James H. Kyle

James Henderson Kyle ( born February 24, 1854 in Cedarville, Ohio; † July 1, 1901 in Aberdeen, South Dakota) was an American politician who represented the state of South Dakota in the U.S. Senate.

Life

James Kyle, whose ancestors came from Scotland and Ireland had emigrated, came to his parents' farm in Ohio to the world. He had at least five siblings. When he was eleven years old, he moved with his family to Urbana, Illinois. As a young Man, he first tried his hand at various occupations before he graduated in civil engineering and law; but later he decided to become a pastor in the Congregational Church. He made in 1881 graduated from the Theological Seminary of Pennsylvania and settled in the following year in Salt Lake City down to work as a chaplain and director of a seminar. In 1885 he moved to South Dakota, because the local climate was more suitable for the health of his wife. Until 1891 Kyle worked there as pastor.

Policy

In 1890 he proposed then a political career and was elected to the Senate of South Dakota. There, however, he did not even spent a year, because on March 4, 1891, he moved to the U.S. Senate - at this time as an Independent because he refused to join a political party. However, it was supported by Democrats at his candidacy. During his first term, Kyle became a member of the newly formed Populist Party; as this began a few years later to re-dissolve, he moved to the Republicans.

At this time he had already been reaffirmed by the state Legislature as a senator from South Dakota. He was a member of numerous committees; among other things, he was 1897-1901 Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor. Kyle was one of the principal advocates for the introduction of Labor Day and spoke in favor of the Spanish-American War. Throughout his Senate time he sat down, always supporting workers' rights.

From 1898, James Kyle had to struggle with serious health problems. Finally, he died during his second term at the age of 47 years in his former residence Aberdeen.