The New International Encyclopædia/Corwin, Thomas

CORWIN, Thomas (1794-1865). An American lawyer and statesman, born in Bourbon County, Kentucky. He studied and practiced law in Ohio, where his eloquence soon won him prominence. He was a member of the State Legislature from 1822 to 1829, and of Congress from 1830 to 1840, when he was chosen Governor of Ohio. From 1844 to 1850 he was a member of the United States Senate, and in the latter year became Secretary of the Treasury in President Fillmore's Cabinet. He was again in Congress (1858-60) and was Minister to Mexico from 1861 to 1864. As an orator he won his greatest distinction, his speeches both on the stump and in debate being examples of remarkable eloquence. His arraignment of the administration for the war with Mexico was a notable effort, which made him many enemies and damaged his political career. Consult: Strohn (editor), Life and Speeches of Thomas Corwin (Dayton, 1859); and Russell, Thomas Corwin (Cincinnati, 1882).