Essay Example on Presidencies the Secretary of State’s duty

Since the beginning of presidencies, the Secretary of State’s duty has been to advise the President on foreign affairs and carry out the President’s foreign policies Out of the 69 Secretaries of State not all have successfully completed those tasks However many of them have been able to complete it and have done so responsibly and efficiently such as John Forsyth Forsyth has held several political positions over his lifetime which prepared and qualified him for his role as Secretary of State under two presidencies During his tenure John Forsyth effectively altered American policy and maintained United States policy by responsibly dealing with foreign affairs and supporting the decisions of Presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren During the early 1800s John Forsyth was an admired well respected and honored American political Throughout his life he has served many political positions such as Governor of Georgia Senator a United States Minister to Spain and Congressmen 

However his most high profile position was Secretary of State During his time as Secretary of State Forsyth lead the United States Government s case against the Amistad mutiny On July 1 1839 the Amistad mutiny a slave rebellion took place on the slave ship Amistad near the coast of Cuba This had critical political and legal consequences in the American abolition movement Forsyth quickly took the role of arguing the case for the United States Government In his arguments he claimed that the only option was to return the slaves the vessel and the cargo back to the Spanish Forsyth was arguing against former President John Quincy Adams After several years of of Forsyth and Adams defending their claims in 1841 the United States Supreme Court decided to free the rebels resolution in Forsyth s lose and a surprising yet major victory for anti slavery forces Even though he did not win many view Forsyth s position on this case as him using his own egoistic and unethical interests to guide and rule his political philosophy along with the course of the nation Regardless of how other viewed him in the mist and end of the Amistad case Forsyth continued to deal with foreign affairs and support the decisions of his President to create sustainability for the nation For example in Forsyth and Jackson terminated the continuing controversy over the damages caused during the Napoleonic Wars by France upon United States foreign commerce In 1834 President Jackson proposed that Congress pass legislation to seize French property upon the condition that the French Government decided to release the payments guaranteed by an 1831 settlement treaty Jackson s belligerent position on the matter persuaded the French Government to end all relations with the United States 

Fortunately as soon as Jackson explained that he had no intention of insulting France with his position all relations were renewed and the payments began to be made As a result Forsyth arranged 5 million in payments over six years from the French government and the United States government reduced the import duty on French wines Furthermore in 1837 Forsyth coordinated with President Jackson on the United States recognition of the independent Republic of Texas Jackson did not want to go to war with Mexico but he also did not want the possibility of adding another slave state After several harmful and serve events took place in Texas between Mexico the United States and Texas Commander Alexander J Dallas reported that the Mexican authorities refused to give American vessels water other provisions and necessities and permission to go on land In addition they warned that any American in the Tampico area would be murdered Jackson was extremely furious and after gathering his thoughts he told Dallas to blockade Tampico until Mexico surrendered allowing the Americans water and communication to the Consul He then told John Forsyth to alert Gorostiza about the commands given to Dallas which Forsyth did By claiming that he would continue Jackson s policies Martin Van Buren won the presidency in 1837 and appointed John Forsyth as his Secretary of State Under Martin Van Buren s presidency Forsyth supported Van Buren s claims and decisions multiple times For example the annexation of Texas Van Buren was against the annexation 

After the Panic of 1837 a financial crisis in the United States and the depression surrounding Texas often put an end to the issue of admitting Texas to the Union However the disappointed Texans which were anxious to join the Union began to converse with other nations Britain was particularly interested in the cotton supply Texas displayed but backed down because of the existence of slavery After looking over the possible impacts of annexing Texas Forsyth agreed with and supported Van Buren s claim He backed up Van Buren s calm approach to the dispute with Great Britain over the United States Canadian border This situation was complicated by the hostile and unfavourable position of the Maine State Government Moreover Forsyth also issued strong claims and statements rejecting British claims to the right to search United States vessels for slaves off the African coast John Forsyth effectively altered American policy and maintained United States policy by responsibly dealing with foreign affairs and supporting the decisions of Presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren during his tenure Appointed by Andrew Jackson in 1834 for his political support while he was a Congressman and reappointed by Martin Van Buren John Forsyth completed his tenure in 1841 Even though his failure to convince the Supreme Court that the slaves the vessel and the cargo should go back to the Spanish Forsyth still succeeded in other areas of his job resulting in the sustainability of the nation