John Forsyth

John Forsyth served as Secretary of State from 1834 to 1841 under Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren. Earlier, as minister to Spain, he helped secure ratification of the Adams-Onís Treaty, which transferred Florida to the United States and settled territorial claims. He also served in Congress and as governor of Georgia, where he supported the removal of Indigenous nations from lands claimed by the state. ¹

At the State Department, Forsyth followed Jackson’s lead in pressing France to pay compensation for seizures of American shipping during the Napoleonic Wars. Jackson’s threats of retaliation brought a diplomatic rupture before clarification of his language opened the way to payment. Forsyth also took part in the cautious recognition of the Republic of Texas in 1837. Under Van Buren, he supported delaying annexation, which threatened conflict with Mexico and intensified the national dispute over slavery. ¹

British relations required attention to the Maine boundary, Canadian unrest, and arguments over the search of ships suspected of carrying enslaved Africans. Forsyth backed Van Buren’s effort to avoid war over the boundary. He also supported the administration’s attempt to return the Africans who had seized the Amistad to Spanish custody. The Supreme Court rejected that position. His service placed the defense of American shipping and territorial expansion alongside policies that upheld slavery and dispossessed Indigenous peoples. ¹