Jeremiah Simpson (March 31, 1842 – October 23, 1905), nicknamed "Sockless Jerry" Simpson, was an American politician from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

. An old-style

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develope ...

, he was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

three times. He was a

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

and former greenbacker.

Early life

Born in

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, Canada, Simpson moved with his family to

Oneida County, New York Oneida County is a county in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 232,125. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or ''Haudenosa ...

when he was six. Although he did poorly in school, he was very intelligent and a voracious reader. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

, he served in the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

Volunteer Infantry, but was discharged for medical reasons. After the war, Simpson moved to

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

, where he signed on as a deckhand on a steamship that traversed the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five la ...

. By the time he had risen to the position of captain, he had married and started a family. Deciding to live a more stationary life, he moved to

Jackson County, Kansas Jackson County (county code JA) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 13,232. Its county seat and most populous city is Holton. The county, first named Calhoun County for pro-slavery Sout ...

and bought himself a farm.

Later life

He married in 1870. In the late 1870s, a combination of hard times for farming in general and the death of his child in a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

accident drove Simpson to move south, to

Barber County, Kansas Barber County (county code BA) is a county located in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 4,228. Its county seat and most populous city is Medicine Lodge. It was named for ...

, where he bought a

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most oft ...

and a herd of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...

. In late 1883 and early 1884, a long, hard winter killed his entire herd, and Simpson was reduced to working as the town marshal in

Medicine Lodge, Kansas Medicine Lodge is a city in and the county seat of Barber County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,781. History 19th century The particular medicine lodge, mystery house or sacred tabernacle from ...

. It was during this time that Simpson, angry at his plight, first involved himself in politics, becoming an organizer for the Union Labor Party, a local offshoot of the defunct

Greenback Party The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology which was active between 1874 and 1889. The party ran ...

(of which he had been a member). He ran as their candidate for the state legislature in 1886 and 1888, but was defeated by the T. A. McNeal of the state's dominant

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

. In 1889, the price of

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn ( North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. ...

, the state's principal crop, dropped precipitously, and it was burned as fuel all across Kansas. Seizing the moment, remnants of the

Farmers' Alliance The Farmers' Alliance was an organized agrarian economic movement among American farmers that developed and flourished ca. 1875. The movement included several parallel but independent political organizations — the National Farmers' Alliance and ...

organized into the People's Party, and Simpson joined on. At the convention of the Kansas People's Party, Simpson was easily nominated as the Party's candidate for Congress. Simpson's Republican opponent was Colonel

James Reed Hallowell James Reed Hallowell (December 27, 1841 – June 24, 1898) was a prominent Kansan, politician and railroad-businessman. Hallowell unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1890, losing to Populist Jeremiah Simpson. He was known throughout the West ...

, often referred to as "Prince Hal", an

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

for a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

who campaigned from the back of a private rail car. Simpson, campaigning on a populist platform of

public ownership State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public owner ...

of railroads, a graduated income tax, the abolition of

national bank In banking, the term national bank carries several meanings: * a bank owned by the state * an ordinary private bank which operates nationally (as opposed to regionally or locally or even internationally) * in the United States, an ordinary p ...

s, and universal suffrage, denounced Hallowell as a pampered scion of wealth, a Prince whose feet were "encased in fine

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

hosiery Hosiery, also referred to as legwear, describes garments worn directly on the feet and legs. The term originated as the collective term for products of which a maker or seller is termed a hosier; and those products are also known generically as ...

." Hallowell fired back that having silk

sock A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

s was better than having none at all. With the help of populist campaigner

Mary Elizabeth Lease Mary Elizabeth Lease (September 11, 1850 – October 29, 1933) was an American lecturer, writer, Georgist, and political activist. She was an advocate of the suffrage movement as well as temperance but she was best known for her work with the P ...

, Simpson won a new nickname, "Sockless Jerry," and an 8,000-vote margin of victory in the race. In Congress, Simpson was a forceful advocate for populist causes and became nationally known as the party's congressional leader. In 1892, he was re-elected by a slim 2,000-vote majority, running slightly behind James Weaver, the party's

presidential President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

nominee, who had also managed to seize the

Democratic 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 (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

ballot line in Kansas. By 1894, however, the party's fortunes had already started to wane, and he was turned out of office in favor of Republican

Chester I. Long Chester Isaiah Long (October 12, 1860July 1, 1934) was a United States representative and Senator from Kansas. Born in Greenwood Township, Pennsylvania, he moved with his parents to Daviess County, Missouri, in 1865 and to Paola, Kansas, in 18 ...

in a close race. Undaunted, Simpson returned in 1896, running hard against Long and upsetting him to win back his House seat. It didn't last, however, and Long defeated him once again in the election of 1898. Deciding that he had lost his taste for farming, Simpson moved to

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

and took up

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...

. A few years later, he suffered a debilitating

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circu ...

. Realizing that he probably didn't have much time left, he boarded a train back to Kansas. He died in a Wichita hospital on October 23, 1905. He is interred in Maple Grove Cemetery, Wichita.https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1905/10/24/101369631.pdf

References

External links

Jeremiah "Sockless Jerry" Simpson, ''Kansas Memory''
*
"Jerry Simpson: The people's voice"
''Central States Speech Journal'', Volume 14, Issue 2, 1963
"Jerry Simpson: Populist Without Principle"
Karel Denis Bicha, ''The Journal of American History'', Vol. 54, No. 2 (Sep., 1967), pp. 291–306 {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Jerry 1842 births 1905 deaths People from Prince Edward Island People from Oneida County, New York Pre-Confederation Canadian emigrants to the United States Kansas Greenbacks Kansas Populists People's Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas People from Medicine Lodge, Kansas Union Army soldiers 19th-century American politicians Members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas