Champ Clark

James Beauchamp " Champ " Clark ( born March 7, 1850 in Lawrenceburg, Anderson County, Kentucky; † March 2, 1921 in Washington, DC ) was an American politician of the Democratic Party, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Missouri and speaker of the house of Representatives.

Biography

Career and deputy

After attending public schools (Common Schools ), he studied at the University of Kentucky and then at Bethany College in West Virginia, which he completed in 1873. He then studied law at the Law School of the University of Cincinnati and graduated in 1875 from. He was also the 1873-1874 President of Marshall College in West Virginia. After his admission he began in 1875 not only a career as a lawyer, but was also also the editor of a daily newspaper. In 1876 he settled in Bowling Green and was 1878-1881 Attorney ( City Attorney ) of the cities Bowling Green and Louisiana. Later, he was from 1885 to 1889, first Deputy Representatives and then the defendant can ( Prosecuting Attorney ) of Pike County.

His political career began as a deputy in Clark House of Representatives from Missouri, in which he was elected in 1889 and 1891. He was also a delegate to the 1891 Trans-Mississippi Congress in May. In 1892 he was first elected for the Democrats in the U.S. Repräsentenhaus and represented there for a legislative period of 4 March 1893 to 3 March 1895 9 electoral district of Missouri. In 1894 he was defeated in the congressional elections his Republican challenger William M. Treloar.

In 1896 he succeeded in turn a victory against Treloar. After eleven subsequent re- elections he represented again on 4 March 1897 to his death in the 9th Congressional District of Missouri in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Minority Leader and Speaker of the House

Between 1908 and March 1911 was Clark as Minority Leader Group Chairman and thus opposition leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives.

After that he was on April 4, 1911 to March 3, 1919 to Speaker ( Speaker) of the House and had thus before his predecessor Joseph Gurney Cannon the hitherto longest tenure in this office.

For the presidential election in the United States in 1912 Clark was next to Woodrow Wilson, governor of New Jersey, Judson Harmon, Governor of Ohio, Oscar Underwood, a congressman from Alabama, and Thomas R. Marshall, Governor of Indiana, on the possible Democratic presidential candidates. At the Democratic National Convention in Baltimore ultimately resulted in a duel between Clark and Wilson, with Clark at first always occupied in all ballots the first place, but at no time reach the necessary two-thirds majority was. As the three-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan - later Secretary of State in the Cabinet Wilson - then his influence and argued a number of delegates brought to give her voice Wilson, this received the necessary majority on the 46th ballot.

After losing the Democratic majority after the elections to the 66th U.S. Congress he was on 4 March 1919 until his death again Minority Leader and leader of the opposition Democrats. In the elections to the 67th U.S. Congress, 1920, he was struck by a defeat against his Republican challenger Theodore W. Hukriede. One day before the end of his mandate died Champ Clark. After his death he was buried in the City Cemetery of Bowling Green.

To him, the, completed in June 1928 Champ Clark Bridge on U.S. Highway 54 was named in honor of leading the five fields across the Mississippi River and connects the city of Louisiana in Missouri with Illinois belonging to the eastern shore. His house in Bowling Green is one of the National Historic Landmarks in Missouri.

His son, Bennett Champ Clark was U.S. Senator for Missouri and judge at the Federal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

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