Swartwout–Hoyt scandal

The Swartwout-Hoyt scandal was a political scandal in 1829. It arose from corruption in the Office of the Collector of the Port of New York.^[1]

Background

In 1829, President Andrew Jackson appointed Samuel Swartwout to serve as Collector of the Port of New York.^[2] Nine years later, Swartwout left office at the expiration of his term in 1838, retaining $201,096.40 with which to pay any pending claims that might be brought against him. He then went to England to raise money on his coal property before ensuring that his account at the customhouse was closed. After he left the country, or perhaps before, his account was "adjusted" by a subordinate and possibly by his successor, through the instigation of President Martin Van Buren.^[3] It was then alleged that Swartwout had embezzled $1,225,705.09 ($33.7 million in 2022 dollars) and fled.^[4] One of his assistants was indicted in 1841 for embezzling $609,525.71 of the sum, and, according to Swartwout's trustee, a federal court further reduced the amount by $435,052.21, leaving the remaining amount which Swartwout claimed he owed.^[5] Swartwout forfeited his personal property to meet the deficit and returned to the United States in 1841 after federal officials assured him that they would not prosecute him.^[6]

President Martin Van Buren then appointed Jesse Hoyt to replace Swartwout and to take corrective measures to prevent any future problems in the Collector's office.^[7] However, in 1841, allegations began to circulate that Hoyt had also been embezzling, and Hoyt was removed by Van Buren on February 27.^[8][9]

Scandal with the scandal

There was also something of a "scandal with the scandal."^[10] President John Tyler appointed a special three-person committee, headed by Senator George Poindexter of Mississippi, to investigate the allegations of fraud and embezzlement in the Collector's Office.^[11] The committee's report found overwhelming evidence of massive corruption. However, President Tyler had made the political mistake of failing to secure the approval of Congress for the creation of the Poindexter committee; the Congress, miffed at what it viewed as an usurpation of its powers, repudiated President Tyler's action in creating the commission.^[12][13]

Legacy

It is believed that Swartwout's story is the origin of the term "Swartwouted out", which has since come to define the embezzlement of a large sum of money from the United States government and subsequent escape to a foreign nation to escape punishment.^[14]

References

1. Schultz, Jeffrey (1999). Presidential Scandals. CQ Press. pp. 71-72. ISBN 9781568024141. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
2. Jackson, Andrew; Smith, Sam B.; Owsley, Harriet Fason Chappell; Moser, Harold D. (1980). The Papers of Andrew Jackson: 1825-1828. Univ. of Tennessee Press. p. 669. ISBN 9781572331747. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
3. Grossman, Mark (2008). Political Corruption in America: An Encyclopedia of Scandals, Power, and Greed. Grey House Publishing. p. 419. ISBN 9781592372973. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
4. Brunson, B. R. (15 June 2010). "SWARTWOUT, SAMUEL". tshaonline.org. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
5. Long, Kim (2008). The Almanac of Political Corruption, Scandals, and Dirty Politics. Random House Publishing Group. p. 73. ISBN 9780307481344. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
6. Weise, M.A., Arthur James (1899). The Swartwout Chronicles 1338-1899 and the Ketelhuyn Chronicles 1451-1899 (PDF). New York: Trow Directory, Printing and Bookbinding Company | Library of Congress. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
7. "THE NEW-YORK CUSTOM-HOUSE.; Death of Ex-Collector Hoyt--Notes Upon the Office and its Occupants -- The Van Buren Era". The New York Times. March 24, 1867. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
8. "NEW-YORK'S CUSTOMS OFFICERS.; THE COLLECTORS, NAVAL OFFICERS, AND SURVEYORS SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE GOVERNMENT". The New York Times. July 20, 1878. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
9. Carstens, Patrick Richard (2013). The Republic of Canada Almost. Xlibris Corporation. p. 222. ISBN 9781479749171. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
10. Clay, Henry (2015). The Papers of Henry Clay: The Whig Leader, January 1, 1837-December 31, 1843. University Press of Kentucky. p. 653. ISBN 9780813156736. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
11. Brunson, Billy Ray (1989). The Adventures of Samuel Swartwout in the Age of Jefferson and Jackson. Edwin Mellen Press. p. 143. ISBN 9780889460973. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
12. Barrett, Walter (1865). The Old Merchants of New York City. Carleton, Publisher. p. 258. ISBN 9780598379474. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
13. Republican Campaign Text Book for 1880. Washington, D.C.: Republican Congressional Committee. 1880. p. 94. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
14. Kennedy, David; Cohen, Lizabeth (2012). Cengage Advantage Books: The American Pageant. Cengage Learning. p. 247. ISBN 978-1133959724. Retrieved 23 February 2018.