James Pollock

James Pollock ( born September 10, 1810 in Milton, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, † April 19, 1890 in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania ) was an American politician and from 1855 to 1858 the 13th Governor of the state of Pennsylvania.

Early years

James Pollock first attended the Kilpatrick Private School in Milton. Then he studied until 1831 at what is now Princeton University. After studying law and its made ​​in 1833 admitted to the bar Pollock was first worked in his new profession in Milton. In 1836 he was appointed deputy district attorney in Northumberland County and then judge in a court of appeal.

Congressman and Governor

1844 Pollock was a candidate of the Whigs in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington DC selected. There he represented the 13th legislative district of his state between April 5, 1844 March 4, 1849. In Congress, he campaigned for the construction of a transcontinental railroad. In 1850 he became Chief Judge of the Eighth Judicial District of Pennsylvania. In 1854 he was nonminiert by the Whigs as a candidate for the upcoming gubernatorial election. With these he was able to defeat the Democratic incumbent William Bigler and win the governorship. His election victory he owed the discussion about the Kansas - Nebraska Act, the Bigler advocated and which the majority of the citizens of Pennsylvania refused. Pollock was also supported by the so- Know-Nothing Party and supporters of the temperance movement.

Pollock took up his new post on January 16, 1855. During his tenure began in Pennsylvania with the sale of state shares in railways and canals. This enabled the household are relieved. At that time also has its own Ministry of Education was created. Through a clever economic policy, he managed to keep the impact of the economic crisis of 1857 limited. James Pollock declined in 1857 from a bid again and therefore different on January 19, 1858 from his office of.

Another Journey

After the end of his governorship Pollock was working as a lawyer again. In the spring of 1861 he was head of the delegation from Pennsylvania to a meeting convened in Washington peace conference, which tried in vain at the last minute, to prevent the outbreak of civil war. After the dissolution of the Whigs mid-1850s Pollock joined the Republican Party. In 1861 he was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to head the United States Mint. He remained in this position until 1866. Between 1869 and 1873 he was again in this office. He is considered the inventor of the motto "In God We Trust " on U.S. coins. The two- cent coin from 1864 was the first piece of money with this dedication.

Between 1879 and 1883 Pollock was employed by the customs authorities in the port of Philadelphia. In 1886 he was the Federal Returning Officer for the elections this year. Pollock was a religious man who was 1890 president of the American Sunday School Union between 1855 and his death in the year. Against this background, the aforementioned dedication " In God we trust" on coins is to be understood. James Pollock died in April 1890. He was married to Sarah Ann Hepburn, with whom he had eight children.