James Overton Broadhead (May 29, 1819 – August 7, 1898) was an American lawyer and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He was a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

and of the

Missouri Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 181,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...

. He was also the first president of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

.Ross, Kirby ''James O. Broadhead: Ardent Unionist, Unrepentant Slaveholder'', 2002. Retrieved fro
here
on March 23, 2007

Biography

Broadhead was born in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

, and studied law at

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, after a one-year stay in the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. Having received his license, Broadhead began a private practice in 1842 at Bowling Green, Missouri.''West's Encyclopedia of American Law'', 1998, retrieved fro
here
on March 23, 2007 Joining the Missouri Constitutional Convention in 1845, it a year later that he participated in the Missouri House of Representatives. From 1850 until 1853 he also served in the Missouri Senate before returning to private practice as a partner in a law firm back in St Louis. He formed the Committee of Safety to oppose the growing southern factions in the lead up to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and was a member of the Missouri Constitutional Convention that declared Missouri's loyalty to the Union in 1861. Broadhead was commissioned as a lieutenant-colonel in the 3rd Missouri cavalry and assigned to General Schofield, and was also served as an advisor for the preliminary constitution which dictated the government of Missouri during the Civil War. Attending the Missouri State Constitutional Convention in 1875, Broadhead worked closely on the Whisky Ring bribery cases in 1876. In 1878 he was chosen as the president of the new American Bar Association.Johnson, Rossiter, ''Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, - Vol. I-X (10)'' Boston, MA: The Biographical Society, 1904. Retrieved fro
here
on March 23, 2007 Between 1883 and 1885 Broadhead represented Missouri in the House of Representatives as a Democrat, as well as being a member of the Judiciary Committee, as special commissioner to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and later minister to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in 1885 and 1893 until 1897. Resuming private practice, Broadhead returned to St Louis, where he died in 1898. During his campaign for Congress in 1882, the ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the '' Belleville News-Democra ...

'' began running articles critical of Broadhead at the direction of John Cockerill, the managing editor. Col. Alonzo W. Slayback, a close friend and law partner of Broadhead, stormed into Cockerill's offices, demanding that Cockerill apologize. Cockerill shot and killed Slayback, claiming self-defense, and a grand jury refused to indict him.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Broadhead, James 1819 births 1898 deaths 19th-century American diplomats 19th-century American lawyers Ambassadors of the United States to Switzerland Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri Democratic Party Missouri state senators Founding members of the American Bar Association People from Bowling Green, Missouri Politicians from Charlottesville, Virginia Presidents of the American Bar Association Special prosecutors 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Missouri General Assembly