Aaron Augustus Sargent (September 28, 1827 – August 14, 1887) was an American journalist, lawyer, politician and diplomat. In 1878, Sargent historically introduced what would later become the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving women the right to vote. He was sometimes called the "Senator for the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

Early life and education

Born in

Newburyport, Massachusetts Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mo ...

, he attended the common schools and then was apprenticed to a cabinetmaker. In his youth, he worked as a printer in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

and then, in 1847, moved to Washington, D.C., where he was a secretary to a Congressman.

Career

He moved to California in 1849 and settled in Nevada City in 1850. There he was on the staff of the ''Nevada Daily Journal'', eventually becoming that newspaper's owner. He was admitted to the California bar in 1854 and began practicing in Nevada City, becoming

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a ...

for Nevada County in 1856. He served in the

California Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. D ...

in 1856.

Congress

Sargent was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the 37th Congress; skipped several terms and was reelected to the 41st and 42nd Congresses. In 1861 he was the author of the first Pacific Railroad Act that was passed in

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. He was elected to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

and served from 1873 to 1879. During his time in the Senate, he was chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Mines and Mining during the

44th Congress The 44th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1875, ...

and chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Naval Affairs during the

45th Congress The 45th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1877, ...

Women's rights

In January 1878, Senator Sargent introduced the 29 words that would later become the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, allowing women the right to vote. Sargent's wife,

Ellen Clark Sargent Ellen Clark Sargent (Massachusetts, 1826–1911) was an active American women's suffragist. She was influential in advocacy for the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which sought to give women the right to vote. Early life ...

, was a leading voting rights advocate and a friend of such suffrage leaders as

Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to s ...

. The bill calling for the amendment would be introduced unsuccessfully each year for the next forty years.

Ambassador to Germany

Sargent returned to California in 1880. After leaving the Senate he practiced law in San Francisco for three years, leaving to become

United States Ambassador to Germany The United States has had diplomatic relations with the nation of Germany and its principal predecessor nation, the Kingdom of Prussia, since 1835. These relations were broken twice (1917 to 1921, and 1941 to 1955) while Germany and the United St ...

for two years, and held office until German authorities excluded American pork from the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

which made his position personally distasteful. He turned down the appointment of Ambassador to Russia after William H. Hunt's death and made an unsuccessful attempt for the Republican nomination for the Senate in 1885.

Death and legacy

He died in San Francisco in 1887. His original interment at Laurel Hill Cemetery in San Francisco, which closed by 1941. According to Sargent's descendants, A.A. Sargent's ashes were spread over the placer mine he had in Nevada City and a monument to him may be found in the old

Pioneer Cemetery In the United States, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere, a pioneer cemetery is a cemetery that is the burial place for pioneers. American pioneers founded such cemeteries during territorial expansion of the United States, with founding dates spa ...

in Nevada City. Sargent was a noted proponent of the

Chinese Exclusion Act The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law excluded merchants, teachers, students, travelers, and diplo ...

of 1882, arguing in ''Overland Monthly'' in support of exclusion and for the renewal of the 1882 Exclusion Act after its expiration in 1892. The Chinese Exclusion Act was eventually renewed in 1892, and again—indefinitely—in 1902, staying in effect until 1943.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sargent, Aaron Augustus 1827 births 1887 deaths Republican Party California state senators Ambassadors of the United States to Germany District attorneys in California Lawyers from San Francisco 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) American people in rail transportation Politicians from San Francisco People of California in the American Civil War People from Nevada City, California Politicians from Newburyport, Massachusetts Republican Party United States senators from California Ambassadors of the United States to Russia 19th-century American diplomats Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California American suffragists 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American politicians Journalists from California Activists from California 19th-century American lawyers Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (San Francisco)