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 | May 2, 1740 Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania, British America |
| Died | October 24, 1821 (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 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. 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 to 1821, the year of his death.