Joel Roberts Poinsett
American physician and diplomat
1779 CE to 1851 CE
Joel Roberts Poinsett (March 2, 1779 – December 12, 1851) is an American physician and diplomat.
He is the first U.S. agent in South America, a member of the South Carolina legislature and the United States House of Representatives, the first United States Minister to Mexico, a Unionist leader in South Carolina during the Nullification Crisis, Secretary of War under Martin Van Buren, and a co-founder of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science and the Useful Arts (a predecessor of the Smithsonian Institution).
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Joel Roberts Poinsett, the United States House of Representatives for the Charleston district of South Carolina,had simultaneously served as a special envoy to Mexico from 1822 to 1823, when the government of James Monroe became concerned about the stability of newly independent Mexico.
A supporter of the Monroe Doctrine, Poinsett is convinced that republicanism is the only acceptable form of government for North American countries, and had tried to influence the government of Agustín de Iturbide, which was beginning to show signs of weakness and divisiveness.
The U.S. had recognized Mexican independence but it is not until 1825 and the establishment of the Mexican Republic that it sends a minister plenipotentiary.
Andrew Jackson and several others have turned down the appointment, but Poinsett accepts and resigns his congressional seat.