William E. Niblack
William Ellis Niblack was a U. S. Representative from Indiana Niblack was born in Dubois County, Indiana, a cousin of Silas Leslie Niblack, he attended Indiana University at Bloomington. He was admitted to the bar in 1843 and commenced practice in Vincennes, Indiana, he was Surveyor of Dubois County. He served as member of the Indiana House of Representatives in 1849 and 1850, served in the Indiana Senate 1850−1853, he served as judge of the circuit court of the third judicial district from January 1854 until October 1859, when he resigned. He moved to Vincennes, Indiana, in 1855. Niblack was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fifth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James Lockhart, he was reelected to the Thirty-sixth Congress and served from December 7, 1857, to March 3, 1861. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1860, he was again a member of the Indiana House of Representatives in 1862 and 1863, served as delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1864, 1868, 1876.
Niblack was elected to the four succeeding Congresses. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1874, he resumed the practice of law and served as judge of the Indiana Supreme Court 1877−1889. He retired from public life, he died in Indianapolis, May 7, 1893 and was interred in Crown Hill Cemetery. United States Congress. "William E. Niblack". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress; this article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov
James Hay (politician)
James Hay served in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly, was a United States Representative from Virginia and a Judge of the Court of Claims. Born on January 9, 1856, in Millwood, Clarke County, Hay attended private schools the University of Pennsylvania and received a Bachelor of Laws in 1877 from the Washington and Lee University School of Law, he was a teacher in Harrisonburg, Virginia from 1877 to 1879. He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in Harrisonburg from 1877 to 1879, he continued private practice in Madison, Virginia from 1879 to 1897. He was a commonwealth attorney for Madison County, Virginia from 1883 to 1896, he was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1885 to 1891, representing Greene County and Madison County. He was a member of the Senate of Virginia from 1893 to 1897, representing Culpeper County, Rappahannock County, Madison County and Orange County, he was a member of the Democratic State committee in 1888. He was delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1888.
Hay was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives of the 55th United States Congress and to the nine succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1897, until his resignation on October 1, 1916. He was Chairman of the United States House Committee on Military Affairs for the 62nd through 64th United States Congresses. Hay was involved in the "Preparedness Movement" of 1915 to 1916, in response to which he drafted and pushed through the National Defense Act of 1916. Hay was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson on July 15, 1916, to a seat on the Court of Claims vacated by Judge George W. Atkinson, he was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 17, 1916, received his commission the same day. He assumed senior status on November 30, 1927, his service terminated on June 1931, due to his death in Madison. He was interred in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Madison. 1896. S. House of Representatives with 55.81% of the vote, defeating Republican Robert J. Walker, NtD J. Samuel Harrisberger, Independent John F. Forsyth.
1898. C. O'Flaherty. 1900. M. Gibbens. 1902. 1904. 1906. 1908. 1910. 1912. C. Garrison. 1914. C. Garrison. United States Congress. "James Hay". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. "Hay, James - Federal Judicial Center". Www.fjc.gov
Albert S. Burleson
Albert Sidney Burleson was a conservative Democrat and United States Postmaster General and Representative. He is known for gaining cabinet support for instituting racial segregation in the US Post Office, which President Woodrow Wilson applied to other federal agencies. Born in San Marcos, Burleson came from a wealthy Southern planter family, his father, Edward Burleson, Jr. was a Confederate officer. His grandfather, Edward Burleson, was a soldier and statesman in the Republic of Texas and the early State of Texas. In his early political career, Burleson represented Texas in the House of Representatives, where he was active in promoting the development of agriculture. In 1913, he was appointed Postmaster General by Woodrow Wilson. To his credit, he initiated the parcel post and air mail services, increasing mail service to rural areas. However, Burleson was one of the most reactionary politicians to have served as Postmaster General, which he demonstrated in ways that adversely affected national mail service and the government's civil service system, based on merit.
His term is seen as one of the worst in the history of the post. At a cabinet meeting on April 11, 1913, just over one month into Wilson's first term his, Burleson "suggested that the new administration segregate the railway mail service," which Wilson adopted, he and other cabinet members recommended segregated federal workplaces, which Wilson instituted, requiring separate lunchrooms and restrooms, and, in some cases, screened working areas. Since the Reconstruction era, the workplaces had been integrated and African Americans served in numerous positions in the merit civil service as well as in some political appointee positions. Wilson instituted racial discrimination in hiring, subverting the civil service merit system by requiring photos of applicants. Burleson segregated firing black postal workers in the South, he drew criticism from labor unions by forbidding postal employees to strike. Business leaders were angered by inefficiency and dictatorial heavy-handedness in government control of communications.
Soon after taking office in 1913, Burleson aroused a storm of protest on the part of the large daily newspapers, by declaring that he would enforce the law requiring publications to print, among other things, a sworn statement of paid circulation, held in abeyance by his predecessor until its constitutionality might be confirmed. The Supreme Court enjoined him from doing so. After Europe was engaged in World War I, he issued an order in 1915 barring envelopes and cards from the mails from the warring countries. After the United States entered the war as a belligerent, Burleson vigorously enforced the Espionage Act, ordering local postmasters to send to him any illegal or suspicious material that they found; the distribution by mail of major radical pamphlets, such as Emma Goldman's Mother Earth and Max Eastman's The Masses, was slowed drastically, such pamphlets were never delivered. Burleson banned antiwar material from being delivered by Post Office personnel, it was impossible to draw an ideal line, the result was a general alienation of the press.
From June 1918 to July 1919, the Post Office Department operated the nation's telephone and telegraph services, an arrangement Burleson had advocated at least as early as 1913. Following the war, he continued to advocate permanent nationalization of telephone and cable services, he acknowledged that Congress would be hostile to the idea and oversaw the return of the communications infrastructure to its various corporate owners. He introduced the "zone system" in which postage on second-class mail was charged according to distance. In 1919, he was appointed as chairman of the United States Telegraph and Telephone Administration and in 1920, he became the chairman of the United States Commission to the International Wire Communication Conference, retiring in 1921. Burleson is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in Austin, Texas. United States Congress. "Albert S. Burleson". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Albert S. Burleson at Find a Grave Albert S. Burleson at American Presidents Albert S. Burleson from the Handbook of Texas Online This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov
Henry De Lamar Clayton Jr.
Henry De Lamar Clayton Jr. was a United States Representative from Alabama and a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. Born on February 10, 1857, near Clayton, in Barbour County, Clayton attended the common schools received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1877 from the University of Alabama and a Bachelor of Laws in 1878 from the University of Alabama School of Law, he was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in Clayton from 1878 to 1880. He continued private practice in Eufaula, Alabama from 1880 to 1914, he was a register in chancery for Barbour County from 1880 to 1884. He was a member of the Alabama House of Representatives from 1890 to 1891, he was the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama from 1893 to 1896. He was permanent Chairman of the Democratic National Convention in 1908. Clayton was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives of the 55th United States Congress and to the eight succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1897, until May 25, 1914, when he resigned and moved to Montgomery, Alabama to accept a federal judgeship.
He was Chairman of the United States House Committee on the Judiciary for the 62nd and 63rd United States Congresses. He was sponsor of the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914, he was one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1905 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against Charles Swayne, Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, in 1912 against Robert Wodrow Archbald, Judge of the United States Commerce Court. He was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of United States Senator Joseph F. Johnston, but his appointment was challenged and withdrawn. Clayton was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson on May 2, 1914, to a joint seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama vacated by Judge Thomas G. Jones, he was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 2, 1914, received his commission the same day.
His service terminated on December 1929, due to his death in Montgomery. He was interred in Fairview Cemetery in Eufaula. Clayton's father, Henry DeLamar Clayton, was a Major General in the Confederate States Army, his brother, Bertram Tracy Clayton, was a United States Representative from New York. Clayton's home in Clayton, the Henry D. Clayton House, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976. "Henry De Lamar Clayton Jr". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Henry De Lamar Clayton at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center. Rodabaugh, Karl. Congressman Henry D. Clayton and the Dothan Post Office Fight: Patronage and Politics in the Progressive Era. Alabama Review 33: 125-49. Congressman Henry D. Clayton, Patriarch in Politics: A Southern Congressman During the Progressive Era. Alabama Review 31: 110-20
Hiester Clymer
Hiester Clymer was an American political leader from the state of Pennsylvania. Clymer was a member of the Democratic Party, he was the cousin of Isaac Ellmaker Hiester. Although Clymer was born in Pennsylvania, he was adamantly opposed to Abraham Lincoln's Administration and the Republican party's prosecution of the American Civil War. Elected Pennsylvania state senator in 1860, Clymer opposed state legislation that supported the state Republican party's war effort. After the American Civil War ended, Clymer unsuccessfully ran for the Pennsylvania Governor's office in 1866 on a white supremacist platform against Union Major-General John W. Geary. After his election to the U. S. House of Representatives in 1872 as a Democrat, Clymer would be known for his investigation of Sec. William W. Belknap's War Department in 1876. Belknap escaped conviction in a Senate trial, since he resigned his cabinet position before being impeached by the House of Representatives. Having retired from the House of Representatives in 1881, Clymer served as Vice President of the Union Trust Co. of Philadelphia and president of the Clymer Iron Co until his death in 1884.
Clymer was born near Pennsylvania. He attended Princeton University, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1849. Clymer practiced law in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, his brother, Edward M. Clymer, married Ella Maria Dietz, he was a delegate to the National Convention of the Democratic Party in 1860 and 1868. He served in the Pennsylvania Senate for the 8th district from 1861 to 1866, he ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Pennsylvania in 1866 on a white supremacist policy, losing to John W. Geary. In the controversial campaign, Clymer's camp produced some of the most virulently graphic racist posters and pamphlets of the decade, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1872 and served from March 4, 1873 to March 3, 1881. While in Congress, he served on the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of State, as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War. After he left Congress, he served as vice president of the Union Trust Company in Philadelphia and as president of the Clymer Iron Company.
He died in Reading, Pennsylvania, on June 12, 1884, is interred at the Charles Evans Cemetery. United States Congress. "Hiester Clymer". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress; the Political Graveyard Media related to Hiester Clymer at Wikimedia Commons
John W. McCormack
John William McCormack was an American politician from Boston, Massachusetts. An attorney and a Democrat, McCormack served in the United States Army during World War I, afterwards won terms in both the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Massachusetts State Senate before winning election to the United States House of Representatives. McCormack enjoyed a long House career, advanced through the leadership ranks to become the 45th Speaker of the House, he served as Speaker from 1962 until his 1971 retirement. McCormack's Congressional career was highlighted by his support for the New Deal measures undertaken to combat the Great Depression, U. S. involvement in World War II, support for the Great Society programs of the 1960s, including civil rights and health care for the elderly. A staunch anti-communist, McCormack supported U. S. involvement in the Vietnam War. His support for the war and the seniority system in Congress caused increasing numbers of younger members to challenge his leadership.
He did not run for reelection to his House seat in 1970, retired to his home in Boston. He resided at a Dedham nursing home, where he died in 1980. At 42 years and 58 days, as of 2017 McCormack's service in the U. S. House ranks 15th in terms of uninterrupted time, he is the longest-serving member of the U. S. House in Massachusetts history. McCormack was born in Boston on December 21, 1891, he was the son of Joseph H. McCormack, a hod carrier and native of Prince Edward Island and his wife Mary Ellen McCormack of Boston, he said he was one of 12 children, several of whom died as young adults. In fact, Mary Ellen McCormack carried eight children to term, six lived long enough to be counted in the census or included in other records. John McCormack's older siblings Patrick and James died at ages 24, 19 and 17, respectively, his brother Edward died in Boston in 1963 at age 67. McCormack's brother Donald died in Texas in 1966 at the age of 65. McCormack had a half brother named Harry from his father's first marriage.
McCormack said for most of his life that his father died when McCormack was 13. He died in 1929, was buried in a pauper's grave at Waldoboro Rural Cemetery. McCormack attended the John Andrew Grammar School through the eighth grade, he left school to help support his family working for $3 a week as an errand boy for a brokerage firm. McCormack and his brothers managed a large newspaper delivery route for $11 a week, he left the brokerage for the office of attorney William T. Way, where he received a 50-cent a week increase, he began to study law with Way and passed the Massachusetts bar exam at age 21, despite not having gone to high school or college. As a young man, McCormack began his involvement in politics by making campaign speeches on behalf of local Democratic candidates. In May 1917, McCormack was elected to serve as a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, representing the 11th Suffolk District of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. In June 1918, McCormack enlisted in the United States Army for World War I, was posted to Camp Devens, Massachusetts as a member of the 14th Company of the 151st Depot Brigade.
After completing his initial training, McCormack was assigned to the Infantry Replacement Center at Camp Lee, Virginia to receive officer training. McCormack advanced through the ranks from private to sergeant major, was attending Officer Training School at Camp Lee when the Armistice occurred, he was discharged following the end of the war. After the war McCormack resumed his political career, he soon entered the state legislature, representing the 11th Suffolk District in the House from 1920 to 1922 and serving in the Senate from 1923 to 1926, including holding the leadership position of Democratic floor leader in 1925 and 1926. In 1926 he made an unsuccessful primary election run against incumbent Congressman James A. Gallivan. McCormack made a favorable impression in a losing cause, leaving him well positioned for a future race, he resumed practicing law, built a successful career as a trial attorney, which enabled him to enjoy an income that reached $30,000 a year. McCormack was selected as a delegate to every state Democratic convention from 1920 until his retirement.
In addition, he was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions of 1932, 1940, 1944, 1948. McCormack's opportunity to run for Congress again came after Gallivan died in 1928; that November McCormack won both the special election to complete Gallivan's term in the U. S. House as well as the general election for a full term, he was reelected 20 times from the 12th District, from the re-numbered 9th after 1963. McCormack won reelection without difficulty, he served in the House from November 6, 1928 to January 3, 1971, he did not run for reelection in 1970. At the beginning of his House career, McCormack served on the Committee on Territories, In his second term, Speaker John Nance Garner appointed McCormack to the powerful Ways and Means Committee, he served there until 1941. McCormack maintained a liberal voting record throughout his Congressional career, including support for the New Deal. In 1934, he served as chairman of the
George Washington Jones (Tennessee politician)
George Washington Jones was an American politician who represented Tennessee's fifth district in the United States House of Representatives. He served in the Confederate States Congress during the American Civil War. Jones was born in King and Queen County, Virginia, on March 15, 1806, he moved to Tennessee with his parents. He received a common school and academical education apprenticed to the saddler's trade. Jones was a justice of the peace from 1832 to 1835, he was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1835 to 1839. He served in the Tennessee Senate from 1839 to 1841, he was Clerk of Lincoln County Court from 1840 to 1843. Elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-eighth and to the seven succeeding Congresses, Jones served in the U. S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1843 to March 3, 1853 for the fifth district and from March 4, 1853 to March 4, 1859 for the sixth district. During the Thirty-first Congress and the Thirty-second Congresses he was chairman of the U. S. House Committee on Rules, during the Thirty-fifth Congress he was chairman of the U.
S. House Committee on Roads and Canals. Jones represented the U. S. Congress at the swearing in of the terminally ill, newly elected Vice-President Willam Rufus deVane King in Matanzas, Cuba. With war impending, Jones was a delegate to the Peace Convention of 1861 held in Washington, D. C. in an effort to devise means to prevent the conflict. He was elected from Tennessee as a member of the Confederate House of Representatives in the First Confederate Congress and served from February 18, 1862, to February 18, 1864, he was not a candidate for re-election. Friend and former political ally President Andrew Johnson pardoned Jones for his Civil War activities in June 1865. Jones was a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1870. Jones opposed the Poll Tax provision of the 1870 Tennessee Constitution. Jones died in Fayetteville, Tennessee, on November 14, 1884, he is interred at Rose Hill Cemetery. This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.
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