James Beck | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus | |
| In office March 4, 1885 – May 3, 1890 | |
| Preceded by | George H. Pendleton |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Pue Gorman |
| United States Senator fromKentucky | |
| In office March 4, 1877 – May 3, 1890 | |
| Preceded by | John W. Stevenson |
| Succeeded by | John G. Carlisle |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromKentucky's7th district | |
| In office March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1875 | |
| Preceded by | George S. Shanklin |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Blackburn |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Burnie Beck (1822-02-13)February 13, 1822 Dumfriesshire,Scotland,UK |
| Died | May 3, 1890(1890-05-03) (aged 68) Washington, D.C.,U.S. |
| Resting place | Lexington Cemetery Lexington, Kentucky |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Transylvania University (BA) |
| Signature |  |
James Burnie Beck (February 13, 1822 – May 3, 1890) was a Scottish-AmericanUnited States Representative andSenator fromKentucky.
Born inDumfriesshire, Scotland, Beck migrated to the United States in 1838 and settled inWyoming County, New York. He moved toLexington, Kentucky in 1843 and graduated fromTransylvania University in 1846. Beck was admitted to thebar and commenced the practice of law in Lexington. Until shortly before theCivil War, he was a law partner ofJohn C. Breckinridge, theU.S. Vice President who became aConfederate general; during the Civil War, Beck was interrogated by a military commission about his knowledge of his former partner's activities.
After the war, Beck was elected as aDemocrat to theUnited States House of Representatives servingKentucky's 7th congressional district. He was appointed to theSelect Committee on Reconstruction where it was expected that as a newcomer and an immigrant he would be no obstacle toRepublican intentions, but he immediately became a tenacious advocate of the rights of the defeated states. AWhite supremacist, he opposedcivil rights forAfrican Americans.[1] He was reelected three times as a Representative, serving from March 4, 1867, to March 3, 1875.
In 1876, Beck was appointed a member of the commission to define the boundary line betweenMaryland andVirginia. He was then elected to theUnited States Senate in 1876, being reelected twice, serving from March 4, 1877, until his death inWashington, D.C. on May 3, 1890. Long-time Washington journalistBenjamin Perley Poore described Beck during his time in the Senate as "a stalwart, farmer-like looking man, with that overcharged brain which made his tongue at times falter because he could not utter what his furious, fiery eloquence prompted."[2] While in the Senate, Beck was theDemocratic Conference Chairman from 1885 to 1890, and the chairman of theCommittee on Transportation Routes to the Seaboard. He was prominent in the discussion of tariff and currency questions.
He is interred atLexington Cemetery. His son,George T. Beck, was a noted politician and entrepreneur in the state of Wyoming.
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| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromKentucky's 7th congressional district 1867–1875 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Kentucky 1877–1890 Served alongside:Thomas C. McCreery,John Williams,Joseph Blackburn | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Seaboard Transportation Routes Committee 1879–1881 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Democratic Caucus 1885–1890 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
