Andrew Jackson Montague

Andrew Jackson Montague

Andrew Jackson Montague (born October 3, 1862 in Lynchburg , Virginia , †  January 24, 1937 in Urbanna , Virginia) was an American politician and governor of the state of Virginia from 1902 to 1906 . Between 1913 and 1937 he represented his state as a member of the US Congress .

Early years and political advancement

The son of the politician and lawyer Robert Latane Montague first attended public and private schools in his homeland and then studied until 1882 at Richmond College , from which today's University of Richmond emerged. After a subsequent law degree at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville , he was admitted to the bar in 1885. Then he began to work in Danville in his new profession.

Montague became a member of the Democratic Party . In 1892 he supported the presidential campaign of Grover Cleveland , which in 1893 after his election victory appointed him federal attorney for the western district of the state of Virginia. Montague held this office until 1898. That year he became Attorney General of Virginia. He held this mandate until 1902.

Governor of Virginia

In 1901, Andrew Montague was elected the new governor of his state. He took office on January 1, 1902. As governor, he worked to improve the education system and the road network. He advocated the establishment of a Highway Commission , which actually took place two months after the end of his term of office. In 1905, under his administration, Virginia introduced the principle of pre- election elections. In addition, the labor laws were improved at that time by making employers jointly responsible for certain work accidents. The serving of alcoholic beverages was strictly licensed and monitored. In 1904 Montague was a delegate at his party's federal convention . However, the governor felt politically hindered in his political development by his internal party opponent, the US Senator Thomas S. Martin . The two men had long been at odds politically. Martin controlled the Democratic Party in Virginia, and Montague couldn't resist its dominance. For this reason he ran for a seat in the Senate against Martin in 1905. This election was won by incumbent Martin and Governor Montague suffered a bitter defeat.

Further career

Montague's tenure as governor ended on February 1, 1906. In the same year he was US envoy to the Conference of American States taking place in Rio de Janeiro and he worked again as a lawyer in Richmond . From 1901 to 1906 he was Dean of the Law School of Richmond College. Between 1909 and 1910 he was a delegate at the International Conference on the Law of the Sea in Brussels . Andrew Montague was also a curator of the Carnegie Institute and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace . In this foundation he remained active in leading positions alongside his political activities until 1935.

Montague in the House of Representatives

In 1912, Andrew Montague was elected to the US House of Representatives. He took up this mandate on March 4, 1913 and was able to exercise it after eleven re-elections until his death in 1937. In 1917 he was president of the American Society for the Settlement of International Conflicts. From 1920 to 1924 he was also President of the American Peace Society . In 1926 he was a member of a committee of inquiry to the removal of the federal judge responsible for the eastern part of the state of Illinois George W. English . From 1930 to 1935 Montague was President of the American Section of the Inter-Parliamentary Union . Andrew Montague died on January 24, 1937. He had three children with his wife, Elizabeth L. Hoskins.

Web links

• Andrew Jackson Montague in the National Governors Association
• Andrew Jackson Montague in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Andrew Jackson Montague in the database of Find a Grave (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Robert Latane Montague, 1819–1880 ( Memento of the original of February 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . At: www.montaguemillennium.com (accessed November 6, 2012).