biography
| name: |
Marcy, William Learned
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1786–1857)
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| biography:
| Lawyer and public official, born in Southbridge, Massachusetts, USA. Instrumental in the powerful ‘Albany Regency’ Democratic machine, he was New York comptroller (1823–9), state supreme court justice (1829–31), US senator (1831–2), and a capable governor of New York (1833–9). As senator he coined the phrase, ‘to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy’. He served as President James Polk's secretary of war (1845–9) during the Mexican War; and, as secretary of state under President Franklin Pierce (1853–7), he negotiated 24 treaties and various other delicate international cases, including the Gadsden Purchase (1853–4). His reputation as one of the nation's ablest public officials has survived the test of time. |
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