Hugh McCulloch
| Hugh McCulloch | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 36th United States Secretary of the Treasury | |
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In office October 31, 1884 – March 7, 1885 |
|
| President |
Chester A. Arthur Grover Cleveland |
| Preceded by | Walter Q. Gresham |
| Succeeded by | Daniel Manning |
| 27th United States Secretary of the Treasury | |
|
In office March 9, 1865 – March 3, 1869 |
|
| President |
Abraham Lincoln Andrew Johnson |
| Preceded by | William P. Fessenden |
| Succeeded by | George S. Boutwell |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 7, 1808 Kennebunk, Maine, US |
| Died | May 24, 1895 (aged 86) Prince George's County, Maryland, US |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | Bowdoin College |
| Profession | Politician, Lawyer |
Hugh McCulloch (December 7, 1808 – May 24, 1895) was an American statesman who served two non-consecutive terms as U.S. Treasury Secretary under three presidents. He was opposed to the National Banking Act of 1864, and attempted to bring the United States back to the gold standard throughout his career.
Born in Kennebunk, Maine, he was educated at Bowdoin College, studied law in Boston, and in 1833 began practicing law at Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was cashier and manager of the Fort Wayne branch of the state chartered Bank of Indiana and President of the larger organization from 1835 to 1857, and president of its successor, the privately owned Bank of Indiana from 1857 to 1863. Despite his early opposition to the National Banking Act of 1862, he was selected by Salmon P. Chase to be the first Comptroller of the Currency in 1863. During McCulloch's 22 months in office, 868 national banks were chartered and no failures occurred. As the first Comptroller, McCulloch recommended major changes in the banking law and the resulting National Banking Act of 1864 remains the foundation of the national banking system.
McCulloch began his banking career as the President of the Bank of Indiana. In 1833 the bank was established in response the closure of the Second Bank of the United States. Indiana was still a wilderness and no eastern bank was willing take charge of the fledgling state bank. McCulloch was one of the few prominent businessmen in the young state, and although he had no banking experience, he was appointed because he was the most qualified person willing to take the position.
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