John Adam Kasson | |
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| United States Minister to Austria | |
| In office May 11, 1877 – March 25, 1881 | |
| President | Rutherford B. Hayes James A. Garfield |
| Preceded by | Edward F. Beale |
| Succeeded by | William Walter Phelps |
| United States Envoy to the German Empire | |
| In office September 10, 1884 – June 21, 1885 | |
| President | Chester A. Arthur Grover Cleveland |
| Preceded by | Aaron A. Sargent |
| Succeeded by | George H. Pendleton |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIowa | |
| In office March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1867 | |
| Preceded by | District established |
| Succeeded by | Grenville M. Dodge |
| Constituency | 5th district |
| In office March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1877 | |
| Preceded by | District established |
| Succeeded by | Henry J. B. Cummings |
| Constituency | 7th district |
| In office March 4, 1881 – July 13, 1884 | |
| Preceded by | Edward H. Gillette |
| Succeeded by | Hiram Y. Smith |
| Constituency | 7th district |
| Member of theIowa House of Representatives from thePolk County district | |
| In office 1868–1872 | |
| Preceded by | Hoyt Sherman andGeorge Lute Godfrey |
| Succeeded by | William G. Madden andIsaac Brandt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1822-01-11)January 11, 1822 Charlotte, Vermont, U.S. |
| Died | May 18, 1910(1910-05-18) (aged 88) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Profession |
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| Signature | _(14584490630)_(John_Kasson_signature).jpg) |
John Adam Kasson (January 11, 1822 – May 18, 1910) was a nineteenth-century lawyer, politician and diplomat from south-centralIowa. Elected to theU.S. House six times, he repeatedly interrupted his congressional service to serve in theDiplomatic service in many different capacities.
He was born inCharlotte, Vermont, on January 11, 1822, to John Steele Kasson and Nancy Blackman. Kasson attended local school as a child and later graduated from theUniversity of Vermont in 1842. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, commencing practice inSt. Louis, Missouri. He moved toDes Moines, Iowa, in 1857 and commenced practice there.
He was a delegate to theRepublican National Convention in 1860, where he quickly rose to a position of great influence. Appointed as Iowa's representative on the platform committee, he was one of five delegates on the subcommittee responsible for reconciling competing resolutions into a coherent platform, and in the end was the principal draftsman of the final product, including the antislavery planks that were referenced by southern states as they seceded uponAbraham Lincoln's election.[1] In 1861,President Lincoln appointed Kasson as First Assistant Postmaster General, a position he held until August 1862.[2]
In 1862, Kasson was elected aRepublican to representIowa's new 5th congressional district in theUnited States House of Representatives. His district included 22 counties in the southwestern quadrant of Iowa, including the city of Des Moines. He represented that district for two terms, from 1863 to 1867. There, he served as chairman of theUnited States House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures from 1863 to 1867, during which time theMetricAct of 1866,[3] which he drafted, was passed. He was acommissioner from theUnited States to the International Postal Congress inParis, France, in 1863. However, in 1866 he lost the Republican nomination toCivil War andIndian Campaign GeneralGrenville M. Dodge. Afterward, he was acommissioner from theUnited States to negotiate postal conventions withGreat Britain,France,Belgium, theNetherlands,Germany,Switzerland andItaly in 1867.
In 1868 he was elected to theIowa House of Representatives, where he served until 1872.[4] That year he was returned to the U.S. House to representIowa's new 7th congressional district, made up of ten counties in south-central Iowa. He represented that district in Congress for four years, serving from 1873 to 1877. He did not seek renomination in 1876, even though theNew York Times reported that summer that he would have "good chances of success" as a candidate to become the nextSpeaker of the House.[5]
In 1877 Kasson was appointedEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Austria-Hungary byPresidentRutherford B. Hayes, a position he held until early 1881. At his suggestion, the four dollarStella pattern coins were minted in 1879 and 1880.[6]
In 1880 he ran once again for Congress, again winning the Republican nomination and general election to represent Iowa's 7th congressional district in the U.S. House. Once again, he was re-elected. His final period in Congress ended in 1884, when he was appointedEnvoy and Head of the U.S. Legation at Berlin, Germany, byPresidentChester A. Arthur. He served in that position until 1885, when he was named as a special envoy to theCongo Conference inBerlin. He was also a special envoy to the Samoan International Conference in 1889. Kasson was a specialcommissionerplenipotentiary from theUnited States to negotiate reciprocity treaties in 1897 and was a member of theUnited States andBritish Joint High Commission to adjust differences withCanada in 1898.
Kasson died inWashington, D.C., on May 18, 1910, and was interred inWoodland Cemetery in Des Moines.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| New district | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIowa's 5th congressional district 1863–1867 | Succeeded by |
| New district | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIowa's 7th congressional district 1873–1877 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIowa's 7th congressional district 1881–1884 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Ambassador to Austria-Hungary 1877–1881 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | U.S. Ambassador to the German Empire 1884–1885 | Succeeded by |
 Austrian Empire(1838–1867) |  | |
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 Austro-Hungarian Empire(1867–1917) | ||
 Republic of Austria(1921–1938, 1946–present) | ||
| Minister Plenipotentiary | | |
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| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | ||
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
