John J. Blaine

John J. Blaine
John J. Blaine
United States Senator; from Wisconsin
	In office; March 4, 1927 – March 3, 1933
Preceded by	Irvine Lenroot
Succeeded by	Francis R. Duffy
24th Governor of Wisconsin
	In office; January 3, 1921 – January 3, 1927
Lieutenant	George F. Comings; Henry A. Huber
Preceded by	Emanuel L. Philipp
Succeeded by	Fred R. Zimmerman
23rd Attorney General of Wisconsin
	In office; January 6, 1919 – January 3, 1921
Governor	Emanuel L. Philipp
Preceded by	Spencer Haven
Succeeded by	William J. Morgan
Member of the Wisconsin Senate; from the 16th district
	In office; January 1, 1909 – January 1, 1913
Preceded by	Edward E. Burns
Succeeded by	Robert Glenn
Mayor of Boscobel, Wisconsin
	In office; April 1906 – April 1907
	In office; April 1903 – April 1904
	In office; April 1901 – April 1902
Personal details
Born	John James Blaine; May 4, 1875; Wingville, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	April 16, 1934 (aged 58); Boscobel, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting place	Boscobel Cemetery
Political party	Republican
Spouses	Anna C. McSpaden; (m. 1904; died 1938);
Children	Helen (Farris); (b. 1899; died 2000);
Alma mater	Valparaiso University

John James Blaine (May 4, 1875 – April 16, 1934) was an American lawyer and progressive Republican politician from Grant County, Wisconsin. He was the 24th governor of Wisconsin, serving three terms from 1921 to 1927, and served as United States senator from 1927 to 1933. Earlier, he was the 23rd Attorney General of Wisconsin, a member of the Wisconsin Senate, and mayor of Boscobel, Wisconsin.

Early life and education

Blaine was born on May 4, 1875, in Wingville, Wisconsin. Blaine attended the common schools, and then what is now Valparaiso University in Indiana, graduating from the university's law department in 1896. After being admitted to the bar in Wisconsin, he practiced law in Montfort before moving to Boscobel.^[1]

Career

Blaine served as vice-president of a telephone company, and as mayor of Boscobel, Wisconsin, for three one-year terms: 1901–1902, 1903–1904, and 1906–1907. He was on the Grant County Board of Supervisors, and was a member of Wisconsin State Senate (16th District) from 1909 to 1912.^[1]^[2] He served as delegate to Republican National Convention from Wisconsin, 1912 (alternate), 1916, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932. He was Wisconsin State Attorney General, from 1919 to 1921. He served as the 24th Governor of Wisconsin from January 3, 1921, to January 3, 1927.^[1]

In 1926, he defeated the Progressive Republican United States Senator Irvine Lenroot in the Republican primary. He won the general election with 55% of the vote against Democratic, Independent and Socialist Party candidates. Blaine served in the Senate from March 4, 1927, to March 3, 1933. He was the only senator to vote against ratification of the Kellogg–Briand Pact, which was approved 85–1.^[3] Blaine asserted that ratifying the treaty represented an endorsement of British imperialism.^[4] Blaine crossed party lines during the 1928 presidential campaign and endorsed Democratic nominee Al Smith for president.^[5] He later authored the 21st Amendment (Blaine Act), which repealed Prohibition in the United States as instituted by the 18th Amendment (Volstead Act).

In 1932, John B. Chapple defeated Blaine in the Republican primary. Chapple was then defeated in the general election by F. Ryan Duffy, as part of massive Democratic victories in the national elections that year. Blaine resumed the practice of law at Boscobel and was appointed a director of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation by President Franklin Roosevelt, serving until his death.

Death

Blaine died of pneumonia in Boscobel, Wisconsin, on April 16, 1934 (age 58 years, 347 days).^[1] He is interred at Boscobel Cemetery, Boscobel, Wisconsin.^[6]

Family life

Son of James Ferguson Blaine (1827–1888) and Elizabeth (Johnson) Blaine (1834–1903), who were immigrants from Scotland and Norway respectively. Blaine married Anna C. McSpaden (1875–1938) on August 23, 1904.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "John J. Blaine Succumbs to Illness. Passes away Late Monday at Boscobel". The Rhinelander Daily News. April 17, 1934. p. 1. Retrieved April 7, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "BLAINE, John James - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov.
^ "John James Blaine Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine". Dictionary of Wisconsin History. Accessed Nov. 11, 2008.
^ "Senate Ratifies Anti-War Pact". The Milwaukee Journal. United Press. 1929-01-16. Retrieved 2018-08-26.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ Chiles, Robert (2018). The Revolution of '28: Al Smith, American Progressivism, and the Coming of the New Deal. Cornell University Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-1501705502. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
^ "John J. Blaine". 1996-2014 Wisconsin Historical Society. January 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2014.

External links

Obituary
United States Congress. "John J. Blaine (id: B000520)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
John J. Blaine at Find a Grave

Party political offices
Preceded by Walter C. Owen	Republican nominee for Attorney General of Wisconsin 1918	Succeeded by William J. Morgan
Preceded by Emanuel L. Philipp	Republican nominee for Governor of Wisconsin 1920, 1922, 1924	Succeeded by Fred R. Zimmerman
Preceded by Irvine Lenroot	Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Wisconsin (Class 3) 1926	Succeeded by John B. Chapple
Legal offices
Preceded by Spencer Haven	Attorney General of Wisconsin 1919 – 1921	Succeeded by William J. Morgan
Political offices
Preceded by Emanuel L. Philipp	Governor of Wisconsin 1921 – 1927	Succeeded by Fred R. Zimmerman
U.S. Senate
Preceded by Irvine Lenroot	U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Wisconsin 1927–1933 Served alongside: Robert M. La Follette, Jr.	Succeeded by F. Ryan Duffy

[Obit-1] "John J. Blaine Succumbs to Illness. Passes away Late Monday at Boscobel". The Rhinelander Daily News. April 17, 1934. p. 1. Retrieved April 7, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

[2] "BLAINE, John James - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov.

[3] "John James Blaine Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine". Dictionary of Wisconsin History. Accessed Nov. 11, 2008.

[4] "Senate Ratifies Anti-War Pact". The Milwaukee Journal. United Press. 1929-01-16. Retrieved 2018-08-26.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[5] Chiles, Robert (2018). The Revolution of '28: Al Smith, American Progressivism, and the Coming of the New Deal. Cornell University Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-1501705502. Retrieved 20 May 2019.

[6] "John J. Blaine". 1996-2014 Wisconsin Historical Society. January 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2014.

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v t e United States senators from Wisconsin
Class 1	Dodge Doolittle Carpenter Cameron Sawyer Mitchell Quarles La Follette Sr. La Follette Jr. McCarthy Proxmire Kohl Baldwin
Class 3	Walker Durkee Howe Carpenter Cameron Spooner Vilas Spooner Stephenson Husting Lenroot Blaine Duffy Wiley Nelson Kasten Feingold Johnson

v t e Governors of Wisconsin
Territory (1836–1848)	Dodge Doty Tallmadge Dodge Catlin (acting)	Privy Seal of Wisconsin
State (since 1848)	Dewey Farwell Barstow MacArthur Bashford Randall Harvey Salomon Lewis Fairchild Washburn Taylor Ludington Smith Rusk Hoard Peck Upham Scofield R. La Follette Sr. Davidson McGovern Philipp Blaine Zimmerman Kohler Sr. P. La Follette Schmedeman P. La Follette Heil (Loomis) * Goodland Rennebohm Kohler Jr. Thomson Nelson Reynolds Knowles Lucey Schreiber Dreyfus Earl Thompson McCallum Doyle Walker Evers	Privy Seal of Wisconsin
(*) elected but died before taking office

v t e Attorneys general of Wisconsin
Territory	Baird Wells Jackson Lynde H. Smith
State	Brown Coon E. Estabrook G. Smith W. R. Smith Bouck Howe W. Smith Gill Barlow Sloan Wilson Frisby C. Estabrook O'Connor Mylrea Hicks Sturdevant Gilbert Bancroft Owen Haven Blaine Morgan Ekern Reynolds Sr. Finnegan Loomis Martin Broadfoot Fairchild Thomson Honeck Reynolds Jr. Thompson La Follette Warren Miller La Follette Hanaway Doyle Lautenschlager Van Hollen Schimel Kaul

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