John Albert McShane (August 25, 1850 – November 10, 1923) was an American Democratic Party politician. He was the first Democrat to be elected to 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 ...

from Nebraska, serving one term from 1887 to 1889.

Early life and education

McShane was born in

New Lexington, Ohio New Lexington is a village in and the county seat of Perry County, Ohio, United States, southwest of Zanesville, Ohio, Zanesville and miles southeast of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 4,435 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 c ...

, on August 25, 1850. In 1871, he moved to the

Wyoming Territory The Territory of Wyoming was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 25, 1868, until July 10, 1890, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Wyoming. Cheyenne was the territorial capital. The ...

, and in 1874 he moved to

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Career

He started out in the livestock business but eventually became a director of the

First National Bank of Omaha First National Bank Omaha d/b/a FNBO is a bank headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. It is a subsidiary of First National of Nebraska, Inc., a bank holding company primarily owned by the Lauritzen family. It is on the list of largest banks in the Un ...

Politics

McShane was elected to the Nebraska state house of representatives in 1880 and to the state senate in 1882, serving there until 1886, when he ran for a seat in

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 ...

Congress

He won the seat in

Nebraska's 1st congressional district Nebraska's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Nebraska that encompasses most of its eastern quarter, except for Omaha and some of its suburbs, which are part of the 2nd congressional district. It includ ...

, serving in the

Fiftieth United States Congress The 50th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1887 ...

from March 4, 1887, to March 3, 1889. In 1888, he ran for

Governor of Nebraska The governor of Nebraska is the head of government of the U.S. state of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Constitution of Nebraska. The officeholder is elected to a four-year term, with elections held two years after presidential ...

but lost

the election ''The Election'' () is a political drama series produced by Hong Kong Television Network (HKTV). With a budget of HK$15 million, filming started in July 2014 and wrapped up on 28 October 2014. Popularly voted to be the inaugural drama of ...

John Milton Thayer John Milton Thayer (January 24, 1820March 19, 1906) was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and later a United States Senator from Nebraska, Governor of Wyoming Territory, and Governor of Nebraska. Early life Thayer wa ...

Later career

After retirement McShane worked against the right of women to vote. He was a member of the Nebraska

Men's Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage The Men's Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage was an American organization active in the 1910s that was Anti-suffragism, opposed to legal voting by women and open exclusively to men. It was made up of loosely affiliated state and local chapters ...

, which desired to restrict voting to white men of high social class.

Death and burial

McShane died in Omaha on November 10, 1923; he was buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Omaha.

References

* * * 1850 births 1923 deaths Democratic Party members of the Nebraska House of Representatives Democratic Party Nebraska state senators People from New Lexington, Ohio Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Nebraska Legislature {{Nebraska-politician-stub