1893 by securing the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, which ended the exchange of silver certificates for gold out of the treasury. Carlisle feared further drops in the treasury’s gold reserves would further erode business confidence and the government’s solvency.
The repeal of the Sherman Act badly split the Democratic Party and did little to buoy the nation’s economy. Carlisle also floated a series of bonds through 1896 to protect the federal gold reserve. After Democrats replaced Cleveland with silver-currency champion Williams Jennings Bryan on the 1896 presidential ticket, Carlisle backed a pro-gold splinter party and withdrew from politics following the election. Unable to go home again to silver-friendly Kentucky, Carlisle resumed practicing law in New York City, where he died in 1910.
After participating in Kentucky state politics, Carlisle returned to the U.S. Congress again in 1876, serving as Speaker of the House from 1883 to 1889. After the death of Senator James Beck, Carlisle resigned the House to serve out the rest of Beck’s term.
President Cleveland named Carlisle secretary of the treasury upon taking office in March 1893, based largely on Carlisle’s prominence within the Democratic Party, his support of reduced tariffs, and his stance in opposition to Civil War veterans’ pensions. As the Cleveland administration took power, the overheated American economy entered a deflationary spiral, and Carlisle presided over a severe panic in the nation’s financial markets. Carlisle and Cleveland responded to the Panic of 1893 by securing the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, which ended the exchange of silver certificates for gold out of the treasury. Carlisle feared further drops in the treasury’s gold reserves would further erode business confidence and the government’s solvency.
The repeal of the Sherman Act badly split the Democratic Party and did little to buoy the nation’s economy. Carlisle also floated a series of bonds through 1896 to protect the federal gold reserve. After Democrats replaced Cleveland with silver-currency champion Williams Jennings Bryan on the 1896 presidential ticket, Carlisle backed a pro-gold splinter party and withdrew from politics following the election. Unable to go home again to silver-friendly Kentucky, Carlisle resumed practicing law in New York City, where he died in 1910.