James Eli Watson

James Eli Watson ( born November 2, 1864 in Winchester, Randolph County, Indiana; † July 29, 1948 in Washington, DC ) was an American politician of the Republican Party. From 1895 to 1897, from 1899 to 1909 he sat for the State of Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives. From 1916 to 1933 he represented Indiana in the U.S. Senate.

Biography

Watson was born in the small town of Winchester in the west of Indiana. He grew up there with five siblings. His father was a lawyer and also a member of the Republican Party. 1876 ​​Watson accompanied his father to the Republican National Convention, where it participated as a delegate. Watson studied law at DePauw University. In 1886 he graduated from the owner. In the same year he was admitted to the bar and practiced henceforth in the office of his father.

In the 1880s, Watson campaigned for Republican candidates throughout the country. In 1893 he moved to Rushville. In 1894 he successfully ran in the fourth electoral district of Indiana for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. In the 1896 election, he could not prevail, and consequently different again from the Congress. As early as 1898 he succeeded again the entry into the U.S. House of Representatives, this time in the sixth electoral district of Indiana. He was re-elected four times and divorced again in 1909 from the Congress out to .. to run as governor of Indiana during his second term in the House of Representatives, he was a close confidant of Joseph Gurney Cannon, the speaker. Because of its close relationship with Cannon succeeded Watson, a member of the influential Committee on Ways and Means to be. Also helped Cannon Watson to be the Republican Whip.

In the election for governor of Indiana in 1908, he defeated Democrat Thomas Riley Marshall. Henceforth Watson was practicing law in his own firm in Rushville active. Because of his friendship with Cannon he continued to influence laws and even write speeches for Cannon. 1916 Watson ran for the seat in the U.S. Senate by John W. Kern. Due to some controversial remarks made by Watson, there were differences among the Republicans in Indiana. You could not decide which candidate they should officially support themselves. This " problem " then dissolved by the death of Benjamin F. Shively practice itself, Watson resigned at the time of election against the appointed Thomas Taggart and was able to prevail. Watson already put on 8 November 1916, and completed the oath of office Shively legislature. The re-election succeeded Watson twice. During his tenure in the Senate Watson Majority Leader and was a member in the following committees: United States Senate Select Committee on Woman Suffrage (Chairman 1919-1921 ), United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. He also was chairman of the Republican Conference of the United States Senate. In the 1932 congressional elections, he could not assert themselves and retired from the Senate from.

Even after his retirement from the Senate, he continued to maintain contact with his party colleagues in Washington, DC., Where he was henceforth also worked as a lawyer. Watson died in 1948 at the age of 83 years in the federal capital. He was buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland.