William J. Duane

For the Jesuit priest and president of Fordham University, see William J. Duane (Jesuit).

William John Duane
11th United States Secretary of the Treasury
In office May 29, 1833 – September 22, 1833
President	Andrew Jackson
Preceded by	Louis McLane
Succeeded by	Roger B. Taney
Personal details
Born	(1780-05-09)May 9, 1780 Clonmel, Ireland
Died	September 27, 1865(1865-09-27) (aged 85) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Democratic-Republican, Democrat
Spouse	Deborah Franklin Bache
Profession	Politician, Lawyer

William John Duane (May 9, 1780 – September 27, 1865) was an Irish born American politician and lawyer from Pennsylvania.

Born in Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland, Duane emigrated to the United States with his parents, William Duane, and Catherine Corcoran in 1796, settling in Philadelphia. He assisted his father in publishing the Aurora, a Philadelphia newspaper, until 1806. He became an influential lawyer and served several terms in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, becoming one of the most powerful state politicians in Pennsylvania at the time.

Duane served a brief term as United States Secretary of the Treasury in 1833. His refusal to withdraw Federal deposits from the Second Bank of the United States led to his dismissal by President Andrew Jackson.

Family

He married on December 31, 1805 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Deborah Franklin Bache, who was born on October 1, 1781 in Philadelphia, and died on February 12, 1863 at Philadelphia. His father-in-law was Richard Bache, Sr., a marine insurance underwriter and importer in Philadelphia. Bache served as United States Postmaster General from 1776 to 1782. His mother-in-law was Sarah Franklin Bache, the daughter of Benjamin Franklin.

Secretary of the Treasury

In 1833, President Andrew Jackson appointed Duane Secretary of the Treasury. Like his predecessor, Louis McLane, who was moved to the Department of State, Duane refused to remove government deposits from the Bank of the United States and transfer them to state banks. This caused clashes with Jackson and Duane was soon replaced by Roger B. Taney. He defended his own position in his book Narrative and Correspondence Concerning the Removal of the Deposites, and Occurrences Connected Therewith, published in 1838.

Further reading

• Phillips, Kim T. "William Duane, Philadelphia's Democratic Republicans, and the Origins of Modern Politics." Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography (1977): 365-387. online