John W. Griggs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 43rdUnited States Attorney General | |
| In office January 25, 1898 – March 29, 1901 | |
| President | William McKinley |
| Preceded by | Joseph McKenna |
| Succeeded by | Philander C. Knox |
| 29thGovernor of New Jersey | |
| In office January 21, 1896 – January 31, 1898 | |
| Preceded by | George Werts |
| Succeeded by | Foster McGowan Voorhees(acting) |
| Member of theNew Jersey Senate fromPassaic County | |
| In office January 9, 1883 – 1889 | |
| Preceded by | Garret Hobart |
| Succeeded by | John Mallon |
| Member of thePaterson City Council | |
| In office 1879–1882 | |
| Member of theNew Jersey House of Representatives | |
| In office 1875–1876 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John William Griggs (1849-07-10)July 10, 1849 Newton, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | November 28, 1927(1927-11-28) (aged 78) Paterson, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Carolyn Webster Brandt Laura Price |
| Education | Lafayette College(BA) |
| Signature |  |
John William Griggs (July 10, 1849 – November 28, 1927) was an American lawyer andRepublican Partypolitician who served as the 29thGovernor of New Jersey from 1896 to 1898 and the 43rdUnited States Attorney General from 1898 to 1901.
As Governor, Griggs gained a reputation for siding with "the little guy" in conflicts between impoverished workers and their employers; he was also an advocate of civil rights forAfrican Americans.[1]
John William Griggs was born on July 10, 1849, on his family's farm on Ridge Road nearNewton, New Jersey to Daniel and Emeline Johnson Griggs. The Griggs family had settled in the state around 1733 and had been a farming family since.[2]
John Griggs attended the Collegiate Institute in Newton before enrolling atLafayette College in 1864. Though he participated in an unruly protest against the abolition of fraternities on campus (as a member ofTheta Delta Chi), Griggs graduated as scheduled in 1868.[2] He returned to Newton and studied law as a clerk in the office of Robert Hamilton for three years, before spending the final months of his apprenticeship in the offices ofSocrates Tuttle ofPaterson.[2] Tuttle, a prominent local Republican, would soon be elected mayor of the city and had also mentored another young Republican attorney,Garret Hobart, who became Tuttle's son-in-law. Hobart and Griggs began a political friendship which would eventually take both men to Washington.
In November 1871, Griggs received his law license. After two years of independent practice, he entered a partnership with Tuttle and by 1879 had developed a large clientele of his own. FutureNew Jersey Attorney GeneralRobert H. McCarter praised Griggs as an excellent mediator, known for his "wonderful power of clearing up difficulties that arose in the course of protracted trials."[2]
Griggs entered politics in 1875 as a Republican candidate for theNew Jersey General Assembly from Paterson. He narrowly unseated the Democratic incumbent with 51.9 percent of the vote and became the youngest member of the Assembly at just twenty-six years old.[2] Despite his age, he was appointed to several committees and played a key role in drafting the election laws under a recently approved set of constitutional amendments.[2] He was re-elected in 1876 but defeated for a third term in 1877, which was generally a Democratic year.[2]
Having been turned out of the legislature, Griggs cultivated his legal practice and served as a government attorney. From 1878 to 1879, he was counsel to thePassaic CountyBoard of Chosen Freeholders and from 1879 to 1882, he was city counsel forPaterson.[2]
In 1882, Griggs returned to Trenton by succeedingGarret Hobart as State Senator. He won a narrow election over James Inglis Jr., a local judge, by 182 votes. In the Senate, Griggs chaired eight regular committees in six years, including Railroads, Canals and Turnpikes and Revision and Amendment of the Laws. As Senator, his chief achievement came in 1884 when he chaired a joint committee on corporate taxation. He heavily revised the proposal by GovernorLeon Abbett to be less punitive, and his bill became law and survived judicial scrutiny. Riding this wave of success, Griggs stood for President of the Senate in 1885 but lost toAbraham V. Schenck.[2] He was elected to succeed Schenck in 1886, furthering his statewide profile and ambitions.
In 1888, Griggs was a delegate-at-large to theRepublican National Convention from New Jersey, as part of a slate supporting favorite sonWilliam Walter Phelps. After Benjamin Harrison won the nomination, Griggs delivered the speech nominating Phelps for Vice President; he finished second behindLevi P. Morton of New York.
Though Griggs hoped to be nominated for Governor in 1889 on the basis of his taxation bill, he found little support for his candidacy. President Harrison seriously considered nominating him to theSupreme Court in 1892 to succeed fellow New JerseyanJoseph P. Bradley. Griggs lobbied for the seat through his friend Hobart (by then serving as Senate President himself) and others but did not receive the nomination, which instead went toGeorge Shiras Jr.[2]
In 1895, Griggs ran an active campaign for Governor. He received the Republican nomination at the party convention on the third ballot over RepresentativeJohn Kean, who had taken the nomination in 1892.[2]
In the general election, Griggs campaigned on a platform for "honesty, retrenchment, and reform."[2] He charged the Democratic Party and nomineeAlexander T. McGill ofJersey City with eleven years of corruption and voter fraud. He also criticized recent Democratic legislation, including a Coal Combine bill and legalized racetrack gambling. He spoke infrequently on national issues, but opposed free silver, free trade, and Chinese immigration.[2] Disaffection with the Democratic Party in the state and the party's growing opposition to the gold standard nationally paved the way for Griggs's solid victory; he was the first Republican elected as Governor sinceMarcus Lawrence Ward thirty years earlier in 1865, when the party still ran under theNational Union label in New Jersey. His victory was the first of five consecutive wins for the party.[2]
Griggs held his inauguration in a formal affair at Taylor's Opera House on June 21, 1896.[2][3] In his speech, he called for "a restriction in the volume of legislation," especially thegrowing trend of municipal incorporation, and reforms protecting citizens against injuries from trolley cars and urban sewer pollution.[2]
As he had during the election campaign, Griggs called for depoliticization of charitable and penal institutions. He opened his term in office by removing many Democratic state officials from office, including longtime Secretary of State Henry C. Kelsey and Attorney GeneralJohn P. Stockton, who had each served for decades under Democratic governors, and many "lay judges" of the courts of common pleas.[2] On March 19, 1896, SenatorFoster McGowan Voorhees introduced a bill to eliminate the courts of common pleas and reduce the pay for county court judges, which Griggs later signed into law.[2]
Griggs also signed bills eliminatinggrade crossings inNewark and Jersey City and preventing water pollution.[2]
In 1898, Griggs was offered the position of United States Attorney General byWilliam McKinley. His appointment came at the recommendation of Hobart, his political mentor and now the Vice President of the United States. Griggs had been a longtime McKinley supporter, speaking on behalf of the candidate at the first McKinley for President club in the country in April 1896.[2]
As Attorney General, Griggs's chief achievement was arguing theInsular Cases before the Supreme Court, which determined the constitutional status of the lands won in theSpanish–American War. Griggs was an ardent supporter of the President's imperial policy and had accompanied McKinley and Hobart to Cuba, where they visitedTheodore Roosevelt following his victory at theBattle of San Juan Hill.[2] In the Insular Cases, he leaned heavily on Justice Bradley's decision inLate Corp. of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. United States to advance a national view of the Constitution.[2]
AfterMcKinley's assassination in 1901, Griggs resigned from the cabinet.[2] In December of that year, SenatorWilliam J. Sewell died in office. Griggs was put forward as a leading candidate to succeed him, but the legislature ultimately electedJohn F. Dryden.[2]
Griggs was one of the first members appointed to thePermanent Court of Arbitration atthe Hague, and served from 1901 to 1912.[citation needed] He also returned to private legal practice, founding the corporate firm of Griggs, Dill and Harding in New York City.[2]
When theConsolidated National Bank of New York was organized on July 1, 1902, the fourteen directors included Griggs,Henry C. Brewster,George Crocker,Mortimer H. Wagar, andPerry Belmont.[4] In 1905 he was named the president of theMarconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America, and held that office until the company was reorganized as theRadio Corporation of America (RCA) in 1919. At RCA he was a director and the company's general counsel until his death.[citation needed]
Griggs married Carolyn Webster Brandt in 1874 and Laura Elizabeth Price in 1893. He had seven children.[2]
Griggs's nieceElizabeth Alden Curtis Holman was the plaintiff in a 1914 case inUnited States federal court which successfully challenged forcedinstitutionalization.[5]
Griggs was a trustee to his alma mater,Lafayette College, from 1894 to 1900.[6]
Griggs died on November 28, 1927, inPaterson, New Jersey.[7] He was buried atCedar Lawn Cemetery in that city.
Griggs Avenue inTeaneck, New Jersey, bears his name.[citation needed]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | President of theNew Jersey Senate 1886 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of New Jersey 1896–1898 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of New Jersey 1895 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | United States Attorney General 1898–1901 | Succeeded by |
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| Dominion of New England (1688–89) | ||
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* UnderN.J.S.A. 52:15-5 (as amended in 2005), an acting governor serving for 180 continuous days or more is conferred the title of Governor. | ||
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