J. Hamilton Lewis | |
|---|---|
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| Senate Majority Whip | |
| In office March 4, 1933 – April 9, 1939 | |
| Leader | Joe Robinson Alben W. Barkley |
| Preceded by | Simeon D. Fess |
| Succeeded by | Sherman Minton |
| In office May 28, 1913 – March 3, 1919 | |
| Leader | John W. Kern Thomas S. Martin |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Charles Curtis |
| United States Senator fromIllinois | |
| In office March 4, 1931 – April 9, 1939 | |
| Preceded by | Charles S. Deneen |
| Succeeded by | James M. Slattery |
| In office March 26, 1913 – March 3, 1919 | |
| Preceded by | Shelby Cullom |
| Succeeded by | Medill McCormick |
| Corporation Counsel ofChicago | |
| In office 1905–1907 | |
| Mayor | Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWashington'sat-large district | |
| In office March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1899 | |
| Preceded by | William H. Doolittle |
| Succeeded by | Francis W. Cushman |
| Member of theWashington Territorial Legislature | |
| In office 1887–1888 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Hamilton Lewis (1863-05-18)May 18, 1863 |
| Died | April 9, 1939(1939-04-09) (aged 75) |
| Resting place | Fort Lincoln Cemetery,Brentwood, Maryland |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Education | University of Virginia Ohio Northern University Baylor University |
| Occupation | Attorney |
James Hamilton Lewis (May 18, 1863 – April 9, 1939) was an American attorney and politician. Sometimes referred to as J. Ham Lewis or Ham Lewis, he representedWashington in theUnited States House of Representatives, andIllinois in theUnited States Senate. He was the first to hold the title ofWhip in theUnited States Senate.
Born inDanville, Virginia and raised inAugusta, Georgia, Lewis attended several colleges, studied law, and attained admission to the bar in 1882. He moved toWashington Territory in 1885, where he became active in politics as aDemocrat; he served in the territorial legislature, worked with the federal commission that helped establish the U.S.-Canada boundary, and ran unsuccessfully for governor. He served in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1897 to 1899.
After service in theSpanish–American War, Lewis relocated toChicago,Illinois. After serving as the city's corporation counsel, and running unsuccessfully for governor, Lewis won election to theUnited States Senate in1913, and served one term (1913–1919). He was chosen to serve asMajority Whip, and was the first person to hold this position. He ran unsuccessfully for reelection in1918, and for governor in1920. In1930, he was again elected to the U.S. Senate, and served from 1931 until his death. He died inWashington, D.C., and was interred first inArlington, Virginia, and later atFort Lincoln Cemetery inBrentwood, Maryland.
Lewis made several racist speeches. While campaigning, he accused of opponents of threatening Chicago "with criminal Negro domination."
"So long as I have breath to speak I shall raise my voice to prevent criminal Negroes from lording it over Christian white men."[1]
Lewis was born inDanville, Virginia on May 18, 1863, and grew up inAugusta, Georgia.[2] His mother had traveled to Virginia to nurse his father, who was wounded while serving for theConfederacy in theAmerican Civil War. His mother died in childbirth, and his father was left an invalid, so Lewis was raised by relatives.[3] He attended Augusta's Houghton School, theUniversity of Virginia,Ohio Northern University andBaylor University, and studied law inSavannah, Georgia.[2] He was admitted to the bar in 1882, and moved toSeattle in 1885, where he continued to practice law.[2] ADemocrat, he served inWashington Territory's legislature from 1887 to 1888. In 1889 and 1890, Lewis worked with the Joint High Commission on Canadian and Alaska Boundaries to present the U.S. position.[2] He was an unsuccessful candidate forGovernor of Washington in 1892.[2]
Lewis was one of the few politicians to represent two states in the United States Congress. He representedWashington (1897–1899) in theUnited States House of Representatives, and was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1898.[2] In 1899, he served as a U.S. Commissioner for regulating customs laws between the United States and Canada, and was an unsuccessful candidate for theUnited States Senate.[2] During theSpanish–American War, Lewis served on the staff of theadjutant general of the Washington National Guard as an assistant inspector general with the rank oflieutenant colonel.[2] He was subsequently promoted tocolonel, and served in a similar role in Cuba on the staff ofJohn R. Brooke, followed by service on the staff ofFrederick Dent Grant.[2]
In 1896, Lewis received 11 votes for the vice presidential nomination on the first ballot at theDemocratic National Convention despite not yet having attained the constitutionally required minimum age of 35.[4] In 1900, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic vice presidential nomination;[2] he withdrewbefore the balloting, and the nomination was won byAdlai Stevenson.[5] In 1903, Lewis relocated toChicago, where he continued to practice law, and served as the city's corporation counsel from 1905 to 1907.[2] In 1908, he was an unsuccessful candidate forGovernor of Illinois.[2]
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In 1913, Lewis was elected to the U.S. Senate from Illinois; he served one term (1913–1919), and was theMajority Whip for his entire term. In 1914, he was the Senate's representative at aLondon conference that considered way to ensure that laws and treaties guaranteeing safe sea travel could still be implemented asWorld War I was beginning.[2] Lewis also served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of State from 1915 to 1919.[2] A close ally of PresidentWoodrow Wilson, Lewis was a leader in getting much of Wilson's "New Freedom" legislation passed. Lewis also performed unspecified special wartime duties in Europe which led to him receiving knighthoods from the kings of Belgium and Greece.[2] In October 1918, Lewis was aboard an army ship, USSMount Vernon, when it was hit by German fire.[6] Lewis and others survived the blast, but 35 of the ship's crewmen perished.[7]
Upon his defeat for reelectionin 1918, Lewis was offered the ambassadorship toBelgium, but he declined and returned to private legal practice in Chicago, Illinois.In 1920, he ran unsuccessfully for governor. He eventually became a partner in the newly named Lewis, Adler, Lederer & Kahn (now known asSaul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr, LLP).[8]
In 1921, 1922, and 1925, Lewis was part of the U.S. delegation toLeague of Nations conferences held to settle wartime damage claims.[9]
In1930, Lewis was again elected to the Senate; he was reelected in1936 and served from March 4, 1931, until his death.[9] He again served as the Majority Whip, this time from 1933 until his death. In addition, he was chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments from 1933 until his death.[9]
In 1932, Lewis went to theDemocratic National Convention in Chicago, as the "favorite son" candidate of Illinois, at the behest of Chicago mayorAnton Cermak. Cermak's hope was to use Lewis to keep the Illinois delegates from supportingFranklin Delano Roosevelt, but Lewis later withdrew his name from consideration and released his delegates, many of whom went to FDR and helped secure him the nomination.[10]
As a member of theforeign relations committee, he told theAssociated Press in 1938 that Hitler was not going to fight overCzechoslovakia saying, "(Czechoslovakia) is a small matter that could be settled at any time." Sixteen days later Hitler annexed parts of Czechoslovakia, with the assent of Great Britain and France.[11]
Lewis was one of the first to befriendHarry S. Truman after Truman's election to the Senate. During Truman's first few weeks in office in 1935, Lewis sat next to Truman and advised him: "Harry, don't start out with an inferiority complex. For the first six months you'll wonder how the hell you got here. After that you'll wonder how the hell the rest of us got here."[12]
In 1896, Lewis married Rose Lawton Douglas (1871–1972).[13] Lewis was known to be something of an eccentric in manner and dress, wearingspats well into the 1930s even though they were out of fashion, and sportingVan Dyke whiskers during an era when most men were clean shaven, as well as a collection of "wavy pink toupees".[14] He was courtly in manner, and while some considered him verbose, he was generally acknowledged to be a talented orator.[15][16][17]
Lewis died at Garfield Hospital inWashington, DC, and his funeral service was held in the Senate Chamber.[9] He was interred at theAbbey Mausoleum nearArlington National Cemetery;[9] he was later reinterred atFort Lincoln Cemetery inBrentwood, Maryland.[18]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWashington's at-large congressional district 1897–1899 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Illinois 1913–1919 Served alongside:Lawrence Yates Sherman | Succeeded by |
| New office | Senate Majority Whip 1913–1919 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of the Senate State Department Expenditures Committee 1915–1919 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Illinois 1931–1939 Served alongside:Otis F. Glenn,William H. Dieterich,Scott W. Lucas | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Senate Majority Whip 1933–1939 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Executive Expenditures Committee 1933–1939 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| New office | Senate Democratic Whip 1913–1919 | Succeeded by |
| First | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromIllinois (Class 2) 1918 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Illinois 1920 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromIllinois (Class 2) 1930,1936 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Senate Democratic Whip 1933–1939 | Succeeded by |
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| Expenditures in Executive Departments (1921–1952) | | |
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| Government Operations (1952–1977) | ||
| Governmental Affairs (1977–2005) | ||
| Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (2005–) | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
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| Other | |
