William Adams Richardson

This article is about the United States Secretary of the Treasury. For the Illinois senator, see William Alexander Richardson.

William Adams Richardson
29th United States Secretary of the Treasury
In office March 17, 1873 – June 3, 1874
President	Ulysses S. Grant
Preceded by	George S. Boutwell
Succeeded by	Benjamin Bristow
Personal details
Born	November 2, 1821 Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	October 19, 1896 (aged 74) Washington D.C., U.S.
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	Harvard University
Profession	Politician, lawyer

William Adams Richardson (November 2, 1821 – October 19, 1896) was an American judge and politician.

Born in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, he graduated from Pinkerton Academy, Lawrence Academy at Groton, and attended Harvard University, graduating in 1843.^[1] He earned his LL.B. from Harvard in 1846, and was a professor at Georgetown Law School from 1879-1894.^[2]

In 1873 he was appointed United States Secretary of the Treasury by President Ulysses S. Grant. He had served as an Assistant Treasury Secretary under his predecessor, George S. Boutwell. He served one year, from 1873 until 1874.

The post-war economy had expanded so quickly that commercial banks became nervous and began calling in their loans. As a result, in the summer of 1873 the money supply tightened drastically, causing the Panic of 1873. Richardson responded by issuing $26 million in greenbacks to meet the demand. The legality of his action was doubtful, but the Congress did not interfere and the crisis was eased. Such cycles of expansion and panic continued for the next thirty years, however, and were the basis for the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913.

In his last months in office Richardson became embroiled in the "Sanborn incident."

After leaving the Treasury, Richardson was appointed by Grant to serve as a Justice and Chief Justice of the United States Court of Claims in 1874. He served until his death in Washington, DC, in 1896.

References

Works

• Practical information concerning the public debt of the United States: with the national banking laws, by William Adams Richardson.
• History, Jurisdiction, and Practice of the Court of Claims (United States), by William Adams Richardson.
• Supplement to the Revised Statutes of the United States, 2nd ed., edited by William Adams Richardson.

External links

• Biography of William Adams Richardson at the Department of the Treasury

Political offices
Preceded by George S. Boutwell	United States Secretary of the Treasury Served under: Ulysses S. Grant 1873–1874	Succeeded by Benjamin H. Bristow