Jackson Stitt Wilson (March 19, 1868 – August 28, 1942) was a Canadian-born American politician. He was a

Christian socialist A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Chr ...

and

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

, and held

Georgist Georgism, in modern times also called Geoism, and known historically as the single tax movement, is an economic ideology holding that people should own the value that they produce themselves, while the economic rent derived from land—includ ...

economic views. A member of the

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of America ...

, Wilson was the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

from 1911 to 1913. He ran for

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 ...

1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...

on a socialist platform, receiving 40% of the votes cast, but was defeated by the incumbent.

Biography

Early years

J. Stitt Wilson was born in the small town of Auburn, Ontario in

Southwestern Ontario Southwestern Ontario (census population 2,796,367 in 2021) is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula, bounded by Lake Huron (includ ...

on March 19, 1868, the son of

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

parents. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1888, settling in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

, where he attended

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. After graduation he worked as a schoolmaster and for a law firm. Wilson later decided to enter the Methodist ministry, enrolling at the theological seminary at Northwestern. Following completion of his schooling, Wilson worked for the next four years as a Methodist pastor and social worker in nearby Chicago. He later recalled that the experience of these four years were "to me a school out of which I came — a Socialist." He later recalled:

Political activity

Wilson first became involved in the organized socialist movement late in the 1890s as an active member of the

Brotherhood of the Cooperative Commonwealth Equality Colony was a United States socialist colony founded in Skagit County, Washington (U.S. state), Washington by a political organization known as the Brotherhood of the Cooperative Commonwealth in 1897. It was meant to serve as a model which ...

, an organization which sought to establish socialist colonies in the new state of Washington with a view to taking over the state government and establishing a cooperative rather than profit-driven economy. Wilson continued to live in Chicago but served as one of eight official "lecturers" for the organization. Wilson was inspired by what he called "the social and economic significance of the Teachings of Jesus":

The Sermon on the Mount I saw was a code of social duties, so to speak, a revelation of the fundamental principles of Social Justice and human fellow ship for this our everyday world. Such a passage as that beginning with the phrase, "No man can serve two masters," is nothing short of a brief but comprehensive Social Program. It is almost impossible to find in the whole Sermon on the Mount anything that could give an ecclesiastical or theological colour to these sayings. They are ethical, moral, social.

From 1907, Wilson was a contributing editor to ''The Christian Socialist'' hicago a weekly newspaper that unified the

wing of the

Wilson was a delegate from California to the 1904, 1910, and 1912 national conventions of the Socialist Party. At that 1912 gathering, Wilson joined with

Ernest Untermann Gerhard Ernest Untermann, Sr. (1864–1956) was a German Americans, German-American seaman, socialist author, translator, newspaper editor. In his later life he was Director of the old Washington Park Zoo in Milwaukee, a geologist, fossil hunter, ...

, Joshua Wanhope, and Robert Hunter as a majority of the Committee on Immigration in offering a resolution on immigration which was pro-exclusionary, backing the

American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutual ...

in its desire to stop manufacturers from importing cheap, non-union labor from the Far East. This proposal, primarily written by Untermann and Wanhope, was effectively killed by the convention on a motion by Usher Solomon of New York not to receive the committee's report, but rather to hold the matter open for investigation and decision by the next convention. Before he became mayor of Berkeley, Wilson ran for

governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...

1910 Events January * January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military. * January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...

on the Socialist ticket and received 12% of the votes cast. Wilson was elected mayor of Berkeley in 1911 to a two-year term but declined to run for re-election. In 1912, he ran for Congress in the 6th district as a Socialist and received 26,234 votes, 40% of the votes cast, but was defeated by incumbent Republican Joseph R. Knowland. He was elected to the governing National Executive Committee of the Socialist Party in 1914. Wilson believed that there was an "impending social revolution" in the economic relations of man marked by the principle of "social ownership by the whole people of the basic equipment of land and machinery." Wilson asserted in a 1911 pamphlet that this social revolution was "now on" and declared

If God is ever to wipe away the tears from the face of man this age-long wrong apitalismmust be overthrown. If the mission of Jesus is ever to get the upper hand in human affairs, the social revolution must come to pass. There is no more good news to the poor unless there is the message and the task to abolish this age-long night of poverty. There is no deliverance for captives unless this social captivity is ended. There is no setting at liberty the people that are bruised unless this age-long bruising machinery is stopped. If we are ever to call the poor and the maimed and the halt to the banquet of creation, the program of the revolution must be inaugurated. The Heavenly Father may know we have need of all these things, and He may have provided for these needs in the limitless resources of nature, but we never can have them for the people except by seeking the kingdom of social justice and human brotherhood — which is the Kingdom of God — which is the social vision of the social revolution.

Wilson was a strong supporter of the "single tax" movement begun by

Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist, Social philosophy, social philosopher and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of ...

, arguing that land gained its value through the collective activity of humanity, not by the individual owner, and that the city, "the Social Mother in whose household we all live" should support itself by taxing this collectively created value. He gained the support of the League of California Municipalities and lead unsuccessful initiative campaigns in 1912 and 1914 to change the California constitution to allow local governments "home rule" in taxation so that they could choose to tax land separately from buildings and personal property. Not sharing the organization's staunch

anti-militarist Antimilitarism (also spelt anti-militarism) is a doctrine that opposes war, relying heavily on a critical theory of imperialism and was an explicit goal of the First and Second International. Whereas pacifism is the doctrine that disputes (especi ...

perspective, Wilson withdrew from the Socialist Party at the outbreak of World War I. He was again writing for the party press by 1922, however.

Wilson re-entered electoral politics during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

; in

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

, he was the Socialist candidate for Congress in the 7th district, coming in third place with over 22% of the vote. In

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

, he joined the Democratic Party to support fellow Socialist

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American author, muckraker journalist, and political activist, and the 1934 California gubernatorial election, 1934 Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

in his run for governor of California. Wilson was again a candidate for Congress in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

, but lost the Democratic

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

to incumbent Republican

Albert E. Carter Albert Edward Carter (July 5, 1881 – August 8, 1964) was an American lawyer and politician who served ten terms as a Republican United States Representative from California from 1925 to 1945. Early life and career Carter was born in Lemo ...

by 629 votes out of 38,618 cast. Wilson was later a delegate to the

and 1940 Democratic National Conventions. He supported president Franklin D. Roosevelt's controversial court-packing plan in 1937, and in 1939 was appointed to the California State Relief Commission and Social Welfare Board by governor

Culbert Olson Culbert Levy Olson (November 7, 1876 – April 13, 1962) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 29th governor of California from 1939 to 1943. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Olson was previous ...

. He held the former position until he was forced to resign because of a law banning members from political activity, and held the latter until his death in 1942. In the former position, he voted to authorize a

consumer co-operative A consumer cooperative is an business, enterprise owned by consumers and managed democracy, democratically and that aims at fulfilling the needs and aspirations of its members. Such cooperatives operate within the market economy independently of t ...

pilot program A pilot experiment, pilot study, pilot test or pilot project is a small-scale preliminary study conducted to evaluate feasibility, duration, cost, adverse events, and improve upon the study design prior to performance of a full-scale research ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Death and legacy

Wilson was married to Emma Agnew and had four children. His two sons were William Gladstone and Melnotte. His two daughters, Gladys Viola and Violette, both went into show business. Gladys took the stage name Viola Barry and starred in a series of silent films during the decade of the 1910s. Violette married actor and movie director

Irving Pichel Irving Pichel (June 24, 1891 – July 13, 1954) was an American actor and film director, who won acclaim both as an actor and director in his Hollywood career. Career Pichel was born to a American Jews, Jewish family in Pittsburgh. He attended ...

. Wilson's brother was Ben F. Wilson, a fellow Socialist who represented

Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States: * Crawford County, Arkansas * Crawford County, Georgia * Crawford County, Illinois * Crawford County, Indiana * Crawford County, Iowa * Crawford County, Kansas * Crawford County, ...

in the

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for craftin ...

during the 1913 session. Their wives were sisters. Wilson died in Berkeley, California, on August 28, 1942.

Works

"Socialism in London"
(Reprint from ''The Social Crusader.'') ''Appeal to Reason'' irard, KS whole no. 179 (May 6, 1899), pg. 2. * ''The Message of Socialism to the Church: An Address Delivered Before the Bay Association of Congregational Churches and Ministers, Oakland, September 13, 1904.'' Berkeley, CA: J. Stitt Wilson, 1904. * * ''The Tragic Game of Capitalism: Being an Open Letter to the People of the United States Concerning the Injustice of the Present Social Order.'' Berkeley, CA: J. Stitt Wilson, 1906. * ''The Message of Jesus to Our Times: An Interpretation.'' Berkeley, CA: J. Stitt Wilson, n.d. 907? * ''The Impending Social Revolution, or, The Trust Problem Solved.'' Berkeley, CA: The Social Crusade, 1911. * * ''The Hebrew Prophets and the Social Revolution.''

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

ngland J. Stitt Wilson, 1909. * * ''The Messiah Cometh: Riding Upon the Ass of Economics.'' Berkeley, CA: J. Stitt Wilson, n.d. * * ''The Bible Argument for Socialism.'' Berkeley, CA: J. Stitt Wilson, 1911." * * ''How I Became a Socialist.'' Berkeley, CA: J. Stitt Wilson, 1911. * * ''How I Became a Socialist, Part Two.'' Berkeley, CA: J. Stitt Wilson, 1911. * * ''The Kingdom of God and Socialism.'' Berkeley, CA: J. Stitt Wilson, 1911. * * ''Moses: The Greatest of Labour Leaders.'' Huddersfield, England, J. Stitt Wilson, 1909. *
"The Story of a Socialist Mayor,"
''The Western Comrade,'' vol. 1, no. 06 (Sept. 1913), pp. 186-187, 196.
''The Harlots and the Pharisees, or, The Barbary Coast in a Barbarous Land''
also, ''The Story of a Socialist Mayor; Letter Declining Mayoralty Nomination.'' Berkeley, CA: J. Stitt Wilson, 1913. * ''The Three Great Hypnotisms.'' Westwood, MA: The Ariel Press, n.d. 91-? * ''Constructive Christian Democracy: An Outline of Fundamentals.'' Berkeley, CA: J. Stitt Wilson, 1922. * ''The Militant Church and Property; The Militant Church and Public Opinion.'' Berkeley, CA: J. Stitt Wilson, n.d. 923?* ''The Christ-Spirit in the Animal World.'' Berkeley, CA: J. Stitt Wilson, 1925. Pamphlets denoted with (*) included in J. Stitt Wilson
''How I Became a Socialist and Other Papers,''
Berkeley, CA: J. Stitt Wilson, 1912.

Footnotes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, J. Stitt 1868 births 1942 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in California American anti-capitalists American Christian socialists American Methodist clergy Canadian anti-capitalists Canadian Christian socialists Canadian Methodist ministers Canadian emigrants to the United States Georgists Mayors of Berkeley, California Methodist socialists Northwestern University alumni Socialist Party of America politicians from California Culbert Olson administration personnel Culbert Olson political appointees