James E. Martine
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James Edgar Martine (August 25, 1850February 26, 1925) was an American Democratic Party politician who represented
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in 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 ...
from 1911 to 1917.


Early life

James Edgar Martine was born in
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on August 25, 1850. His parents were Daniel W. Martine and Anna Neher Martine, who were of German and English descent. In 1863, Daniel Martine died, leaving James in charge of their large ancestral family farm in
Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a City (New Jersey), city in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Nicknamed "The Queen City",
. In addition to managing the farm, James began a successful real estate practice, selling off portions of the farm to be developed as the city of Plainfield expanded and urbanized. Martine was elected to the Plainfield common council but was otherwise a frequent and unsuccessful candidate for higher office. He ran unsuccessfully for United States Representative, Governor (three times), State Senator (four times), and State Assembly (twice), as well as for local and county offices including mayor.


United States Senate

In 1910, Martine ran in the first-ever popular primary for United States Senator. The primary was non-binding, and the presumptive Democratic candidate, former Senator
James Smith Jr. James Smith Jr. (June 12, 1851April 1, 1927) was a newspaper publisher and U.S. Senator from New Jersey. A leader of the Irish Catholic community, he was the Democratic party boss who sponsored Woodrow Wilson to the governorship in 1910. Biog ...
, did not register as a candidate. When Martine won the most votes and the Democratic Party later won control of the state legislature, the nomination was contested between Martine and Smith as a proxy for whether the primary represented the choice of the people and should be obeyed by the legislators. Ultimately, Martine prevailed with the support of Governor-elected
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
. In the Senate, Martine served as chairman of the
Committee on Coast Defenses A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...
(
Sixty-third United States Congress The 63rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1913, t ...
), Committee on Industrial Expositions (Sixty-third and
Sixty-fourth United States Congress The 64th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1915, t ...
es). During the 1913 Senate Committee investigation into the West Virginia miners strike, Senator Martine aggressively confronted Kanawha County coal company executive Quinn Morton for arming and directing the use of the armored "Bull Moose" train against a Holly Grove tent village of miners and their families in the middle of the night on February 2, 1913, during which Charles Estep, young miner with a young child and a pregnant wife, was killed. The train contained dozens of private mercenaries armed with a Gatling gun. Martine confronted Morton over his refusal to acknowledge giving the command to fire and then reportedly asking the sheriff to back the train up and do it again. The two other senators on the committee attempted to censor Martine by requiring that his questions be submitted for prior review. According to historian David Alan Corbin's 1990 book ''The West Virginia Mine Wars'', the Congressional Record of this hearing "breaks off suddenly, the topic switches, and Senator Martine disappears from the panel of inquisitors." Despite the fact that his election was the result of Wilson's support as Governor, Martine became a critic and opponent of Wilson following his election as President of the United States. Martine was critical of American participation in World War I and of Wilson's proposal for a League of Nations. In the 1916 primary, Martine was challenged by
John W. Wescott John Wesley Wescott (February 20, 1849 – June 11, 1927) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as Attorney General of New Jersey from 1914 to 1919. He had the distinction of making the nominating speech for Woodrow Wilson at the Dem ...
, a Wilson ally and Attorney General of New Jersey. Martine survived the challenge but was defeated by a wide margin in the general election by Joseph S. Frelinghuysen. Martine died on February 26, 1925, in
Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, of
apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...
. He was interred at Hillside Cemetery in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.


References


External links

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Political Graveyard information for James Edgar Martine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martine, James E. 1850 births 1925 deaths Democratic Party United States senators from New Jersey New Jersey Democrats Burials at Hillside Cemetery (Scotch Plains, New Jersey) Candidates in the 1907 United States elections 20th-century United States senators