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{{Short description|American politician (1822–1898)}}

{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
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'''William Henry Trescot''' (November 10, 1822{{snd}}May 4, 1898) was an [[United States|American]] diplomatist born in [[Charleston, South Carolina]], on the November 10, 1822. He graduated at [[College of Charleston]] in 1840, studied law at [[Harvard University]], and was admitted to the bar in 1843.<ref name="EB1911"/> He was married to Eliza Natalie Cuthbert, whose family had land originally granted by King George II.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hunt|first1=Galliard|title=Narrative and letter of William Henry Trescot concerning the negotiations between South Carolina and President Buchanan in December, 1860|journal=[[The American Historical Review]]|date=April 1908|volume=13|issue=3|pages=528–556|url=http://digital.tcl.sc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/sclpam/id/1087|access-date=24 September 2014|doi=10.2307/1834428|jstor=1834428}}</ref>
'''William Henry Trescot''' (November 10, 1822{{snd}}May 4, 1898) was a Charleston lawyer, historian, and diplomat <ref name="auto">{{cite book |last= Russell |first= William Howard |author-link= |date= 1 Sep 2008|title= William Howard Russell's Civil War: Private Diary and Letters, 1861-1862| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=0fPpjI6DVK0C|access-date= 18 March 2022|location= Athens, Georgia, United States | publisher= University of Georgia Press | page= 47| isbn= 978-0-820-33200-0}}</ref> born in [[Charleston, South Carolina]], on November 10, 1822. He graduated at [[College of Charleston]] in 1840, studied law at [[Harvard University]], and was admitted to the bar in 1843.<ref name="EB1911"/> He was married to Eliza Natalie Cuthbert, whose family had land originally granted by King George II.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hunt|first1=Galliard|title=Narrative and letter of William Henry Trescot concerning the negotiations between South Carolina and President Buchanan in December, 1860|journal=[[The American Historical Review]]|date=April 1908|volume=13|issue=3|pages=528–556|url=http://digital.tcl.sc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/sclpam/id/1087|access-date=24 September 2014|doi=10.2307/1834428|jstor=1834428}}</ref>


From 1852 to 1854 he was secretary of the [[United States|U.S.]] legation in [[London]]. In June 1860 he was appointed assistant secretary of state, and he was acting secretary of state in June–October, during General [[Lewis Cass]]'s absence from [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]], and for a few days in December after Cass's resignation. His position was important, as the only South Carolinian holding anything like official rank, because of his intimacy with President [[James Buchanan]], and his close relations with the secession leaders in South Carolina.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Trescot, William Henry|volume=27|page=253}}</ref>
He was a close student of American foreign policy.<ref>{{cite book |last= Kaltwasser |first= Cristóbal Rovira |author-link=Cristóbal Rovira |date= 13 January 2018|title= The Oxford Handbook of Populism| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=X8Q9DwAAQBAJ |access-date= 18 March 2022|location= Oxford | publisher= Oxford University Press| page= 518| isbn= 978-0-198-80356-0}}</ref> From 1852 to 1854 he was secretary of the [[United States|U.S.]] legation in [[London]]. In June 1860 he was appointed assistant secretary of state, and he was acting secretary of state in June–October, during General [[Lewis Cass]]'s absence from [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]], and for a few days in December after Cass's resignation. His position was important, as the only South Carolinian holding anything like official rank, because of his intimacy with President [[James Buchanan]], and his close relations with the secession leaders in South Carolina.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Trescot, William Henry|volume=27|page=253}}</ref>


[[Image:William Henry Trescot.jpg|thumb|left|William Henry Trescot]]
[[Image:William Henry Trescot.jpg|thumb|left|William Henry Trescot]]
He opposed the reinforcement of [[Fort Sumter]], used his influence to prevent any attack on the fort by South Carolina before the meeting of the state's convention called to consider the question of secession, and became the special agent of South Carolina in Washington after his resignation from his position as [[United States Assistant Secretary of State]] in December. He returned to Charleston in February 1861; was a member of the state legislature in 1862–1866, and served as colonel on the staff of General [[Roswell S. Ripley]] during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]; and later returned to Washington.<ref name="EB1911"/>
He opposed the reinforcement of [[Fort Sumter]], used his influence to prevent any attack on the fort by South Carolina before the meeting of the state's convention called to consider the question of secession, and became the special agent of South Carolina in Washington after his resignation from his position as [[United States Assistant Secretary of State]] in December. When he returned to Charleston in February 1861, he played a leading role in the negotiations surrounding the Charleston forts.<ref name="auto"/> He was a member of the state legislature in 1862–1866, and served as colonel on the staff of General [[Roswell S. Ripley]] during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]; and later returned to Washington.<ref name="EB1911"/>


He was counsel for the United States before the [[Halifax Fisheries Commission]] in 1877; was commissioner for the revision of the treaty with [[China]] in 1880; was minister to [[Chile]] in 1881 and 1882; in 1882 with General [[Ulysses S. Grant]] negotiated a commercial treaty with [[Mexico]]; and in 1889-1890 was a delegate to the [[Pan-American Conference|Pan-American Congress]] in Washington. He died at [[Pendleton, South Carolina]], his country place, on 4 May 1898.<ref name="EB1911"/>
He was counsel for the United States before the [[Halifax Fisheries Commission]] in 1877; was commissioner for the revision of the treaty with [[China]] in 1880; was minister to [[Chile]] in 1881 and 1882; in 1882 with General [[Ulysses S. Grant]] negotiated a commercial treaty with [[Mexico]]; and in 1889-1890 was a delegate to the [[Pan-American Conference|Pan-American Congress]] in Washington. He died at [[Pendleton, South Carolina]], his country place, on 4 May 1898.<ref name="EB1911"/>

In the opinion of historian [[David Saville Muzzey]], Trescot was "one of the most accomplished diplomats in our history."<ref>David Saville Muzzey, [https://archive.org/details/jamesgblainepoli0000muzz/page/213/mode/1up?view=theater ''James G. Blaine: A Political Idol of Other Days'', p.213], Dodd, Mead & Co., 1934.</ref>


==Works==
==Works==
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*''The Diplomatic History of the Administrations of Washington and Adams'' (1857)<ref name="EB1911"/>
*''The Diplomatic History of the Administrations of Washington and Adams'' (1857)<ref name="EB1911"/>
*''Memorial of the life of [[J. Johnston Pettigrew]]: [[Brigadier General]] of the [[Confederate States Army]]'' (1870)
*''Memorial of the life of [[J. Johnston Pettigrew]]: [[Brigadier General]] of the [[Confederate States Army]]'' (1870)

==Further reading==
*Nicoletti, Cynthia. [https://muse.jhu.edu/article/836392 "William Henry Trescot, Pardon Broker"], ''The Journal of the Civil War Era'', Volume 11, Number 4, December 2021, pp. 478-506. The University of North Carolina Press.


==References==
==References==
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[[Category:People of South Carolina in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:People of South Carolina in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:United States Assistant Secretaries of State]]
[[Category:United States Assistant Secretaries of State]]
[[Category:Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives]]
[[Category:South Carolina Democrats]]
[[Category:19th-century American legislators]]
[[Category:19th-century American politicians]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Charleston, South Carolina]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Charleston, South Carolina]]
[[Category:19th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:19th-century American lawyers]]

Latest revision as of 11:49, 11 April 2024

William Henry Trescot
5th United States Assistant Secretary of State
In office
June 8, 1860 – December 20, 1860
Preceded byJohn Appleton
Succeeded byFrederick W. Seward
Personal details
Born(1822-11-10)November 10, 1822
Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedMay 4, 1898(1898-05-04) (aged 75)
Pendleton, South Carolina, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
ProfessionLawyer, Politician

William Henry Trescot (November 10, 1822 – May 4, 1898) was a Charleston lawyer, historian, and diplomat [1] born in Charleston, South Carolina, on November 10, 1822. He graduated at College of Charleston in 1840, studied law at Harvard University, and was admitted to the bar in 1843.[2] He was married to Eliza Natalie Cuthbert, whose family had land originally granted by King George II.[3]

He was a close student of American foreign policy.[4] From 1852 to 1854 he was secretary of the U.S. legation in London. In June 1860 he was appointed assistant secretary of state, and he was acting secretary of state in June–October, during General Lewis Cass's absence from Washington, and for a few days in December after Cass's resignation. His position was important, as the only South Carolinian holding anything like official rank, because of his intimacy with President James Buchanan, and his close relations with the secession leaders in South Carolina.[2]

William Henry Trescot

He opposed the reinforcement of Fort Sumter, used his influence to prevent any attack on the fort by South Carolina before the meeting of the state's convention called to consider the question of secession, and became the special agent of South Carolina in Washington after his resignation from his position as United States Assistant Secretary of State in December. When he returned to Charleston in February 1861, he played a leading role in the negotiations surrounding the Charleston forts.[1] He was a member of the state legislature in 1862–1866, and served as colonel on the staff of General Roswell S. Ripley during the Civil War; and later returned to Washington.[2]

He was counsel for the United States before the Halifax Fisheries Commission in 1877; was commissioner for the revision of the treaty with China in 1880; was minister to Chile in 1881 and 1882; in 1882 with General Ulysses S. Grant negotiated a commercial treaty with Mexico; and in 1889-1890 was a delegate to the Pan-American Congress in Washington. He died at Pendleton, South Carolina, his country place, on 4 May 1898.[2]

In the opinion of historian David Saville Muzzey, Trescot was "one of the most accomplished diplomats in our history."[5]

Works

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Further reading

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References

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  1. ^ a b Russell, William Howard (1 Sep 2008). William Howard Russell's Civil War: Private Diary and Letters, 1861-1862. Athens, Georgia, United States: University of Georgia Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-820-33200-0. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Trescot, William Henry". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 253.
  3. ^ Hunt, Galliard (April 1908). "Narrative and letter of William Henry Trescot concerning the negotiations between South Carolina and President Buchanan in December, 1860". The American Historical Review. 13 (3): 528–556. doi:10.2307/1834428. JSTOR 1834428. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  4. ^ Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (13 January 2018). The Oxford Handbook of Populism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 518. ISBN 978-0-198-80356-0. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  5. ^ David Saville Muzzey, James G. Blaine: A Political Idol of Other Days, p.213, Dodd, Mead & Co., 1934.
Political offices
Preceded by United States Assistant Secretary of State
1860 		Succeeded by
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