page_title: Lot M. Morrill
section_title: Secretary of the Treasury
hierarchical_section_title: Lot M. Morrill / Secretary of the Treasury
caption_attribution_description: English: Engraved BEP portrait of U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Lot M. Morrill
context_page_description: Lot Myrick Morrill was an American statesman who served as the 28th Governor of Maine, in the United States Senate, and as Secretary of the Treasury appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant. Morrill was an accomplished politician serving in several elected and appointed offices throughout his lifetime. Morrill, as Secretary of Treasury, was devoted to hard currency rather than paper money and dedicated himself to serve the public good rather than party interests. Morrill was popularly received as Treasury Secretary by the American press and Wall Street, and was known for his financial and political integrity. Morrill was President Grant's fourth and last Secretary of the Treasury.
  A native of Maine, Morrill was educated in public school and after briefly attending Waterville College served as principal of a private school in New York. He studied law and passed the bar in 1839, afterwards setting up law practices in Readfield and Augusta, Maine. Morrill, known for his eloquent speaking, soon become popular among Democratic friends advocating temperance. Morrill was elected to Maine's House of Representatives in 1854 as a Democrat and served as Chairman of the Maine Democratic Party.
context_section_description: Morrill was appointed Treasury Secretary by President Ulysses S. Grant; having served from 1876 to 1877 and for five days under President Rutherford B. Hayes.  His appointment was in part due to the resignation of previous reformer Sec. Benjamin Bristow who successfully prosecuted and shut down the notorious Whiskey Ring scandal. Bristow resigned due to friction between himself and President Grant over Bristow's zealous reforming in the Treasury Department and potential Presidential run in 1876.  Sec. Morrill, upon his assumption to office, was in charge of all the top secret and confidential files left over during Bristow's Whiskey Ring prosecutions.  Although Sec. Morrill did not have the reputation of a financial authority, he was believed to have political integrity and it was thought he would run the department as well as George S. Boutwell, Grant's first Treasury Secretary. Morrill upon his appointment submission by President Grant was immediately approved by the Senate without question. Morrill's appointment was popularly received by the press and Wall Street. Morrill's resignation from the Senate caused a vacancy which Gov. Seldon Connor filled by appointing Morrill's rival James G. Blaine as Maine's Senator.
caption: Bureau of Engraving and Printing portrait of Morrill as Secretary of the Treasury.
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