William J. Duane Autographs, Memorabilia & Collectibles

William John Duane (1780-1865) was the son of William Duane, editor of the ardently Jeffersonian Philadelphia Aurora. The Aurora, edited by the William J. after his father's death in 1798, vehemently criticized Presidents Washington and Adams, and was (unsuccessfully) prosecuted by the latter under the notorious Sedition Act. William J. Duane would prove no stranger to controversy either. Appointed Secretary of the Treasury by President Jackson in May 1833, he was dismissed four months later for refusing to transfer US government funds from the Bank of the United States to various state banks. (Jackson's veto of a re-charter of the Bank of the United States had been the central issue of the 1832 Presidential campaign, so Jackson must not have expected resistance from Duane when he made the appointment.) Duane was the grandson of Benjamin Franklin through his mother, Sarah Franklin Bache.