“P” is for Poinsett, Joel Roberts (1779-1851)

“P” is for Poinsett, Joel Roberts (1779-1851). Congressman, diplomat. U. S. secretary of war. Born in Charleston, Poinsett was educated primarily in England and Scotland. In 1810 he was named U. S. trade envoy to South America and spent several years promoting unsuccessful rebellions in Spain’s South American colonies. In 1825 he was appointed the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico. His meddling in local affairs made him unpopular, and the Mexican government requested his recall. He returned to South Carolina at the height of the Nullification Crisis and eventually became one of the state's leading Unionists. In 1837 Poinsett was named secretary of war and quickly set out to improve and expand the nation's paltry army and raise standards. In 1844 Joel Roberts Poinsett was elected president of the National Institute, a forerunner of the Smithsonian Institution.