Secretaries of State: John Clayton
If Secretaries of State were assessed on points awarded for various accomplishment, surely having your name on a Treaty is worth a bundle. John Clayton, who held the office under President Zachary Taylor is remembered for the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850, which laid the groundwork for America's eventual building of the Panama Canal.
His full name was John Middleton Clayton and he was born in Dagsboro, Delaware on July 24, 1796. His uncle, Dr. Joshua Clayton, was a former Governor of Delaware and his cousin, Thomas Clayton, was a prominent lawyer, U.S. Senator, and judge. John Clayton graduated from Yale University in 1815. He studied law at the Litchfield Law School, and in 1819 began his law practice in Dover, Delaware. It was at this time that his father James Clayton died and John Clayton became the sole supporter of his family. He married Sally Ann Fisher in 1822. She was the granddaughter of former Governor George Truitt. They had two sons, James and Charles, but she died two weeks after the birth of their younger son Charles. Clayton never remarried. He raised the two boys himself.
In 1844, Clayton bought a piece of land near New Castle, Delaware which he called Buena Vista. He built a mansion on the property. His sons died while in their 20's. John Clayton was elected to the Delaware House of Representatives in 1824 session and was appointed to the position of Delaware Secretary of State from December 1826 to October 1828. He was a leader of the John Quincy Adams faction which later became the Delaware Whig Party.
In 1829 Clayton was elected to the United States Senate. At the time he was its youngest member. Six years later he decided not to seek re-election, but the General Assembly elected him anyway. Despite their insistence, he resigned from the Senate on December 29, 1836. While he was a member of the Senate, Clayton supported the extension of the charter for the Second Bank of the United States. He also led a senate investigation of the Post Office Department which led to its reorganization. He also served on the Military Affairs, Militia, District of Columbia and Post Office Committees. For two terms he was the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
Clayton returned home to Delaware after leaving the Senate. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Delaware Superior Court, replacing his cousin Thomas Clayton, who had been elected to the Senate seat he had vacated. He began this position on January 16, 1837, but resigned on September 19, 1839, in order to campaign on behalf of Whig presidential candidate of William Henry Harrison.
Clayton returned to the United States Senate in 1845. He was opposed to the annexation of Texas and also to the Mexican–American War. But once the decision was made to go to war, he supported the war effort. He only served four of his six years of that term and resigned on February 23, 1849, to become U.S. Secretary of State in the administration of the new Whig President, Zachary Taylor.
Clayton took office as Secretary of State on March 8, 1849. In that role his most notable accomplishment was the negotiation of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850. The treaty was named for its two leading negotiators, Clayton and British Foreign Minister, Sir Henry Bulwer-Lytton. This treaty guaranteed concerned the issue of travel across the isthmus at Panama. It was negotiated in response to attempts to build the Nicaragua Canal, a canal in Nicaragua that would connect the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.At the time, Great Britain had territorial claims in three regions: British Honduras (present-day Belize), the Mosquito Coast (the region along the Atlantic coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras) and the Bay Islands (now part of Honduras). The United States had negotiated treaties with Nicaragua and Honduras which gave the United States which had the potential for territorial disputes with the British.
Through negotiations, the two countries were able to agree to a treaty that achieved four goals: (1) both parties agreed not to "obtain or maintain" any exclusive control of the proposed canal, or unequal advantage in its use; (2) the canal passage itself would be considered neutral waters; (3) the parties agreed "to extend their protection...across the isthmus which connects North and South America"; and (4) neither party would ever "occupy, or fortify, or colonize, or assume or exercise any dominion over Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Mosquito Coast or any part of Central America".
The treaty was signed on April 19, 1850, and was ratified by both governments, though there were later disputes involving its interpretation. However the treaty laid the groundwork for America's eventual building of the Panama Canal.
When Zachary Taylor died on July 9, 1850, after just sixteen months in office, Clayton did not wish to remain as part of the cabinet of new President Millard Fillmore. He left office on July 22, 1850, soon after Taylor's death. This did not end his career as a public servant. He was again elected to the United States Senate a third and final time in 1853 and served from March 4, 1853 until his death on November 9, 1856. In that time he was actively involved in the debate over the Kansas-Nebraska Act. On June 15, 1854, he delivered a memorable speech in the Senate criticizing President Franklin Pierce for vetoing the Bill for the Benefit of the Indigent Insane. The bill was championed by mental health advocate Dorothea Dix and would have ceded public lands for an insane asylum, were in not for Pierce's veto.
After the death of his second son, Clayton moved his residence back to Dover. He died there on November 9, 1856. and is buried in the Old Presbyterian Cemetery in Dover, on the grounds of the Delaware State Museum.
His full name was John Middleton Clayton and he was born in Dagsboro, Delaware on July 24, 1796. His uncle, Dr. Joshua Clayton, was a former Governor of Delaware and his cousin, Thomas Clayton, was a prominent lawyer, U.S. Senator, and judge. John Clayton graduated from Yale University in 1815. He studied law at the Litchfield Law School, and in 1819 began his law practice in Dover, Delaware. It was at this time that his father James Clayton died and John Clayton became the sole supporter of his family. He married Sally Ann Fisher in 1822. She was the granddaughter of former Governor George Truitt. They had two sons, James and Charles, but she died two weeks after the birth of their younger son Charles. Clayton never remarried. He raised the two boys himself.
In 1844, Clayton bought a piece of land near New Castle, Delaware which he called Buena Vista. He built a mansion on the property. His sons died while in their 20's. John Clayton was elected to the Delaware House of Representatives in 1824 session and was appointed to the position of Delaware Secretary of State from December 1826 to October 1828. He was a leader of the John Quincy Adams faction which later became the Delaware Whig Party.
In 1829 Clayton was elected to the United States Senate. At the time he was its youngest member. Six years later he decided not to seek re-election, but the General Assembly elected him anyway. Despite their insistence, he resigned from the Senate on December 29, 1836. While he was a member of the Senate, Clayton supported the extension of the charter for the Second Bank of the United States. He also led a senate investigation of the Post Office Department which led to its reorganization. He also served on the Military Affairs, Militia, District of Columbia and Post Office Committees. For two terms he was the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
Clayton returned home to Delaware after leaving the Senate. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Delaware Superior Court, replacing his cousin Thomas Clayton, who had been elected to the Senate seat he had vacated. He began this position on January 16, 1837, but resigned on September 19, 1839, in order to campaign on behalf of Whig presidential candidate of William Henry Harrison.
Clayton returned to the United States Senate in 1845. He was opposed to the annexation of Texas and also to the Mexican–American War. But once the decision was made to go to war, he supported the war effort. He only served four of his six years of that term and resigned on February 23, 1849, to become U.S. Secretary of State in the administration of the new Whig President, Zachary Taylor.
Clayton took office as Secretary of State on March 8, 1849. In that role his most notable accomplishment was the negotiation of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850. The treaty was named for its two leading negotiators, Clayton and British Foreign Minister, Sir Henry Bulwer-Lytton. This treaty guaranteed concerned the issue of travel across the isthmus at Panama. It was negotiated in response to attempts to build the Nicaragua Canal, a canal in Nicaragua that would connect the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.At the time, Great Britain had territorial claims in three regions: British Honduras (present-day Belize), the Mosquito Coast (the region along the Atlantic coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras) and the Bay Islands (now part of Honduras). The United States had negotiated treaties with Nicaragua and Honduras which gave the United States which had the potential for territorial disputes with the British.
Through negotiations, the two countries were able to agree to a treaty that achieved four goals: (1) both parties agreed not to "obtain or maintain" any exclusive control of the proposed canal, or unequal advantage in its use; (2) the canal passage itself would be considered neutral waters; (3) the parties agreed "to extend their protection...across the isthmus which connects North and South America"; and (4) neither party would ever "occupy, or fortify, or colonize, or assume or exercise any dominion over Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Mosquito Coast or any part of Central America".
The treaty was signed on April 19, 1850, and was ratified by both governments, though there were later disputes involving its interpretation. However the treaty laid the groundwork for America's eventual building of the Panama Canal.
When Zachary Taylor died on July 9, 1850, after just sixteen months in office, Clayton did not wish to remain as part of the cabinet of new President Millard Fillmore. He left office on July 22, 1850, soon after Taylor's death. This did not end his career as a public servant. He was again elected to the United States Senate a third and final time in 1853 and served from March 4, 1853 until his death on November 9, 1856. In that time he was actively involved in the debate over the Kansas-Nebraska Act. On June 15, 1854, he delivered a memorable speech in the Senate criticizing President Franklin Pierce for vetoing the Bill for the Benefit of the Indigent Insane. The bill was championed by mental health advocate Dorothea Dix and would have ceded public lands for an insane asylum, were in not for Pierce's veto.
After the death of his second son, Clayton moved his residence back to Dover. He died there on November 9, 1856. and is buried in the Old Presbyterian Cemetery in Dover, on the grounds of the Delaware State Museum.