John Wingate Weeks

This article deals with the politician John Wingate Weeks (1860–1926). For the politician of the same name (1781–1853) see John W. Weeks .

John Wingate Weeks

John Wingate Weeks (born April 11, 1860 in Lancaster , New Hampshire , † July 12, 1926 there ) was an American politician of the Republican Party . He represented the state of Massachusetts in both houses of Congress between 1905 and 1915 . He was also the 48th Secretary of War of the United States from 1921 to 1925.

Life

Weeks grew up in Lancaster, New Hampshire. He was admitted to the United States Naval Academy , received his PhD in 1881, and served in the US Navy for two years . During the 1890s, Weeks made a fortune banking after co-founding the Boston financial firm Hornblower and Weeks in 1888. Strengthened by his financial well-being, Weeks became active in politics, first at the local level in his home in Newton , he was on the city council between 1899 and 1902 and mayor between 1903 and 1904, then at the national level.

politics

Weeks' grave in Arlington National Cemetery

As a member of the House of Representatives (until 1913) and then as a Senator , Weeks was noticeably best known for his involvement in banking and law enforcement, including the Weeks Act of 1911, which was the basis for the United States National Forest system. Despite his defeat in Senate re-election in 1918, Weeks remained an active and influential participant in the national Republican Party. He was an early supporter of Warren G. Harding's nomination for the 1920 presidency, and when Harding became president he took him to his cabinet . As Secretary of War, Weeks was a competent, honest, and respected administrator and advisor who guided the Department of War through the postwar period of World War I and its decimation. Weeks hard work and overtime led to a stroke of fate for him in April 1925, which made him resign as Minister of War in October of the same year. Weeks died a few months later at his summer home on Mount Prospect , Lancaster, New Hampshire. The building is now open as part of tours of Weeks State Park . A nearby mountain, Mount Weeks , was named after him.

Weeks' son, Sinclair Weeks, was Secretary of Commerce under President Dwight D. Eisenhower . His cousin Edgar Weeks was an MP for Michigan in the US House of Representatives. His great-uncle, also known as John Wingate Weeks (1781-1853), was a major in the US Army during the War of 1812 and an MP for New Hampshire in the House of Representatives.

literature

• John A. Garraty, Mark C. Carnes: Weeks, John Wingate. In: American National Biography. Vol. 22. Oxford University Press, New York 1999.

Web links

Commons : John Wingate Weeks  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Army biography (English)
• John W. Weeks in the Miller Center of Public Affairs of the University of Virginia (English)
• John Wingate Weeks in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)