Christopher Gustavus Memminger (; January 9, 1803 – March 7, 1888) was a German-born American politician and a secessionist who participated in the formation of the

Confederate States The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States from 1861 to 1865. It comprised eleven U.S. states th ...

government. He was the principal author of the Provisional Constitution (1861), as well as the founder of the Confederate financial system. As the first Confederate States Secretary of the Treasury, Memminger was the principal author of the economic policies of

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

's administration.

Early life and career

Christopher Gustavus Memminger was born on January 9, 1803, in Vaihingen, Wuerttemberg (present-day

Stuttgart-Vaihingen Stuttgart (; ; Swabian: ; Alemannic: ; Italian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

). His father, Gottfried Memminger, was a military

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

who died a month after his son's birth. His mother, Eberhardina (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Kohler) Memminger, immigrated to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, but died of yellow fever in 1807. Christopher was placed in an orphanage. His fortunes changed when, at the age of eleven, he was taken under the care of Thomas Bennett, a prominent lawyer and future Governor. He entered South Carolina College at the age of 12 and graduated second in his class at 16. Memminger passed the bar in 1825 and became a successful lawyer. He married Mary Withers Wilkinson in 1832. He was a leader of the opponents during the Nullification Crisis. He published ''The Book of Nullification'' (1832–33), which satirized the advocates of the doctrine in biblical style. He entered state politics and served in the

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

state legislature from 1836 to 1852 and 1854 to 1860, where for nearly twenty years he was the head of the finance committee. Memminger was a staunch advocate of education and helped give Charleston one of the most comprehensive public school systems in the country. In 1859, after John Brown's raid, he was commissioned by

to consult with other delegates in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

as to the best method of warding off attacks of

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

Civil War

Memminger was considered a moderate on the

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

issue, but after the election of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

, he decided that secession was necessary. Memminger owned 12 slaves (six males), listed in his estate in the Charleston, South Carolina, census of 1850. His estate was in Henderson County, North Carolina, where he built his Connemara summer home). When South Carolina seceded from the United States in 1860, Memminger was asked to write the South Carolina Declaration of Secession (officially: ''Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union''), which outlined the reasons for secession. When other states declared secession, he was selected as a South Carolina delegate to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States. He was the chair of the committee which drafted the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States. The twelve-man committee produced a provisional constitution in only four days. When

formed his first cabinet, Memminger was appointed Secretary of the Treasury on February 21, 1861. It was a difficult task in view of the Confederacy's financial challenges. He attempted to finance the government initially by bonds and tariffs (and the confiscation of gold from the

United States Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury, Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bull ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

). Still, he soon found himself forced to more extreme measures such as

income taxes An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

and

fiat currency Fiat money is a type of government-issued currency that is not backed by a precious metal, such as gold or silver, nor by any other tangible asset or commodity. Fiat currency is typically designated by the issuing government to be legal tender, ...

. He had been a supporter of

hard currency In macroeconomics, hard currency, safe-haven currency, or strong currency is any globally traded currency that serves as a reliable and stable store of value. Factors contributing to a currency's ''hard'' status might include the stability and ...

before the war but found himself issuing increasingly-devalued paper money, which had become worth less than 2% of its face value in gold by the end of the war.

Later life

Memminger resigned as Secretary of the Treasury on July 1, 1864, and was replaced by fellow South Carolinian George Trenholm. He returned to his summer residence in Flat Rock, North Carolina. In the post-war years, he returned to Charleston, received a presidential pardon in 1866, and returned to private law practice and business investment. He also continued his work on developing South Carolina's public education system and was voted to a final term in the state legislature in 1877. Memminger died on March 7, 1888, at age 85, in Charleston, South Carolina.

Notable works

Honors

Christopher Memminger was featured on the Confederate $5.00 bill. CSA-T33-$5-1862.jpg, Memminger on the 1862 CS$5

banknote A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commerc ...

Notes

References

* * *

External links

; Official
C. G. Memminger Papers
at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

; General information *
Christopher Memminger
at The Historical Marker Database (HMdb.org)
Christopher Memminger
at ''South Carolina Encyclopedia'' (scencyclopedia.org)
Christopher Memminger
at ''NCpedia'' (ncpedia.org)

at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 Politics of the United States, American political figures and List of United States political families, political families, along with other informa ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Memminger, Christopher 1803 births 1888 deaths 19th-century American Episcopalians 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American writers 19th-century American male writers American adoptees American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law American male non-fiction writers American political writers Confederate States Department of the Treasury officials Executive members of the Cabinet of the Confederate States of America Deputies and delegates to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States Economists from North Carolina Economists from South Carolina Democratic Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Immigrants to the United States People from Flat Rock, Henderson County, North Carolina People of South Carolina in the American Civil War People pardoned by Andrew Johnson Signers of the Confederate States Constitution Signers of the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States South Carolina lawyers University of South Carolina alumni Writers from Charleston, South Carolina Württemberger emigrants to the United States 19th-century pseudonymous writers American slave owners 19th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly