Claude Kitchin
Claude Kitchin | |
---|---|
In office March 4, 1901 – May 31, 1923 | |
Preceded by | George H. White |
Succeeded by | John H. Kerr |
Personal details | |
Born | Wake Forest College | March 24, 1869
Claude Kitchin (March 24, 1869 – May 31, 1923) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of North Carolina from 1901 until his death in 1923. A lifelong member of the Democratic Party, he was elected House majority leader for the 64th and 65th congresses (1915–1919), and minority leader during the 67th Congress (1921–1923).
As World War I shifted the federal government's focus to foreign policy, Kitchin became increasingly alarmed by the prospect of U.S. becoming a combatant. In April 1917, when President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany, Kitchin delivered an impassioned speech on the House floor and then voted no.
Early life
He was born in 1869, near Scotland Neck, in Halifax County, North Carolina in 1869, the third of 11 children born to William H. and Maria Arrington Kitchin.
Kitchen attended
During the 1890s, Kitchin helped mobilize the Red Shirts, armed groups of militant white supremacists who rode through rural communities dissuading blacks from voting. These groups functioned as an arm of state's Democratic Party, and it was his effectiveness during the run-up to the 1896 and 1898 elections that gave rise to his congressional career.
In 1898, Kitchin helped lead the
Congressional career
Kitchin was first elected to Congress from North Carolina's 2nd district in 1900. He was re-elected 11 times, serving until his death.
In Congress, he served on the
He was among the few members of Congress who voted against the
Family and death
He married Kate Mills in 1890; they had ten children. His brother William Walton Kitchin was governor of North Carolina from 1909 to 1913.
After giving an impassioned speech in March 1920 he suffered a severe stroke, from which he never fully recovered. During the winter of 1922–23 he contracted influenza and pneumonia, and, died from complications on May 31, 1923. He is buried in Scotland Neck, North Carolina at the Trinity Episcopal Cemetery.
See also
- List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49)
References
- ^ Zucchino, pp. 137
- ^ "RACE QUESTION IN POLITICS:North Carolina White Men Seek to Wrest Control from the Negroes". New York Times. October 24, 1898.
Sources
- Arnett, Alex Mathews. Claude Kitchin Versus the Patrioteers. North Carolina Historical Review 14.1 (1937): 20–30. online
- Arnett. Alex M. Claude Kitchin and the Wilson War Policies (1937). xii + 341 pp.
- Herring, George C. James Hay and the Preparedness Controversy, 1915-1916. Journal of Southern History 30.4 (1964): 383–404.
- Watson, Richard L. Jr. (1988). Kitchin, Claude 24 Mar. 1869–31 May 1923. Dictionary of North Carolina Biography. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press. Via ncpedia.org.
- Zucchino, David (2020). Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy. Atlantic Monthly Press. ISBN 9780802128386.
External links
- Media related to Claude Kitchin at Wikimedia Commons
- United States Congress. "Claude Kitchin (id: K000250)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- House Ways and Means Profile
- Congress Link