James Earl Major (January 5, 1887 – January 4, 1972) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician. He served as a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, a

United States circuit judge In the United States, a federal judge is a judge who serves on a court established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. Often called "Article III judges", federal judges include the chief justice and associate justices of the U.S. Su ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. United States federal court, federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, courts in the following United Stat ...

and a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

Education and career

Born in Donnellson,

, Major attended the common and high schools of his native city. He graduated from

Brown's Business College Brown's Business College was a chain of business colleges located in the Midwestern United States, started in Illinois in the 1870s by George W. Brown (1845-1918) of Jacksonville, Illinois.Kemp, Bill (29 November 2008)Brown's delivered white-collar ...

in 1907 and from the Illinois College of Law (now

DePaul University College of Law DePaul University College of Law is the law school of DePaul University, a private Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 125 full- and part-time faculty members and enrolls more than 500 students in its Juri ...

) at

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in 1909. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1910 and commenced the practice of law in Hillsboro, Illinois in 1912. He served as prosecuting attorney of

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Montg ...

, Illinois from 1912 to 1920.

Congressional service

Major was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the 68th

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

, serving from March 4, 1923, to March 3, 1925. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1924 to the 69th Congress. He resumed the practice law in Hillsboro until he was elected to the 70th Congress, serving from March 4, 1927, to March 3, 1929. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1928 to the 71st Congress, but was elected to the 72nd and 73rd Congresses and served from March 4, 1931, until his resignation on October 6, 1933, having been appointed to the bench. During his final term, he was one of the managers appointed by the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in 1933 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against

Harold Louderback Harold Louderback (January 30, 1881 – December 11, 1941) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. He was the eleventh federal official to be served with articles of impeachm ...

, Judge of the

United States District Court for the Northern District of California The United States District Court for the Northern District of California (in case citations, N.D. Cal.) is the federal United States district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of California: Alameda, Contra Costa, De ...

Federal judicial service

Major received a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the President of the United States, president of a Officer of the United States, federal official when the United States Senate, U.S. Senate is in Recess (motion), recess. Under the ...

from President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

on June 12, 1933, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Louis FitzHenry Louis FitzHenry (June 13, 1870 – November 18, 1935) was a United States representative from Illinois, a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and a United States district judge of the United ...

. He was nominated to the same position by President Roosevelt on January 8, 1934. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on January 23, 1934, and received his commission on January 26, 1934. His service terminated on April 5, 1937, due to his elevation to the Seventh Circuit. Major was nominated by President Roosevelt on March 9, 1937, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

. He was confirmed by the Senate on March 17, 1937, and received his commission on March 23, 1937. He served as Chief Judge from 1948 to 1954 and served as a member of the

Judicial Conference of the United States The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial co ...

from 1949 to 1954. He assumed senior status on March 23, 1956.

Death

Major died on January 4, 1972, in Hillsboro, where he had resided. He was interred in Oak Grove Cemetery.

References

Sources

* *

External links

James Earl Major
Historical Society of Montgomery County Illinois {{DEFAULTSORT:Major, James Earl 1887 births 1972 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois United States district court judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois People from Hillsboro, Illinois 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives