View source for John Forsyth (politician)

{{Short description|American politician (1780–1841)}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = John Forsyth
| image               = John Forsyth US Secretary of State.jpg
| office              = 13th [[United States Secretary of State]]
| president           = [[Andrew Jackson]]<br>[[Martin Van Buren]]
| term_start          = July 1, 1834
| term_end            = March 4, 1841
| predecessor         = [[Louis McLane]]
| successor           = [[Daniel Webster]]
| jr/sr1              = United States Senator
| state1              = [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
| term_start1         = November 9, 1829
| term_end1           = June 27, 1834
| predecessor1        = [[John M. Berrien]]
| successor1          = [[Alfred Cuthbert]]
| term_start2         = November 23, 1818
| term_end2           = February 17, 1819
| predecessor2        = [[George Troup]]
| successor2          = [[Freeman Walker]]
| office3             = 33rd [[Governor of Georgia]]
| term_start3         = November 7, 1827
| term_end3           = November 4, 1829
| predecessor3        = [[George Troup]]
| successor3          = [[George Rockingham Gilmer|George Gilmer]]
| state4              = [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
| district4           = {{ushr|GA|2|2nd}}
| term_start4         = March 4, 1827
| term_end4           = November 7, 1827
| predecessor4        = Constituency reestablished
| successor4          = [[Richard Henry Wilde]]
| state5              = [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
| district5           = {{ushr|GA|AL|at-large}}
| term_start5         = March 4, 1823
| term_end5           = March 3, 1827
| predecessor5        = [[Robert R. Reid]]
| successor5          = Districts established
| term_start6         = March 4, 1813
| term_end6           = November 23, 1818
| predecessor6        = Seat established
| successor6          = [[Robert R. Reid]]
| office7             = 5th [[List of ambassadors of the United States to Spain|United States Minister to Spain]]
| president7          = [[James Monroe]]
| term_start7         = May 18, 1819
| term_end7           = March 2, 1823
| predecessor7        = [[George W. Erving]]
| successor7          = [[Hugh Nelson (congressman)|Hugh Nelson]]
| office8             = 12th [[Attorney General of Georgia]]
| governor8           = [[Jared Irwin]]<br>[[David Brydie Mitchell|David Mitchell]]
| term_start8         = 1808
| term_end8           = 1811
| predecessor8        = John Hamil
| successor8          = Alexander Allen
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1780|10|22}}
| birth_place         = [[Fredericksburg, Virginia]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1841|10|21|1780|10|22}}
| death_place         = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.
| party               = [[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republican]] (before 1825)<br>[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] (1825–1841)
| education           = [[Princeton University|College of New Jersey]] {{small|([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])}}<br/>(renamed Princeton)
| signature           = Signature of Georgia politician John Forsyth Sr.png
}}

'''John Forsyth Sr.''' (October 22, 1780{{spaced ndash}}October 21, 1841) was a 19th-century American politician from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. He represented the state in both the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] and the [[United States Senate|Senate]], and also served as the [[List of Governors of Georgia|33rd Governor of Georgia]]. As a supporter of the policies of President [[Andrew Jackson]], Forsyth was appointed the 13th [[United States Secretary of State]] by Jackson in 1834, and continued in that role until 1841 during the presidency of [[Martin Van Buren]]. He also served as US Minister to Spain during the presidency of [[James Monroe]].

==Early life==
Forsyth was born in [[Fredericksburg, Virginia]]. His father, [[Robert Forsyth (U.S. Marshal)|Robert Forsyth]], a Scottish immigrant, was the first [[United States Marshals Service|U.S. Marshal]] to be killed in the line of duty in 1794.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Brown|first1=Russell K.|title=Killed in the Line of Duty: Marshal Robert Harriss, Jr., of Summerville, Georgia|journal=Georgia Historical Quarterly|date=Fall 2008|volume=92|issue=3|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aqh&AN=35282184&site=eds-live&scope=site|access-date=October 25, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Whitmire |first1=Kelly |title=What's in a name? Historian talks about where road, area names originated in Cumming, Forsyth County |url=https://www.forsythnews.com/local/whats-in-a-name-historian-talks-about-where-road-area-names-originated-in-cumming-forsyth-county/ |publisher=Forsyth News |access-date=February 9, 2019 |date=January 25, 2019}}</ref> He was an attorney who graduated from the [[Princeton University|College of New Jersey]] (now Princeton University) in 1799. He married Clara Meigs, daughter of [[Josiah Meigs]], in 1801. One of his sons, [[John Forsyth, Jr.]], later became a newspaper editor.

==Political life==
Forsyth served in the [[United States House of Representatives]] (1813–1818 and 1823–1827), the [[United States Senate]] (1818–1819 and 1829–1834), and as the [[List of Governors of Georgia|33rd Governor of Georgia]] (1827–1829). He was the [[United States Secretary of State]] from 1834 until 1841. In this role he led the government's response to the ''[[United States v. The Amistad|Amistad]]'' case.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Unger|first1=Harlow G.|title=John Quincy Adams|date=2012|publisher=Da Capo Press|location=Boston|isbn=9780306822650|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780306822650/page/292 292]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780306822650/page/292|access-date=June 12, 2016}}</ref> He was a loyal follower of [[Andrew Jackson]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Howe|first1=Daniel Walker|title=What Hath God Wrought : The Transformation of America, 1815–1848|date=2007|publisher=New York|location=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195078947|page=[https://archive.org/details/whathathgodwroug00howe/page/346 346]|url=https://archive.org/details/whathathgodwroug00howe/page/346|access-date=June 12, 2016|url-access=registration}}</ref> and opposed [[John C. Calhoun]] in the issue of [[Nullification Crisis|nullification]]. Forsyth was appointed as Secretary of State in reward for his efforts. He led the pro-removal reply to [[Theodore Frelinghuysen]] about the [[Indian Removal Act]] of 1830.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cheathem|first1=Mark Renfred|title=Andrew Jackson, Southerner|date=2014|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|location=Baton Rouge|isbn=978-0807150986|page=154}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Morris|first1=Michael|title=Georgia and the Conversation over Indian Removal|journal=Georgia Historical Quarterly|date=Winter 2007|volume=91|issue=4|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=27955256&site=eds-live&scope=site|access-date=October 25, 2016}}</ref> He supported slavery and was a slaveholder himself.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Finkelman|first1=Paul|last2=Kennon|first2=Donald R.|title=In the shadow of freedom : the politics of slavery in the national capital|date=2010|publisher=Ohio University Press|location=Athens, Ohio|isbn=978-0821419342|page=27}}</ref>

==Death and legacy==
Forsyth died in Washington, D.C., and was buried in [[Congressional Cemetery]]. [[Forsyth County, Georgia]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Forsyth County historical marker|url=http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/forsyth/forsyth-county|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|access-date=June 12, 2016}}</ref> [[Forsyth, Georgia]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Forsyth historical marker|url=http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/monroe/forsyth|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|access-date=June 12, 2016}}</ref> and [[Forsyth Park]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Forsyth Park historical marker|url=http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/chatham/forsyth-park|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|access-date=June 12, 2016}}</ref> in Savannah are named for him.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n127 128]}}</ref> He died the day before his 61st birthday.

==In popular culture==
*In the 1997 [[Steven Spielberg]] movie, ''[[Amistad (1997 film)|Amistad]]'', Forsyth was played by character actor [[David Paymer]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Amistad (1997)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/amistad/|website=Rotten Tomatoes|date=December 10, 1997 |access-date=May 13, 2018}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{bioguide}}
* {{cite book|last1=Duckett|first1=Alvin Laroy|title=John Forsyth, political tactician|date=1962|publisher=University of Georgia Press|location=Athens|isbn=978-0820335346|url=http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/ugapressbks/do-pdf:ugp9780820335346|access-date=June 12, 2016}}

==External links==
* {{Biographical Directory of Congress|F000284}}
* {{Find a Grave|6654003}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070417094737/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/amistad/AMI_BFOR.HTM Biography at Players in the Amistad Affair]
* [http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/zlna/id:tcc735{{Dead link|date=November 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Letter, 1825 Mar. 5, Washington, [D.C. to<nowiki>]</nowiki> G[eorge<nowiki>]</nowiki> M. Troup, [Governor of Georgia<nowiki>]</nowiki> / John Forsyth]
* [http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/zlna/id:tcc736{{Dead link|date=November 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} [Letter<nowiki>]</nowiki> 1826 June 15, Sand Hills, [Georgia<nowiki>]</nowiki> / John Forsyth]
* [http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/zlna/id:krc085{{Dead link|date=November 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} [Letter<nowiki>]</nowiki> 1827 Dec 12, Milledgeville, Georgia, [to Governor<nowiki>]</nowiki> of Tennessee, Sam[ue<nowiki>]</nowiki>l Houston / John Forsyth, Gov[ernor of Georgia<nowiki>]</nowiki>]
* [http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/zlna/id:tcc737{{Dead link|date=November 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} [Letter<nowiki>]</nowiki> 1830 Jan 24, Georgetown, District of Columbia [to<nowiki>]</nowiki> George R. Gilmer, Governor of Georgia / John Forsyth]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Forsyth, John (Georgia)}}
[[Category:1780 births]]
[[Category:1841 deaths]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Spain]]
[[Category:Burials at the Congressional Cemetery]]
[[Category:Democratic Party United States senators from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Democratic-Republican Party United States senators]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) attorneys general]]
[[Category:Democratic Party governors of Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Jackson administration cabinet members]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Politicians from Fredericksburg, Virginia]]
[[Category:Princeton University alumni]]
[[Category:United States secretaries of state]]
[[Category:Van Buren administration cabinet members]]
[[Category:Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States]]
[[Category:19th-century American diplomats]]
[[Category:Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:La Amistad]]
[[Category:Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations]]
[[Category:United States senators who owned slaves]]
[[Category:United States representatives who owned slaves]]
[[Category:Meigs family]]
[[Category:19th-century United States representatives]]
[[Category:19th-century United States senators]]
[[Category:19th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly]]