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James Wilson (U.S. politician)
Encyclopedia
James "Tama Jim" Wilson (August 16, 1835 – August 26, 1920) was a Scotland
-born United States
politician who served as United States Secretary of Agriculture
for sixteen years during three presidencies, from 1897 to 1913. He holds the record as the longest-serving United States Cabinet
member.
, Scotland
, on August 16, 1835. One of 14 children, he grew up in a farming community near the birthplace of Robert Burns
.
His family emigrated to America in 1852, settling in Connecticut
before moving to Iowa
in 1855, establishing a farm near Traer
in Tama County
. He attended the public schools and Iowa College (now Grinnell College
) in Grinnell, Iowa
.
Wilson was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives
in 1867, and served as speaker from 1870 to 1871 before becoming a professor of agriculture at what is now Iowa State University
, where he encouraged the work of George Washington Carver
. Wilson was also appointed to the Board of Trustees (now Regents) of Iowa's public higher educational institutions, serving from 1870 to 1874.
In 1872, he was elected to represent Iowa's 5th congressional district
as a Republican
member of the United States House of Representatives
. It was during this time that he became known as Tama Jim to distinguish him from the Iowa member of the senate, James F. Wilson
. In 1874, Wilson was re-elected, serving a second term, but returned to Iowa in 1877. That year he was appointed to the Iowa State Railway Commission, where he served for six years.
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In 1882, he ran for Congress for the third time, this time against Democrat Benjamin T. Frederick
. Wilson seemingly defeated Frederick in a very close race, but Frederick soon contested the election in the U.S. House. Wilson had been issued an election certificate by the State of Iowa, enabling him to be seated during the contest. The 1882 elections gave Frederick's Democratic Party control of the House.
Through a prolonged evidentiary proceeding in 1883, followed by filibusters that delayed resolution of the contest until the final hours of the Forty-eighth Congress, Wilson's Republican Party colleagues enabled him to retain in office until the final minutes before the end of the final session. Then, Wilson consented to end the filibuster against a vote on the contest, because it was also blocking action on a popular bill to enable former President Ulysses S. Grant
to enjoy the financial benefits of a military retirement. On March 4, 1885, with Grover Cleveland's
inauguration festivities already starting, the House declared Frederick the winner of the 1882 race, unseated Wilson, seated Frederick, passed the Grant retirement bill, then adjourned. Returning to Iowa from Washington for the second time, Wilson rejoined the faculty at Iowa State, where he would serve as Professor (now Dean) of Agriculture and director of the agricultural experiment station from 1890 to 1897.
Wilson rose to national prominence in early 1897 when newly-elected President
William McKinley
nominated him as his Secretary for Agriculture. During sixteen consecutive years of Republican administrations, Presidents McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt
and William Howard Taft
retained him in that position. It was not until March 1913, following the election of a Democratic
president (Woodrow Wilson
) that Wilson left that office. In all, Wilson served as Secretary of Agriculture from March 6, 1897 to March 5, 1913 — the longest duration served by any American cabinet official.
His tenure as Secretary of Agriculture is known as a period of modernization of agricultural methods. He also organized greater food inspection methods, as well as great improvement of many roads across the country.
at Iowa State University
, was named in his honor, as was Washington State University
's Wilson Hall (renamed Wilson-Short Hall in 2009), originally built as the college's agriculture building. His home, The Farm House (Knapp-Wilson House)
, now on the Iowa State University campus grounds, has been a National Historic Landmark
since 1964. Wilson has also been commemorated in Washington, D.C.
by a bridge linking the U.S. Department of Agriculture Administration Building
to the U.S. Department of Agriculture South Building
across Independence Avenue.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
-born United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician who served as United States Secretary of Agriculture
United States Secretary of Agriculture
The United States Secretary of Agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The current secretary is Tom Vilsack, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on 20 January 2009. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other...
for sixteen years during three presidencies, from 1897 to 1913. He holds the record as the longest-serving United States Cabinet
United States Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
member.
Personal background
Wilson was born in AyrshireAyrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, on August 16, 1835. One of 14 children, he grew up in a farming community near the birthplace of Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
.
His family emigrated to America in 1852, settling in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
before moving to Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
in 1855, establishing a farm near Traer
Traer, Iowa
Traer is a city in Tama County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,594 at the 2000 census. James "Tama Jim" Wilson lived in Traer after serving as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and was buried in a cemetery northwest of the town in 1920. Traer is known for the iron winding staircase that...
in Tama County
Tama County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 17,767 in the county, with a population density of . There were 7,766 housing units, of which 6,947 were occupied.-2000 census:...
. He attended the public schools and Iowa College (now Grinnell College
Grinnell College
Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, U.S. known for its strong tradition of social activism. It was founded in 1846, when a group of pioneer New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College....
) in Grinnell, Iowa
Grinnell, Iowa
Grinnell is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,218 at the 2010 census. Grinnell was named after Josiah Bushnell Grinnell and is the home of Grinnell College.- History :...
.
Elective office
Iowa House of Representatives
The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 100 members of the House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 29,750 for each constituency...
in 1867, and served as speaker from 1870 to 1871 before becoming a professor of agriculture at what is now Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
, where he encouraged the work of George Washington Carver
George Washington Carver
George Washington Carver , was an American scientist, botanist, educator, and inventor. The exact day and year of his birth are unknown; he is believed to have been born into slavery in Missouri in January 1864....
. Wilson was also appointed to the Board of Trustees (now Regents) of Iowa's public higher educational institutions, serving from 1870 to 1874.
In 1872, he was elected to represent Iowa's 5th congressional district
Iowa's 5th congressional district
Iowa's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers most of Western Iowa and includes the cities of Council Bluffs and Sioux City...
as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. It was during this time that he became known as Tama Jim to distinguish him from the Iowa member of the senate, James F. Wilson
James Falconer Wilson
James Falconer "Jefferson Jim" Wilson was a lawyer, Republican U.S. Congressman from Iowa's 1st congressional district during the American Civil War, and a two-term U.S. Senator from Iowa...
. In 1874, Wilson was re-elected, serving a second term, but returned to Iowa in 1877. That year he was appointed to the Iowa State Railway Commission, where he served for six years.
Benjamin T. Frederick
Benjamin Todd Frederick was a miner, businessman, real estate agent, and a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa's 5th congressional district....
. Wilson seemingly defeated Frederick in a very close race, but Frederick soon contested the election in the U.S. House. Wilson had been issued an election certificate by the State of Iowa, enabling him to be seated during the contest. The 1882 elections gave Frederick's Democratic Party control of the House.
Through a prolonged evidentiary proceeding in 1883, followed by filibusters that delayed resolution of the contest until the final hours of the Forty-eighth Congress, Wilson's Republican Party colleagues enabled him to retain in office until the final minutes before the end of the final session. Then, Wilson consented to end the filibuster against a vote on the contest, because it was also blocking action on a popular bill to enable former President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
to enjoy the financial benefits of a military retirement. On March 4, 1885, with Grover Cleveland's
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
inauguration festivities already starting, the House declared Frederick the winner of the 1882 race, unseated Wilson, seated Frederick, passed the Grant retirement bill, then adjourned. Returning to Iowa from Washington for the second time, Wilson rejoined the faculty at Iowa State, where he would serve as Professor (now Dean) of Agriculture and director of the agricultural experiment station from 1890 to 1897.
Secretary of Agriculture
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
nominated him as his Secretary for Agriculture. During sixteen consecutive years of Republican administrations, Presidents McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
and William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
retained him in that position. It was not until March 1913, following the election of a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
president (Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
) that Wilson left that office. In all, Wilson served as Secretary of Agriculture from March 6, 1897 to March 5, 1913 — the longest duration served by any American cabinet official.
His tenure as Secretary of Agriculture is known as a period of modernization of agricultural methods. He also organized greater food inspection methods, as well as great improvement of many roads across the country.
Life after Washington
After leaving office at age 78, Wilson retired in Iowa. He died in Traer on August 26, 1920, ten days after celebrating his eighty-fifth birthday.His legacy
Wilson Hall, a residence hallDormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
at Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
, was named in his honor, as was Washington State University
Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
's Wilson Hall (renamed Wilson-Short Hall in 2009), originally built as the college's agriculture building. His home, The Farm House (Knapp-Wilson House)
The Farm House (Knapp-Wilson House)
The Farm House is a site significant for its association with agriculturist and teacher Seaman A. Knapp and with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson. It is now located within, and is the oldest building upon, the campus of Iowa State University.It was declared a National Historic Landmark...
, now on the Iowa State University campus grounds, has been a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
since 1964. Wilson has also been commemorated in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
by a bridge linking the U.S. Department of Agriculture Administration Building
U.S. Department of Agriculture Administration Building
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Administration Building, also known as the Jamie L. Whitten Building, houses the administrative offices of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. The Administration Building projects into the National Mall from the larger U.S...
to the U.S. Department of Agriculture South Building
U.S. Department of Agriculture South Building
The U.S. Department of Agriculture South Building is an office building in southwest Washington, D.C., United States, built beginning in 1930 to house the expanded offices of the United States Department of Agriculture . Construction was completed on the U.S...
across Independence Avenue.
External links
- James Wilson at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
- James Wilson at The Political GraveyardThe Political GraveyardThe Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 224,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information.-History:...