President Buchanan appointed fellow Dickinson College alumnus Philip Francis Thomas as Secretary of the Treasury in mid-December 1860 following Howell Cobb's resignation. Thomas's first task was the urgent marketing of a government bond to fund the national debt. Northern bankers held back due in part to fears that the money would find its way south with the help of Marylander Thomas. When the bond failed, Thomas resigned. He gave as his reasons disagreement with Buchanan's emerging policy concerning South Carolina. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
"Withdrawal of Mr. P.F. Thomas from the Cabinet," New York Times, January 17, 1861.
Record Data
Date Certainty
Exact
Type
Lawmaking/Litigating
