As a supporter of the policies of President Andrew Jackson, Forsyth was appointed the 13th United States Secretary of State by Jackson in 1834, and continued in that role until 1841 during the presidency of Martin Van Buren.

He also served as US Minister to Spain during the presidency of James Monroe.

[1][2] He was an attorney who graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1799.

[3] He was a loyal follower of Andrew Jackson[4] and opposed John C. Calhoun in the issue of nullification.

He led the pro-removal reply to Theodore Frelinghuysen about the Indian Removal Act of 1830.