James R. Doolittle
The Honorable James R. Doolittle | |
---|---|
United States Senator from Wisconsin | |
In office March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1869 | |
Preceded by | Henry Dodge |
Succeeded by | Matthew H. Carpenter |
Chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee | |
In office March 4, 1861 – March 4, 1867 | |
Preceded by | William K. Sebastian |
Succeeded by | John B. Henderson |
Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the 1st Circuit | |
In office October 1853 – March 1856 | |
Preceded by | Wyman Spooner |
Succeeded by | Charles Minton Baker |
Personal details | |
Born | Hampton, New York, U.S. | January 3, 1815
Died | July 27, 1897 Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. | (aged 82)
Resting place | Mound Cemetery, Racine, Wisconsin |
Political party | Republican (1854–1871) Democratic (after 1871) |
Spouse |
Mary Lovina Cutting
(m. 1837; died 1879) |
Children | 6 |
Alma mater | Hobart College |
Profession | Politician, lawyer |
James Rood Doolittle Sr. (January 3, 1815 – July 27, 1897) was an American politician who served as a
Early life
Born in Hampton, New York, Doolittle was the son of Reuben Doolittle and Sarah Rood. He attended Middlebury Academy in Wyoming, New York, and, in 1834, he graduated from Hobart College in Geneva, New York. He subsequently studied law and was admitted to the New York bar association in 1837.
Early career
He then established a law practice in
In 1851, Doolittle moved to Racine, Wisconsin, and, in 1853, was elected Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the 1st Circuit, defeating incumbent appointee Wyman Spooner. During his time as judge, he presided over the July 1855 case of The State of Wisconsin v. David F. Mayberry,[3] the result of which led to the only recorded lynching in the history of Rock County, Wisconsin. Doolittle resigned from the court in March 1856.
Senator
Until the 1850
While senator, Doolittle was the Chairman of the
During the Civil War, Doolittle supported many of Lincoln's policies, and he was active in representing Wisconsin's interests on
The report of the committee, The Condition of the Tribes, was issued on January 26, 1867. Doolittle was accused by The New York Times in 1872, while he was under consideration for appointment as Secretary of the Interior in the projected "reform cabinet" by Democratic presidential candidate Horace Greeley, of suppressing the report, as it contained information exposing the Native ring of fraudulent suppliers of goods to the Native tribes under treaty obligations. The Times alleged that the report was printed only after the Cincinnati Gazette obtained a copy of it.[4]
Doolittle took a prominent part in the debate on the various war and reconstruction measures, upholding the federal government but always insisting that the seceding states had never ceased to be a part of the Union. He strongly opposed the Fifteenth Amendment and believed that each state should determine questions of suffrage for itself.[5]
Later life
After he left
Doolittle returned to the Midwest and became a lawyer in Chicago, Illinois while he maintained his residence in Racine. He served for a year as the acting president of the Old University of Chicago,[6] and he spent many years on its staff as a professor in the law school as well as serving on the Board of Trustees.
He was president of the
Personal life and family
James R. Doolittle married Mary Lovina Cutting on July 27, 1837. They had four sons and two daughters, and were married for 42 years before her death in 1879.[8]
Their son James Jr. became a prominent lawyer in Chicago, and served five years on the Chicago Board of Education.[9]
References
- ^ "Wisconsin History website". Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2009.
- ^ Political Graveyard site
- ^ State of Wisconsin v. David F. Mayberry (1st Cir., Wisconsin Courts, July 11, 1855), Text.
- New York Times, September 8, 1872
- ^ Wilson & Fiske 1891.
- ^ Goodspeed, Thomas W. (1916). A History of the University of Chicago, Founded by John D. Rockefeller: The First Quarter-Century. University of Chicago Press. pp. 18–19 – via Internet Archive.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
Sources
- United States Congress. "James R. Doolittle (id: D000428)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2009-04-28
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1900). . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.