John Young Mason


Mason, John Young,

1799–1859, American statesman, b. Greensville co., Va. He studied law under Tapping Reeve at Litchfield, Conn., and was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1819. Mason served in the state legislature (1823–31), in Congress (1831–37), and as a federal judge (1837–44). He was Secretary of the Navy (1844) under President Tyler, and in President Polk's cabinet he was Attorney General (1845–46) and again Secretary of the Navy (1846–49). From 1853 until his death he was minister to France, where with James BuchananBuchanan, James,
1791–1868, 15th President of the United States (1857–61), b. near Mercersburg, Pa., grad. Dickinson College, 1809. Early Career

Buchanan studied law at Lancaster, Pa.
..... Click the link for more information.  and Pierre SouléSoulé, Pierre
, 1801–70, American political leader and diplomat, b. Castillon, France. A lawyer, he was imprisoned for republican activities against the conservative Bourbons, but he escaped and fled (1825) to the United States.
..... Click the link for more information.  he drew up (1854) the Ostend ManifestoOstend Manifesto,
document drawn up in Oct., 1854, at Ostend, Belgium, by James Buchanan, American minister to Great Britain, John Y. Mason, minister to France, and Pierre Soulé, minister to Spain. William L.
..... Click the link for more information. .