Joseph Weldon Bailey Sr. (October 6, 1862 – April 13, 1929), was a
United States senator
The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress.
Party affiliation
Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
, member of the
U.S. House of Representatives, lawyer, and
Bourbon Democrat who was famous for his speeches extolling
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
causes of his time, such as opposition to
woman suffrage or restrictions on
child labor
Child labour is the exploitation of children through any form of work that interferes with their ability to attend regular school, or is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such exploitation is prohibited by legislation w ...
. He served as a Congressional Representative between 1891 and 1901, and as the
House Minority leader from 1897 until 1899. In 1901, he was elected to the Senate, serving until 1913. Historian Elna C. Green says that Bailey "was known in Texas as a rigorous defender of
states' rights
In United States, American politics of the United States, political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments of the United States, state governments rather than the federal government of the United States, ...
,
constitutional conservatism, and governmental economy. His opponents considered him the symbol of privilege and
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
in government."
Biography
Born in
Crystal Springs in
Copiah County outside
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...
, Bailey attended the
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...
at
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, where in 1879 he joined the prestigious Delta Psi fraternity (AKA St. Anthony Hall). He graduated with a law degree from
Cumberland University in 1883 and was
admitted to the bar in Mississippi that same year. He moved to
Gainesville, Texas, in 1885, where he continued to practice law.
He had been politically active as a
Democrat in both Mississippi and his new home and had a reputation as an excellent public speaker who promoted
Jeffersonian democracy
Jeffersonian democracy, named after its advocate Thomas Jefferson, was one of two dominant political outlooks and movements in the United States from the 1790s to the 1820s. The Jeffersonians were deeply committed to American republicanism, wh ...
. He was elected to the House in 1891 and quickly distinguished himself as leading advocate for
free silver, which contributed to his election as
Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives in 1897.
He exerted considerable influence on his colleagues, but also struggled to unify his divided caucus.
On April 14, 1897, some House Democrats, led by
David A. De Armond sought to block a three day adjournment, a maneuver understood as a repudiation of Bailey's cooperative relationship with Republican Speaker
Thomas Brackett Reed.
Bailey's most severe disappointment as minority leader came in 1898, when he argued that congressmen who had accepted commissions to serve in the army without resigning from Congress had violated the
Ineligibility Clause of the Constitution. Despite Bailey's advocacy, a majority of Democrats opposed a motion to consider a resolution which would have removed several members from Congress who had simultaneously held commissions during the
Spanish–American War
The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
. The next day, Bailey declared that he would not be a candidate for minority leader in the next Congress.
He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1901. His political career was tarnished by an assault against Senator
Albert J. Beveridge, an Indiana Republican. Subsequent investigations brought to light suspicious income and financial ties that Bailey had to the burgeoning oil industry. Nevertheless, financial allegations against Bailey in 1906 threatened his reelection to the Senate, a task then the prerogative of the Texas legislature, rather than party voters.
His tenure ended on January 3, 1913 when he resigned his Senate seat.
After his defeat by
Pat M. Neff in the Democratic
gubernatorial primary in 1920, Bailey moved to
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
to practice law. On April 13, 1929, he died in a courtroom in
Sherman, Texas, having just sat down after completing an argument.
References
Further reading
* Acheson, Sam Hanna. ''Joe Bailey, The Last Democrat'' (New York, 1932)
* Gould, Lewis. ''Progressives and Prohibitionists: Texas Democrats in the Wilson Era'' (U of Texas Press, 1973),
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Joseph W.
1862 births
1929 deaths
Minority leaders of the United States House of Representatives
People from Crystal Springs, Mississippi
Democratic Party United States senators from Texas
People from Gainesville, Texas
Politicians from Dallas
University of Mississippi alumni
Texas lawyers
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas
19th-century American lawyers
Bourbon Democrats
20th-century United States senators
19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives