Hugh McCulloch

Hugh McCulloch was the third and final Treasury Secretary appointed by Abraham Lincoln. Born in Kennebunk, Maine and educated at Bowdoin, McCulloch studied law in Boston before moving to Fort Wayne, Indiana to practice. He soon moved into banking and was president of the Bank of Indiana from 1857 to 1863. He opposed the National Banking Act of 1863 but accepted Chase’s invitation to serve as the first comptroller of the currency and was instrumental in reforming the new system in 1864. Following Lincoln’s assassination, he stayed on as Andrew Johnson’s only Treasury Secretary and pushed for a rapid retirement of greenbacks and a return to the gold standard. That monetary policy was reversed after causing deflation (declining prices) of 2.5% in 1866 and almost 7% in 1867. His policies for integrating the Southern states into the federal government’s new revenue system and paying off the national debt, however, were largely implemented.

Upon his replacement by the new President, U.S. Grant, McCulloch joined in partnership with investment banker Jay Cooke and set up an office in London. Later, McCulloch briefly served as Treasury Secretary under President Chester Arthur during which time he continued to press for a return to the gold standard. He died in 1895 near Washington, DC and is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery there. Several small ships and a residence hall at Harvard are named for him.

Materials

Objects and Images Related to Abraham Lincoln

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Lincoln Campaign Flag Campaign flag from Abraham Lincoln’s 1860 campaign. Courtesy of Mark Shenkman.

National Bank Note $1 Seventh Ward National Bank of New York bank note, 1865.

Lincoln Memo to Chase Memo from President Abraham Lincoln to Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase listing assets Lincoln wanted converted into bonds.

Lincoln Securities Bond issued to Abraham Lincoln featuring his portrait, 1864. Courtesy of the Bureau of the Public Debt.

Greenback $5 "greenback," issued March 1863.

Paper Change Three cent fractional postage currency.

Spread of Slavery Map The spread of slavery meant lower profits and wages in the North.

Salmon P. Chase Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury (March 1861 to June 1864)

$10,000 Bill $10,000 bill featuring the portrait of Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase.

William Fessenden William Fessenden, Secretary of the Treasury (July 1864 to March 1865)

Hugh McCulloch Hugh McCulloch, Secretary of the Treasury (March 1865 to March 1869; October 1884 to March 1885)

CSA Currency $10 Confederate States of America note, 1863.

Monthly Return of Clothing Monthly Return of Clothing, Camp and Garrison Equipage (receipt).

Jay Cooke Check Check dated August 16, 1873 and signed by financier and patriot Jay Cooke.

Civil War Bonds Bond circular advertising subscription and sale of Seven-Thirties, 1865.

The 14th Amendment The 14th Amendment of the Constitution, ratified July 9, 1868.

Political Cartoon Punch magazine cartoon, “Lincoln’s Two Difficulties,” 1862.