James Hay
Encyclopedia
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
and a judge on the United States Court of Claims
United States Court of Claims
The Court of Claims was a federal court that heard claims against the United States government. It was established in 1855 as the Court of Claims, renamed in 1948 to the United States Court of Claims , and abolished in 1982....
.
Born in Millwood, Virginia
Millwood, Virginia
Millwood is an unincorporated town located in Clarke County, Virginia, USA. Millwood is the home of many of Clarke County's most historic sites including the Burwell-Morgan Mill , Carter Hall , the Greenway Historic District, Long Branch plantation , Old Chapel , and the River House.-Google Earth...
, Clarke County
Clarke County, Virginia
Clarke County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 14,034. Its county seat is Berryville.-History:Clarke County was established in 1836 by Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron who built a home, Greenway Court, on part of his 5 million acre property,...
, Hay attended private schools and the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
at Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. He was graduated from the law department of Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
, Lexington, Virginia
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...
, in 1877 and was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia in the United States. Its population as of 2010 is 48,914, and at the 2000 census, 40,468. Harrisonburg is the county seat of Rockingham County and the core city of the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical...
in 1877, where he also taught school for a time. Hay married Constance Tatum of Dayton, Virginia on October 1, 1878, and had two sons.
He moved to Madison, Virginia
Madison, Virginia
Madison is a town in Madison County, Virginia, United States. The population was 210 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Madison County.-Geography:Madison is located at ....
in June 1879 and continued the practice of law.
Hay was Commonwealth's Attorney
Commonwealth's Attorney
Commonwealth's Attorney is the title given to the elected prosecutor of felony crimes in Kentucky and Virginia. Other states refer to similar prosecutors as District Attorney or State's Attorney....
from 1883 to 1896 and member of the Virginia House of Delegates
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...
from 1885 to 1889. Hay's first wife died in 1886. On June 9, 1891 he married Frances Gordon of Richmond, Virginia and they had two daughters. Hay served in the Senate of Virginia
Senate of Virginia
The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 Senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia...
from 1893 to 1897; was a member of the Democratic State committee in 1888; and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
in 1888.
Hay was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-fifth and to the nine succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1897, until his resignation on October 1, 1916. In Congress he was chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs (Sixty-second through Sixty-fourth congresses), in which capacity he was involved in the "Preparedness Movement
Preparedness Movement
The Preparedness Movement, also referred to as the Preparedness Controversy, was a campaign led by Leonard Wood and Theodore Roosevelt to strengthen the military of the United States after the outbreak of World War I...
" of 1915–16, and in response to which he drafted and pushed through the National Defense Act of 1916
National Defense Act of 1916
The National Defense Act of 1916, , provided for an expanded army during peace and wartime, fourfold expansion of the National Guard, the creation of an Officers' and an Enlisted Reserve Corps, plus the creation of a Reserve Officers' Training Corps in colleges and universities...
.
Following his resignation from Congress, he was appointed judge of the United States Court of Claims
United States Court of Claims
The Court of Claims was a federal court that heard claims against the United States government. It was established in 1855 as the Court of Claims, renamed in 1948 to the United States Court of Claims , and abolished in 1982....
by President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
on July 15, 1916. Hay's second wife died in 1920. On June 14, 1921 he married his secretary, Eloise M. Cave, of Madison, Virginia. Hay served at the court until December 1, 1927, when he resigned. He died in Madison, Virginia, and was buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland.
Sources and external links
- Herring, George C., Jr. “James Hay and the Preparedness Controversy, 1915-1916.” Journal of Southern History 30 (November 1964): 383-404.