Joseph Weldon Bailey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Joseph Weldon Bailey, Sr.

Joseph Bailey, between 1910 and 1915
Born October 6, 1862
Mississippi, United States
Died April 13, 1929
Nationality American
Occupation Lawyer and politician
For his son, see Joseph Weldon Bailey, Jr.

Joseph Weldon Bailey, Sr. (October 6, 1862 – April 13, 1929) was a United States Senator, United States Representative, lawyer, and a Populist political figure. 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 United States Senate, serving until 1911.

[edit] Biography

Born in Mississippi, Bailey attended the University of Mississippi where he joined the prestigious Delta Psi fraternity ( AKA St. Anthony Hall) in 1879. Bailey was admitted to the barin Mississippi in 1883. 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. He was elected to the House in 1891, and to the Senate in 1901. As the Minority leader of the United States House of Representatives in the 1890s he was very influential on his colleagues.[1]

His political career was tarnished by an assault against Senator Albert J. Beveridge, and subsequent investigations brought to light suspicious income and financial ties to the oil industry. Although he was regarded as a great populist orator, even influencing William Jennings Bryan in some aspects of his political philosophy allegations against him in 1906 threatened his election to the United States Senate.[1] The scandal led to his resignation in 1911.

After an unsuccessful election attempt to Governor of Texas in 1920, Bailey moved to Dallas, Texas to practice law. In 1929 he died in a courtroom.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Caro, Robert A. (1990). The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The path to power. Vintage Books. p. 47. ISBN 9780679729457. http://books.google.com/books?id=0qpNSCmRwOUC. Retrieved 17 June 2010. 

[edit] External links

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
New Title
House Minority Leader
1897–1899
Succeeded by
James D. Richardson
Tennessee
Preceded by
Silas Hare
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 5th congressional district

1891-1901
Succeeded by
Choice B. Randell
United States Senate
Preceded by
Horace Chilton
U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Texas
1901—1911
Succeeded by
Rienzi M. Johnston
Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export
Languages