Elias Boudinot

Elias Boudinot
Director of the United States Mint
In office October 1795 – July 1805
President	George Washington John Adams Thomas Jefferson
Preceded by	Henry William de Saussure
Succeeded by	Robert Patterson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's At-large district
In office March 4, 1789 – March 4, 1795
Preceded by	none
Succeeded by	Thomas Henderson
2nd President of the Confederation Congress
In office November 4, 1782 – November 2, 1783
Preceded by	John Hanson
Succeeded by	Thomas Mifflin
Personal details
Born	(1740-05-02)May 2, 1740 Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania, British America
Died	October 24, 1821(1821-10-24) (aged 81) Burlington, New Jersey, U.S.
Resting place	Saint Marys Episcopal Churchyard, Burlington, New Jersey, U.S.
Signature

Elias Boudinot (/ɪˈlaɪəs buːˈdɪnɒt/ il-EYE-əs boo-DIN-ot; May 2, 1740 – October 24, 1821), a Founding Father of the United States, was a lawyer, statesman, and early abolitionist and women's rights advocate from Elizabeth, New Jersey. During the Revolutionary War, Boudinot was an intelligence officer and prisoner-of-war commissary under general George Washington, working to improve conditions for prisoners on both the American and British sides. In 1779, he was elected to the Continental Congress and then to its successor, the Congress of the Confederation, serving as President of Congress in 1782—1783, the final years of the war.

After being elected to the first, second, and third U.S. Congresses, where he served from 1789—1795, Boudinot was appointed director of the United States Mint by president Washington and held the position through 1805 under the presidencies of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. An advocate for women’s rights, he led a Federalist campaign in New Jersey during the early 1790s to encourage women to become active in politics. Boudinot, a devout Presbyterian, spoke out frequently against slavery, both as a member of Congress and as a private citizen. In 1816, he helped found the American Bible Society and served as its first president for five years. Boudinot was also a member of the board of trustees of Princeton College from 1772-1821, the year of his death.