Judson Harmon (February 3, 1846February 22, 1927) was an American Democratic politician from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. He served as

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

under President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

and later served as the 45th

governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

Early life

Harmon was born in Newtown, Ohio and named after Adoniram Judson, the famed American

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foreign

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. His parents were Benjamin Franklin Harmon and Julia Brunson, a native of Olean, New York. His ancestors on both sides of his family were English and included men who served in the colonial wars and the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, including Cornelius Brooks and his father James Brooks. Judson was a distant relative of Frances Folsom, the wife of President

, through her mother Emma Harmon. Harmon graduated from

Denison University Denison University is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio, United States. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. It was first called ...

in 1866. He graduated from the Cincinnati Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1869. Harmon was elected judge of the Common Pleas Court in 1876 but left months later to run unsuccessfully for the State Senate. He was elected judge of the Superior Court of Cincinnati in 1878 and served until he resigned in 1887 to resume the practice of law.

Attorney General

He was appointed Attorney General by President Cleveland on June 8, 1895, upon the elevation of Richard Olney to become

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. Harmon served out the remainder of Cleveland's second term in office. Shortly after his appointment, Harmon urged Congress to fix some of the weaknesses in the

Sherman Antitrust Act The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce and consequently prohibits unfair monopolies. It was passed by Congress and is named for S ...

. Harmon also issued the most explicit statement of what became known as the Harmon doctrine of absolute sovereignty, "the rules, principles and precedents of

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impose no liability or obligation upon the United States" in a case involving a claim by Mexico for damages from diverting the waters of the

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Governor

Harmon was elected as Ohio governor in 1908. In 1910, Harmon was re-elected for a second term as governor, this time defeating future

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...

. During his time as governor, various progressive labor laws were introduced.

Presidential candidate

In June 1912, Harmon led the Ohio delegation to the Democratic National Convention in

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. There, Harmon was nominated as a candidate for the presidency. That was largely as a favorite son of the State of Ohio, Harmon found support from elsewhere and on the first ballot of the Convention, and he received the votes of 148 delegates. However, since no candidate received the necessary two thirds of the votes, balloting continued. By the time of the 26th ballot, no candidate had yet received the nomination for president and Harmon's support had dwindled to 29 votes, as the Convention tended to coalesce around the two leading candidates: Speaker of the House of Representatives

Champ Clark James Beauchamp Clark (March 7, 1850March 2, 1921) was an American politician and attorney who served as the 36th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1911 to 1919. He was the only Democrat to serve as speaker during the P ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

and

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Governor

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 ...

. Balloting continued until the 39th ballot, when the support of

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running three times as the party' ...

helped Wilson obtain the votes necessary to become the nominee.

Retirement

Following the convention, Harmon returned home to Ohio to serve the rest of his term as governor. Accordingly, Harmon left office in January 1913 upon completing this second term. he died in late February 1927 at 81.

Family

In 1870 Judson married Olivia Scobey, the daughter of a leading physician in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

. They had three daughters. Harmon and family were residents of Wyoming, OH and lived at 205 Worthington Avenue, located in the city's Village Historic District. He served as Wyoming's third Mayor and was the village's most distinguished public servant.

Legacy

Harmon County, Oklahoma Harmon County is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 2,488, making it the second-least populous county in Oklahoma, behind only Cimarron County. It has lost population in ...

, is named after him.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmon, Judson 1846 births 1927 deaths Democratic Party governors of Ohio Attorneys general of the United States Candidates in the 1912 United States presidential election Denison University alumni University of Cincinnati College of Law alumni Cleveland administration cabinet members 19th-century American politicians Judges of the Superior Court of Cincinnati American people of English descent 20th-century Ohio politicians