The Oldest Treasury Secretary Appointment in Private Hands

This appointment of William Crawford as Treasury Secretary is signed by President James Madison and Secretary of State James Monroe in 1816, and is known to be the oldest such appointment in private hands.

William Crawford led the Treasury through the aftermath of the War of 1812, the creation of the 2nd Bank of the United States, the Panic of 1819, its recovery, and nearly a decade of U.S. growth.