Elias Boudinot

American politician, Founding Father of the United States

Born: May 2, 1740 · Died: October 24, 1821

Famous Persons

Who was Elias Boudinot?

Elias Boudinot ( il-EYE-əs boo-DIN-ot; May 2, 1740 – October 24, 1821) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, statesman, and early abolitionist and women's rights advocate. 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. 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.

James Sharples, Elias Boudinot IV, Princeton University Art Museum

Historical significance

After being elected to the first, second, and third U.S. Congresses, where he served from 1789 to 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.

Hannah Stockton Boudinot (1736–1808), by Matthew Pratt

Sources and further reading

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Wikipedia source

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MLA

“Elias Boudinot.” thisDay, thisday.info/people/elias-boudinot/. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

APA

Elias Boudinot. (n.d.). thisDay. Retrieved October 26, 2026, from https://thisday.info/people/elias-boudinot/

Chicago

“Elias Boudinot.” thisDay. Accessed October 26, 2026. https://thisday.info/people/elias-boudinot/.

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