George M. Dallas

George M. Dallas
Dallas in 1848
11th Vice President of the United States
In office March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1849
President	James K. Polk
Preceded by	John Tyler
Succeeded by	Millard Fillmore
United States Minister to the United Kingdom
In office April 4, 1856 – May 16, 1861
President	Franklin Pierce James Buchanan Abraham Lincoln
Preceded by	James Buchanan
Succeeded by	Charles Francis Adams Sr.
United States Minister to Russia
In office August 6, 1837 – July 29, 1839
President	Martin Van Buren
Preceded by	John Randolph Clay
Succeeded by	Churchill C. Cambreleng
17th Attorney General of Pennsylvania
In office October 14, 1833 – December 1, 1835
Governor	George Wolf
Preceded by	Ellis Lewis
Succeeded by	James Todd
United States Senator from Pennsylvania
In office December 13, 1831 – March 3, 1833
Preceded by	Isaac D. Barnard
Succeeded by	Samuel McKean
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
In office April 15, 1829 – December 13, 1831
President	Andrew Jackson
Preceded by	Charles Jared Ingersoll
Succeeded by	Henry D. Gilpin
58th Mayor of Philadelphia
In office October 21, 1828 – April 15, 1829
Preceded by	Joseph Watson
Succeeded by	Benjamin Wood Richards
Personal details
Born	George Mifflin Dallas (1792-07-10)July 10, 1792 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	December 31, 1864(1864-12-31) (aged 72) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Resting place	St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Philadelphia
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Sophia Nicklin ​ (m. 1816)​
Children	8
Parents	Alexander Dallas (father) Arabella Smith (mother)
Relatives	Alexander J. Dallas (brother)
Education	Princeton University (BA)
Signature

George Mifflin Dallas (July 10, 1792 – December 31, 1864) was an American politician and diplomat who served as mayor of Philadelphia from 1828 to 1829, the 11th vice president of the United States from 1845 to 1849, and U.S. Minister to the United Kingdom from 1856 to 1861.

The son of U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander J. Dallas, Dallas attended elite preparatory schools before embarking on a legal career. He served as the private secretary to Albert Gallatin and worked for the Treasury Department and the Second Bank of the United States. He emerged as a leader of the Family Party faction of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. Dallas developed a rivalry with James Buchanan, the leader of the Amalgamator faction. Between 1828 and 1835, he served as the mayor of Philadelphia, U.S. attorney for the U.S. District Court of Pennsylvania and as Pennsylvania's attorney general. He also represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1831 to 1833 but declined to seek re-election. President Martin Van Buren appointed Dallas to the post of Minister to Russia, and Dallas held that position from 1837 to 1839.

In 1840, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.^[1]

Dallas supported Van Buren's bid for another term in the 1844 presidential election, but James K. Polk won the party's presidential nomination. The 1844 Democratic National Convention nominated Dallas as Polk's running mate, and Polk and Dallas defeated the Whig ticket in the general election. A supporter of expansion and popular sovereignty, Dallas called for the annexation of all of Mexico during the Mexican–American War. He sought to position himself for contention in the 1848 presidential election, but his vote to lower the tariff destroyed his base of support in his home state. Dallas served as the Minister to the United Kingdom from 1856 to 1861 before retiring from public office.