James William Denver

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James William Denver, ca.1856
Denver as a general in the Civil War

James William Denver (born October 23, 1817 in Winchester , Virginia , †  August 9, 1892 in Washington, DC ) was an American officer and politician . He was governor of the Kansas Territory from 1857 to 1858 .

Early years and political advancement

James Denver grew up on a farm in Virginia and attended local schools there. In 1830 he moved to Wilmington , Ohio with his parents . There he studied engineering. In 1841 he made his living teaching in Missouri . He then studied law at the University of Cincinnati . After graduating and admitted to the bar, he practiced first in Xenia, Ohio and then, after moving in 1845, to Platte City, Missouri. In the war with Mexico (1846-1848) he served as captain under General Winfield Scott .

After the war, he returned to his law practice in Missouri. In 1850 he followed the general call for gold to California as a trader . There he was elected to the State Senate in 1851 . In 1852 there was a duel with the journalist and former Congressman Edward Gilbert , who was shot by Denver in the process. The reason for this duel were political differences. In 1853, Denver was elected Secretary of State of California under Governor John Bigler . Between March 4, 1855 and March 3, 1857, he represented California as a Democrat in the US House of Representatives in Washington.

Kansas Territory Governor

In April 1857, President James Buchanan appointed him as the federal government's Indian commissioner. Only a little later, the president changed his mind and appointed Denver first secretary of state and then from December 1857 governor of the Kansas Territory. There he was immediately drawn into the quarrel between supporters and opponents of slavery . There had been repeated violent clashes between the groups in recent years. Denver couldn't help that either. At that time, a pro-slavery constitution was passed and put into effect by referendum. It later emerged that the result of the vote was electoral fraud. Therefore, the constitution was repealed in 1858. At that time, the city of Denver was founded in the west of the Kansas Territory , named after the governor and later the capital of the new state of Colorado . In October 1858, Denver resigned from office.

Civil war activities

After his time in Kansas ended, Denver was again the federal government's Indian commissioner until 1859. Then he worked as a lawyer again. A few months after the Civil War began , James Denver was named Brigadier General by President Abraham Lincoln . He served intermittently under the command of General William T. Sherman . From November 1861 he was in command of all Union troops stationed in Kansas. He remained in this post until March 1863; then he left the army voluntarily.

Another résumé

After his military service, Denver worked as a lawyer again, first in Washington and later in Wilmington. In 1876, 1880 and 1884 he was a delegate to the respective Democratic National Conventions . At times he was under discussion as a presidential candidate. In 1870 he ran unsuccessfully for the US Senate. James Denver died in Washington on August 9, 1892. He was the father of Congressman Matthew Denver (1870-1954) from Ohio .

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personal data
SURNAME Denver, James William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American officer and politician
DATE OF BIRTH October 23, 1817
PLACE OF BIRTH Winchester , Virginia
DATE OF DEATH August 9, 1892
Place of death Washington, DC