James Shields (politician, 1806)

James Shields

James Shields (born May 10, 1806 (according to other sources May 10, 1810 ) in Altmore , County Tyrone , Ireland , † June 1, 1879 in Ottumwa , Iowa ) was an American politician of Irish origin. Shields is the only man to date to represent three states ( Illinois , Minnesota, and Missouri ) in the United States Senate.

Life

Early life

James Shields belonged to a very political family. His uncle, who was also called James Shields , was also a politician and sat in the House of Representatives from 1829 to 1831 as a member of the Ohio State .

Shields himself was born into a simple family in Ireland, enjoyed his education in private schools and emigrated in 1826 or 1827 to the United States, where he studied law in Illinois . In 1832, Shields was admitted to the bar and then opened a law firm in Kaskaskia, Illinois.

Illinois, duel with Lincoln, Mexican War

Shields' political career, which he completed as a member of the Democratic Party , began in 1836 when he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives. In 1839 he was appointed auditor (today: Comptroller ) to the State Audit Office, which earned him much criticism from the Whigs . He was not naturalized until October 21, 1840 .

In 1842 a few anonymous articles appeared in a Springfield newspaper under the pseudonyms Aunt Becca and Rebecca , which ridiculed themselves of Shields. Shields asked the editor to reveal the author in order to demand satisfaction . The articles were written by Mary Todd and a friend. Todd was engaged to be a young lawyer and Whig politician, Abraham Lincoln , who was responsible for the articles. Since duels were banned in Illinois, but not in neighboring Missouri, a meeting was arranged on a small island in Mississippi that was part of Missouri. Lincoln as challenged chose a basket sword as a weapon, as Shields was considered an excellent fencer and this weapon promised advantages to the much larger Lincoln with its long arms. Before the duel actually began, the seconds were able to persuade the duelists to forego the fight because Lincoln had not written the articles. After the non-fought duel, the opponents were lifelong friends.

In 1843, Shields was appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court, and from 1845 to 1847 he was Commissioner in the General Land Office , which was responsible for surveying the public lands of the American West , recording them in cadastres and using the Preemption Act , the forerunner of the Homestead Act , for sale. After the outbreak of the Mexican-American War , he served from 1846 as Brigadier General under Zachary Taylor , John E. Wool and Winfield Scott . He participated in several battles and was seriously wounded twice. In 1847 he was awarded the rank of major general for his services . After the end of the war, he left the army in 1848.

Senator for three states

In 1848, US President James K. Polk appointed him Governor of the Oregon Territory in gratitude and recognition for his services .

Although the Democratic Senator Sidney Breese ran for re-election in 1849 , Shields was elected because of his military fame and therefore had to refuse the appointment as governor. Disgruntled Breese supporters moved to invalidate Shields' election. The constitution requires senators to have been US citizens for at least nine years. It was controversial whether this condition had to be fulfilled at the election or only when the actual work as a senator began. At the beginning of the first session of the new Congress in December 1849, Shields would have met the condition. A coalition of Whigs and disgruntled Democrats decided that Shields' election should be overturned. The Whigs hoped that the seat would remain vacant, as the Illinois Parliament then only met every two years. The governor convened a special session in the fall, at which Shields was re-elected so that he could take his seat in time.

Shields served in the Senate for Illinois for six years. In 1855 he stood for re-election, but received fewer votes in the first ballot than Abraham Lincoln , the candidate of the newly founded Republicans . After the latter did not get an absolute majority, Parliament elected Lyman Trumbull as Shields' successor.

In 1855 Shields moved to Minnesota , where he was instrumental in the incorporation of Minnesota into the Union in 1858. After recording of Minnesota in the Union, he was together with Henry M. Rice , of the Minnesota Territory in the House of Representatives had represented, in 1858 voted for one of the first two items of the state senator. At the draw for the Senate classes , Shields drew the lot for the shorter term and sat from May 11, 1858 to March 3, 1859 for Minnesota in the Senate. In 1859 he stood for re-election, but was defeated by Republican Morton S. Wilkinson .

Shields then settled in California , where he married in 1861. After the outbreak of the Civil War he volunteered again and served as a brigadier general in the Army of the Potomac until 1863 . In March 1862, Shields was wounded in the Battle of Kernstown , but was able to recover.

In the years to come, Shields led a kind of nomadic existence. In 1863 he moved to Mexico for almost three years , where he took over the management of mines. In 1866 he moved back to the States, where he briefly moved to Wisconsin and later to Missouri, where he was elected to the State's Chamber of Representatives that same year . He also worked for the railroad. After the death of US Senator Lewis V. Bogy in September 1878 and the interim Senator David H. Armstrong , Shields was elected US Senator from Missouri on January 27, 1879. It was to be his shortest tenure as a senator, as he voluntarily resigned from office on March 3, 1879, after just under five weeks.

James Shields died three months later on June 1, 1879. He was buried in Carrollton, Missouri.

Web links

Commons : James Shields  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• James Shields (politician, 1806) in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• James Shields in the database of Find a Grave (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} General James Shields: soldier, orator, statesman , Henry A. Castle, April 13, 1914, accessed August 19, 2020
2. ↑ Shields, James at lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org, accessed August 19, 2020
3. ↑ ^{a b} Irish senator who served three states, fought duel with Lincoln, born on this day , Frances Mulraney May 12, 2020, accessed August 19, 2020
4. ↑ Senator for Three States , accessed August 19, 2020