James W. Grimes

James W. Grimes

James Wilson Grimes (born October 20, 1816 in Deering , Hillsborough County , New Hampshire , †  February 7, 1872 in Burlington , Iowa ) was an American politician and from 1854 to 1858 the 3rd  governor of the state of Iowa. Between 1859 and 1869 he represented his state in the US Senate .

Early years and political advancement

Grimes attended Hampton Academy and Dartmouth College . After studying law, he was admitted to the bar in 1836. He then began a successful legal career in Burlington, Iowa.

James Grimes was a member of the Whigs . In 1836 he was a member of an Indian commission. Between 1838 and 1839 and from 1843 to 1844, Grimes was a member of the House of Representatives for the Iowa Territory . After the area became a federal state to the United States, he was again in the House of Representatives of that state from 1852 to 1854 . In 1854 he was elected as his party's candidate for the new governor. He was the only Whigs governor of Iowa. After the Whig Party ended, Grimes later joined the Republicans .

Governor of Iowa

James Grimes took office on December 9, 1854. During his four-year tenure, a mental hospital was built in Mount Pleasant and the capital moved to Des Moines . In 1857 a new state constitution was passed. Laws regulating general business, banking and education have also been enacted. It was then that the Iowa Historical Society was being prepared. At the same time, federal grants were secured for the construction of a railway network.

Grimes in the US Senate

After the end of his term on January 13, 1858, Grimes was elected as a candidate for the Republican Party in the US Senate. There he represented his state between March 4, 1859 and December 6, 1869. He was chairman of the Committee on the Administration of the District of Columbia and the Committee on Naval Affairs . In early 1861 he belonged to a group of politicians who wanted to prevent the outbreak of the American Civil War at a last minute conference in Washington . The enterprise failed and the outbreak of war was not long in coming. During the impeachment trial against President Andrew Johnson , Grimes was one of only seven Republican senators who defied party doctrine and advocated an acquittal of Johnson. This ultimately led to a narrow failure of the case against the president and to political reprisals against the seven senators by the Republican Party. Grimes resigned from his Senate mandate on December 6, 1869 for health reasons.

Another résumé

After his tenure in Congress ended , Grimes retired from politics. He died in February 1872 and was buried in Burlington. James Grimes was married to Elizabeth Sarah Neally.

literature

• Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978. Volume 2, Meckler Books, Westport, 1978. 4 volumes.

Web links

• James W. Grimes in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• James W. Grimes in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• James Grimes at the National Governors Association (English)