Veeps: George Mifflin Dallas
James K. Polk was (a) a chronic micro-manager and (b) not above being petty sometimes, and so one can infer that he didn't hand off any significant responsibility to his Vice-President, George Mifflin Dallas. Dallas was chosen in part to gain an upper hand in winning Pennsylvania's electoral votes in the election of 1844 and in part as an affront to his opponent for the nomination James Buchanan, who represented a different Pennsylvania faction of Democrats than the one led by Dallas. Still, Dallas couldn't have been that inept, since he is remembered by a number of places named after him, including possibly Dallas, Texas.
George Mifflin Dallas was born on July 11, 1792, to Alexander James Dallas and Arabella Smith Dallas in Philadelphia. His father was born in Kingston, Jamaica and educated in Edinburgh, was the Secretary of the Treasury under United States President James Madison, and was also briefly the Secretary of War. George Dallas got his middle name after Thomas Mifflin, another politician who was good friends with his father. He was the second of six children. Dallas was educated at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) and was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1813.
Dallas wanted to fight in the War of 1812, but his father forbid it. Dallas became the private secretary of Albert Gallatin, and he went to Russia with Gallatin and later to negotiate the treaty that ended the war. In 1814 he was appointed by James Madison to become the remitter of the treasury, and he later became the counsel to the Second Bank of the United States (which calls in to question why Polk selected him as a running mate when Polk was opposed to the bank.) In 1817, Dallas's father died, and he stopped working for the bank became the deputy attorney general of Philadelphia, a position he held until 1820.
Political career
Pennsylvania's state's Democratic party was split between the Philadelphia-based "Family party", led by Dallas, and the "Amalgamators" led by James Buchanan. Dallas' faction supported a strong central government including a powerful central bank. Dallas was elected Mayor of Philadelphia in 1829 but was said to have become bored with that post. He became the United States attorney for the eastern district of Pennsylvania in 1829, a position his father had held for 14 years. In December 1831, he the state legislature selected him to become the Senator from Pennsylvania in order to complete the unexpired term of a previous senator who had resigned. It appears that Dallas didn't like the senate either. He served out the remainder of the term and declined to be a candidate for reelection. He was chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs.
Dallas resumed the practice of law and was attorney general of Pennsylvania from 1833 to 1835, and served as the Grand Master of Freemasons in Pennsylvania in 1835. He was appointed by President Martin Van Buren as "Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Russia" from 1837 to 1839, when he was recalled at his own request.
Dallas was elected Vice President of the United States on the Democratic ticket in 1844 with James K. Polk and served from March 4, 1845 to March 4, 1849. Dallas and Buchanan were rival leaders of the Democratic Party in Pennsylvania. In May, 1844, at the democratic convention at Baltimore, New York Senator Silas Wright was nominated as the party's candidate for vice-president, but when Wright was notified, he declined. His party's second choice, Dallas was put on the ticket with Polk. They were elected by an electoral vote of 170 out of 275. James Buchanan was appointed Secretary of State by President Polk, though not without Dallas's vehement objections.
As Vice-President, Dallas sought to advance two of the administration's major objectives: tariff reduction and territorial expansion. Dallas had traditionally supported the protectionist tariff policy because they protected his state's coal and iron industries. But as vice president, elected on a platform dedicated to tariff reduction, he was loyal to his administration and agreed to do support that goal. By the end of his vice-presidential term, Dallas boasted that he cast thirty tie-breaking votes during his four years in office. (Senate records show only nineteen, but that's still pretty impressive). Dallas sought to avoid having to cast a tie-breaking vote on the tariff issue, actively lobbying senators during the debate so he wouldn't have to break the tie and end up hated in his home state.
Despite Dallas' efforts to duck the issue, the Senate vote on ended in a 27-to-27 tie and Dallas cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of the tariff on July 28, 1846. He said that he had studied the distribution of Senate support and concluded that backing for the measure came from all regions of the country and also noted that the measure had overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives. He told the citizens of Pennsylvania: "an officer, elected by the suffrages of all twenty-eight states, and bound by his oath and every constitutional obligation, faithfully and fairly to represent, in the execution of his high trust, all the citizens of the Union. I can narrow my great sphere and act with reference only to [Pennsylvania's] interests." His action earned Dallas Polk's respect, but it effectively demolished his home state political base, ending any serious prospects for future elective office. (Dallas advised his wife, whom he referred to as "Mrs. Vice" in a message hand-delivered by the Senate Sergeant at Arms, "If there be the slightest indication of a disposition to riot in the city of Philadelphia, owing to the passage of the Tariff Bill, pack up and bring the whole brood to Washington.")
Dallas' tariff vote destroyed him politically in Pennsylvania. He tried to salvage his chance of building support to gain the White House by focusing his support for Polk's expansionist foreign policy program. He actively supported efforts to gain control of Texas, the Southwest, Cuba, and disputed portions of the Oregon territory. But this didn't seem to help.
After his term ended, Dallas returned to Philadelphia to practice law. In 1856, President Franklin Pierce appointed Dallas to succeed James Buchanan as minister to Great Britain, and surprisingly Buchanan kept Dallas in the post until the appointment by President Lincoln of Charles F. Adams, who relieved him on 16 May, 1861. At the end of his diplomatic career Dallas returned to private life and took no further part in public affairs except to express his vehement opposition to secession. Dallas lived in Philadelphia until his death from a heart attack on December 31, 1864, at the age of 72. He is interred in St. Peter's Churchyard.
A number of municipalities and counties have been named after Dallas including Dallas County, Iowa, Dallas County, Missouri, Dallas Center, Iowa, Dallas County, Texas, Dallas, Georgia, Dallas, North Carolina, Dallas, Oregon (the county seat of Polk County, Oregon) and Dallastown, Pennsylvania. It is debated that the city of Dallas, Texas is named after him, but many historians believe this to be unlikely.
George Mifflin Dallas was born on July 11, 1792, to Alexander James Dallas and Arabella Smith Dallas in Philadelphia. His father was born in Kingston, Jamaica and educated in Edinburgh, was the Secretary of the Treasury under United States President James Madison, and was also briefly the Secretary of War. George Dallas got his middle name after Thomas Mifflin, another politician who was good friends with his father. He was the second of six children. Dallas was educated at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) and was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1813.
Dallas wanted to fight in the War of 1812, but his father forbid it. Dallas became the private secretary of Albert Gallatin, and he went to Russia with Gallatin and later to negotiate the treaty that ended the war. In 1814 he was appointed by James Madison to become the remitter of the treasury, and he later became the counsel to the Second Bank of the United States (which calls in to question why Polk selected him as a running mate when Polk was opposed to the bank.) In 1817, Dallas's father died, and he stopped working for the bank became the deputy attorney general of Philadelphia, a position he held until 1820.
Political career
Pennsylvania's state's Democratic party was split between the Philadelphia-based "Family party", led by Dallas, and the "Amalgamators" led by James Buchanan. Dallas' faction supported a strong central government including a powerful central bank. Dallas was elected Mayor of Philadelphia in 1829 but was said to have become bored with that post. He became the United States attorney for the eastern district of Pennsylvania in 1829, a position his father had held for 14 years. In December 1831, he the state legislature selected him to become the Senator from Pennsylvania in order to complete the unexpired term of a previous senator who had resigned. It appears that Dallas didn't like the senate either. He served out the remainder of the term and declined to be a candidate for reelection. He was chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs.
Dallas resumed the practice of law and was attorney general of Pennsylvania from 1833 to 1835, and served as the Grand Master of Freemasons in Pennsylvania in 1835. He was appointed by President Martin Van Buren as "Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Russia" from 1837 to 1839, when he was recalled at his own request.
Dallas was elected Vice President of the United States on the Democratic ticket in 1844 with James K. Polk and served from March 4, 1845 to March 4, 1849. Dallas and Buchanan were rival leaders of the Democratic Party in Pennsylvania. In May, 1844, at the democratic convention at Baltimore, New York Senator Silas Wright was nominated as the party's candidate for vice-president, but when Wright was notified, he declined. His party's second choice, Dallas was put on the ticket with Polk. They were elected by an electoral vote of 170 out of 275. James Buchanan was appointed Secretary of State by President Polk, though not without Dallas's vehement objections.
As Vice-President, Dallas sought to advance two of the administration's major objectives: tariff reduction and territorial expansion. Dallas had traditionally supported the protectionist tariff policy because they protected his state's coal and iron industries. But as vice president, elected on a platform dedicated to tariff reduction, he was loyal to his administration and agreed to do support that goal. By the end of his vice-presidential term, Dallas boasted that he cast thirty tie-breaking votes during his four years in office. (Senate records show only nineteen, but that's still pretty impressive). Dallas sought to avoid having to cast a tie-breaking vote on the tariff issue, actively lobbying senators during the debate so he wouldn't have to break the tie and end up hated in his home state.
Despite Dallas' efforts to duck the issue, the Senate vote on ended in a 27-to-27 tie and Dallas cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of the tariff on July 28, 1846. He said that he had studied the distribution of Senate support and concluded that backing for the measure came from all regions of the country and also noted that the measure had overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives. He told the citizens of Pennsylvania: "an officer, elected by the suffrages of all twenty-eight states, and bound by his oath and every constitutional obligation, faithfully and fairly to represent, in the execution of his high trust, all the citizens of the Union. I can narrow my great sphere and act with reference only to [Pennsylvania's] interests." His action earned Dallas Polk's respect, but it effectively demolished his home state political base, ending any serious prospects for future elective office. (Dallas advised his wife, whom he referred to as "Mrs. Vice" in a message hand-delivered by the Senate Sergeant at Arms, "If there be the slightest indication of a disposition to riot in the city of Philadelphia, owing to the passage of the Tariff Bill, pack up and bring the whole brood to Washington.")
Dallas' tariff vote destroyed him politically in Pennsylvania. He tried to salvage his chance of building support to gain the White House by focusing his support for Polk's expansionist foreign policy program. He actively supported efforts to gain control of Texas, the Southwest, Cuba, and disputed portions of the Oregon territory. But this didn't seem to help.
After his term ended, Dallas returned to Philadelphia to practice law. In 1856, President Franklin Pierce appointed Dallas to succeed James Buchanan as minister to Great Britain, and surprisingly Buchanan kept Dallas in the post until the appointment by President Lincoln of Charles F. Adams, who relieved him on 16 May, 1861. At the end of his diplomatic career Dallas returned to private life and took no further part in public affairs except to express his vehement opposition to secession. Dallas lived in Philadelphia until his death from a heart attack on December 31, 1864, at the age of 72. He is interred in St. Peter's Churchyard.
A number of municipalities and counties have been named after Dallas including Dallas County, Iowa, Dallas County, Missouri, Dallas Center, Iowa, Dallas County, Texas, Dallas, Georgia, Dallas, North Carolina, Dallas, Oregon (the county seat of Polk County, Oregon) and Dallastown, Pennsylvania. It is debated that the city of Dallas, Texas is named after him, but many historians believe this to be unlikely.