William C. Redfield
William Cox Redfield ( born June 18, 1858 in Albany, New York, † June 13, 1932 in New York City ) was an American politician of the Democratic Party, who belonged to the cabinet of President Woodrow Wilson was the first U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
Life
As a child Redfield moved with his parents from his native state of New York to Massachusetts, where the family settled in Pittsfield. He attended the public schools, but was also home schooled. His professional career began as a clerk in the post office of Pittsfield; later he worked for a firm as a commercial traveler. The age of 19 he moved to New York City, where he acted with office supplies and printing needs. In the following years he worked among other things in the banking and insurance industry.
Policy
1896 Redfield was a delegate to the Congress of the newly formed National Democratic Party in Indianapolis. This spin-off from the Democratic Party, also known as Gold Democrats known, stood in opposition to the Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan and sat mostly made up of supporters of outgoing President Grover Cleveland. Redfield joined in 1898 as a candidate of the Gold Democrats for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, but failed.
He later returned as many other members of the National Democratic Party back to the Democrats and ran again in 1910 for a seat in Congress. This time he was - in a typically republican elected district - and successfully completed a two year term of office. For re-election he did not join in because he competed in 1912 for the nomination for vice presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. However, these went to Thomas Riley Marshall.
Nevertheless Redfield was a member of the Cabinet of Woodrow Wilson, who appointed him to his trade minister. Previously, Wilson had made with one of his first official acts, the splitting of the previously united trade and labor ministry in the Trade and the Ministry of Labour. Redfield officiated until 1st November 1919 until he resigned and returned to New York, where he pursued his business activities in the banking, investment and insurance business again.