James G. Maguire
Portrait byC. M. Bell, 1894
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's4th district
In office March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1899
Preceded by	John T. Cutting
Succeeded by	Julius Kahn
Judge of the San Francisco County Superior Court
In office January 2, 1883 – January 8, 1889
Preceded by	Charles Halsey
Succeeded by	John P. Hoge
Member of theCalifornia State Assembly from the13th district
In office December 6, 1875 – December 3, 1877
Preceded by	Multi-member district
Succeeded by	Multi-member district
Personal details
Born	(1853-02-22)February 22, 1853 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	June 20, 1920(1920-06-20) (aged 67) San Francisco, California, U.S.
Resting place	Greenlawn Memorial Park,Colma, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic(before 1887, after 1888) United Labor(1887–1888)
Other political affiliations	Workingmen's(1880–1881) Populist(1898) Silver Republican(1898) Union Labor(1908) Independence(1908)
Spouse	Louisa J. Joyce ​ ​ (m. 1881; died 1918)​
Children	Willis Harold Henry
Occupation	Blacksmith, attorney, politician
Signature
Nickname	"Little Giant"
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	California National Guard
Years of service	1875–1879
Rank	Lieutenant
Unit	3rd Infantry Regiment,Meagher Guard
Battles/wars	San Francisco Riot of 1877

James George Maguire (February 22, 1853 – June 20, 1920) was an American attorney, politician andGeorgist who served in theCalifornia State Assembly from 1875 to 1877, theSan Francisco County Superior Court from 1883 to 1889, and theUnited States House of Representatives 1893 to 1899. He was the unsuccessfulDemocratic nominee forGovernor of California in1898, losing toRepublicanHenry T. Gage. Short in stature but weighing over two hundred pounds,^[1] Maguire was nicknamed the "Little Giant,"^[2] asobriquet that came to be used by friends and foes alike.^[3][4]

James George Maguire was born on February 22, 1853, inBoston, Massachusetts.^[5] His parents were bothIrish immigrants, his father fromDonegal and his mother fromKildare.^[6] Maguire moved with his parents to California in February 1854,^[5] attending the public schools ofWatsonville inSanta Cruz County and the private academy of Joseph K. Fallon.^[5] Maguire apprenticed for four years as a blacksmith and taught school for a year and a half.^[5] He served as aLieutenant in theCalifornia National Guard^[7][8] from 1875^[9] to 1879,^[10] during which he was called upon to help suppress theSan Francisco Riots.^[11]

Maguirec. 1877–1878, age 24

Maguirec. 1881–1882, age 28

Maguire entered public life through theKnights of Father Mathew,^[12] in which he was active as early as 1874^[13] and as late as 1880.^[14] He served as a member of theCalifornia State Assembly from 1875 to 1877, one of 20 members from the fiveSan Francisco districts. At just 22 years old, he was the youngest member of the Legislature.^[15] He studied law and was admitted to the Bar by theSupreme Court of California in January 1878, commencing practice in San Francisco. One of hisstudents^[16] andclerks was assemblymanJeremiah J. McCarthy.^[17]

Following the adoption of afusion agreement between the Democratic andWorkingmen's Parties,^[18] Maguire sought their nomination for judge of theSan Francisco County Superior Court in 1880^[19] andcity attorney of San Francisco in 1881, but did not gain either.^[20] He ran for judge again in 1882 and was elected, serving from 1883^[21] to 1889.^[22] Around this time, he became disillusioned with the Democratic Party, which he believed was under the control ofpolitical bosses andlandlords. In 1887, he left the party forHenry George'sUnited Labor Party,^[23] in which he was active^[24] until its dissolution in 1888.^[25] He rejoined the Democratic Party soon after.^[26]

Maguire was elected as aDemocrat to theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 4th congressional district in1892, serving in the53rd,54th, and55th Congresses from March 4, 1893, to March 3, 1899. He was theranking member of theHouse Committee on Immigration and Naturalization during his first term and theHouse Committee on Elections during his third. He authored theMaguire Act, which abolished the practice of imprisoning sailors who deserted from coastwise vessels.^[27]

Maguire supportedChinese exclusion,^[28] arguing that their "semibarbarism" threatened the "Caucasian civilization" of the United States. He also blamed"coolie labor" for low wages and high unemployment, stating:

...it is manifestly impossible to maintain one standard of wages for American labor and another for alien labor, competing in the same market, with natural opportunities equally closed against them.

In line with this and the Democratic Party'santi-imperialism plank, he opposed theannexation of Hawaii.^[30] Ironically, he was also involved with the CaliforniaAfro-American League.^[31]

On January 31, 1894, Maguire proposed an amendment to theWilson–Gorman Tariff Act that would have established a nationalsingle tax. Intended as a substitute for the bill's proposedincome tax, it would have levied a direct tax of $31,311,125 onland values nationwide. Only five others voted in favor:Michael D. Harter andTom L. Johnson of Ohio,Charles Tracey andJ. De Witt Warner of New York, andJerry Simpson of Kansas.^[32][33] After this was rejected, Maguire voted in favor of the original version of the bill^[34][35][36] and the final version sent back by the Senate several months later.^[37][38]

In1898, Maguire ran forGovernor of California on aDemocratic-Populist-Silver Republican Fusion ticket. He ran on aplatform of anti-monopolism, support for thewar with Spain, and opposition to theWar Revenue Act of 1898.^[39] He lost toRepublicanHenry T. Gage with 45% of the vote,^[40] having been opposed by every major newspaper save forWilliam Randolph Hearst'sSan Francisco Examiner.^[41]

During the campaign, Maguire was denounced byIrish Catholic priestPeter Yorke for a book he wrote ten years prior,Ireland and The Pope,Adrian IV toLeo XIII, in which he argued that the subjugation ofIreland by theBritish Empire had been orchestrated by certainmedievalPopes. Yorke's attacks were so severe thatPatrick William Riordan, theArchbishop of San Francisco, had to distance himself, stating to the press: "Father Yorke is alone responsible for his utterances."^[42]

After his loss, Maguire resumed his law practice in San Francisco. He served as a delegate to the1900 and1912 Democratic National Conventions, pledged tospeakerChamp Clark at the latter.^[43] Maguire did not seek re-election to the House until1908, when he ran on a Democratic-Union Labor-Independence Fusion ticket^[44] but was defeated by incumbentJulius Kahn. He ran for public office one last time in 1911, campaigning forDistrict Attorney of San Francisco but losing in the primary to incumbentCharles Fickert.

Maguire died in San Francisco on June 20, 1920. A member of theIndependent Order of Odd Fellows since 1877,^[45] his funeral was directed by the organization.^[46] He is interred atGreenlawn Memorial Park inColma, California.^[47] Aliberty ship,James G. Maguire, was named for him and launched in 1943.

• 
  "My Whys"
• 
  "The Crow Banquet"
• 
  "Scattering the Legal Vermin"
• 
  "Harping on the Same Old String"
• 
  "The Early Bird"
• 
  "Too Heavily Handicapped"
• 
  "Photo-Phrenological Studies"
• 
  "Pulling Different Ways"
• 
  "In Union There is Sometimes Family Trouble"
• 
  "Candidate Maguire and Single Tax"
• 
  "The Latest Addition"
• 
  "The Same Old Battle Cry"
• 
  "The Lullaby of Nurse Maguire"
• 
  "The Danger of Discord"
• 
  "The Anvil Chorus"
• 
  "In 1890"
• 
  "In 1898"
• 
  "Sandlot Vegetation"
• 
  "Something Dropped"
• 
  "A Case of the Jim-Jams"

• Ireland and The Pope; A Brief History of Papal Intrigues Against Irish Liberty from Adrian IV to Leo XIII. San Francisco: James H. Barry. 1888.
• Single-tax vs. Socialism: Debate between James G. Maguire and Job Harriman, June 16, 1895. WithJob Harriman. San Francisco: American Section, Socialist Labor Party. 1895.^[52]

• "The Tax That Can’t Be Shifted." St. Louis:The Mirror, 1906.
• "Not Opposed to Property in Land." St. Louis:The Mirror, 1906.
• "Does Not Invade Vested Rights." St. Louis:The Mirror, 1906.
• "The Gompers-Case Usurpation." Chicago:The Public, 1909.
• "Judge Maguire's Memories of Henry George." Chicago:The Public, 1909.
• "The Philosophy of The Single Tax Movement." New York:Single Tax Review, 1920.

• Direct Taxation of Land Values. Industrial Depressions. How to Make Labor Free. Speeches of Hon. James G. Maguire of California in the House of Representatives of the United States, January 11, 1894; October 13 and 14, 1893; August 23, 1893; August 26, 1893.
• Chinese Exclusion. Speech of Hon. James G. Maguire of California in the House of Representatives, Friday and Saturday, October 13 and 14, 1893.
• Silver. Speech of Hon. James G. Maguire of California in the House of Representatives, Friday, August 25, 1893.
• Silver. Speech of Hon. James G. Maguire of California in the House of Representatives, Saturday, August 26, 1893.

• Media related toJames G. Maguire at Wikimedia Commons
• United States Congress."James G. Maguire (id: M000059)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• JoinCalifornia - James G. Maguire
• MAGUIRE, James George (1853-1920) atvoteview.com
• Maguire, James G. at the School of Cooperative Individualism

• 1853 births
• 1920 deaths
• American blacksmiths
• California National Guard personnel
• Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly
• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California
• Politicians from Boston
• Politicians from San Francisco
• People from Watsonville, California
• Georgist politicians
• 19th-century members of the California State Legislature
• 19th-century United States representatives
• Workingmen's Party of California people

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