William Learned Marcy

William Learned Marcy (1786-1857), American politician, known for his advocacy of the “spoils system.”

Marcy was born in Southbridge, Massachusetts, December 12, 1786, and educated at Brown University. In 1811 he established a law office in Troy, New York. He served as a captain during the War of 1812. On his return to Troy he resumed the practice of law. He also became active in the Democratic Party and a strong supporter of the New York state senator Martin Van Buren (later the U.S. president). Subsequently Marcy joined a group known as the Albany Regency. He served as state comptroller from 1823 to 1829, when he was appointed a justice of the state supreme court. In 1831 he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

In a speech to the Senate in 1832, Marcy defended Van Buren's nomination as minister to Britain, declaring among other things, that he could see nothing wrong with the maxim “to the victor belongs the spoils of the enemy.” The system of political patronage, widely practiced in the administration of President Andrew Jackson, was known thereafter as the “spoils system.”

In 1832 Marcy campaigned successfully for the governorship of New York. During his three terms in office from 1833 to 1839, he endorsed the development of the Erie Canal; settled the New York-New Jersey boundary dispute; and although rejecting their cause, he refused to extradite abolitionists to Southern courts for trial. Marcy also organized the state's first geological survey. Subsequently Marcy became the acknowledged leader of the Hunkers, or conservative Democrats of the state of New York, and retained that power during his appointment (1845-49) as secretary of war in the cabinet of President James Knox Polk. In this capacity he guided the United States to victory in the Mexican War. From 1853 to 1857 he was secretary of state in the cabinet of President Franklin Pierce. Under Marcy's direction the State Department concluded a number of highly favorable treaties, including the Gadsden Treaty, involving a land purchase from Mexico. Marcy died July 4, 1857, in Ballston Spa, New York.