Samuel Dexter (May 14, 1761-May 4, 1816)

Samuel Dexter was an early American statesman who served both in Congress and the Cabinet. There are a few Samuel Dexters scattered among the early years of American History. This one was fifteen or sixteen years old when the Revolutionary War Started. His father, a minister and Samuel senior, was a leader in calling for independence and urging a war for freedom.

Like so many of the portraits on fractional bills, Samuel Dexter appears on one of three versions of fourth-issue, fifty-cent notes because he was a Treasury Secretary, under John Adams from 1801 to 1802. He had graduated from Harvard College in 1781, and actually served a brief stint as Secretary of War before his appointment as Treasurer.

After passing the bar in 1784 he practiced law a few years then served first in the the U.S. House of Representatives, then the Senate, finishing with both by 1800.

He typifies better-know founders like Hamilton, Jefferson, and Franklin in that his devotion to the American cause was matched by the individualism and freedom of thought that would become synonymous with American character.

He wrote the eulogy to George Washington upon the first President's death in 1799. New Americans, he noticed, were not only getting drunk on their newfound freedom, but just plain drunk too often; so he presided over the formal organization of the first temperance movement in his home state of Massachusetts. An early Federalist, he switched his political position, joined Republicans like House Speaker Henry Clay and others from the then western U.S.—a group for which the designation "war hawks" was coined—and lobbied in favor of what would become the war of 1812. He later broke with the philosophy of the party and refused to speak for them.

He was no stranger to the the Supreme Court and argued many cases in front of the court throughout his career. He was know for straightforward presentations relying on precedent and common sense. Here again we have the model of the statesman, the lawyer, and the politician, the exact opposite of contemporary spin doctors and quick-stepping office seekers.

So, don't let the picture on the note fool you. This was one of the guys who had the integrity and brilliance to get our country off on the right foot, and we should be thankful that this fractional 50-cent note gives us a chance to remember him.

On a visit to his son's graduation from college in 1816, Samuel contracted scarlet fever and died just short of his 55th birthday. He is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetary in Cambridge, Massachusetts.