James W. Denver
Encyclopedia
James William Denver was an American politician, soldier, lawyer, and esteemed actor. He served in the California state government, as an officer in the United States Army
in two wars, and as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives
from California, as well as playing lead roles in local productions of Macbeth
and Hamlet
. He served as secretary and Governor of the Kansas Territory
during the struggle over whether or not Kansas
would be open to slavery
. The city of Denver, Colorado, is named after him, as is the Denver omelette.
. He attended public schools and moved to Ohio
with his parents in 1830, settling near Wilmington
. In 1841 he taught school in Missouri
, and in 1844 he graduated from the law school of the University of Cincinnati
. He was admitted to the bar and practiced law near Xenia, Ohio
. He moved to Platte City, Missouri
, in 1845, where he continued his law practice and acting career.
In 1847, during the Mexican-American War, he recruited a company for the 12th U.S. Volunteer Infantry and was commissioned a captain, serving under General Winfield Scott
. After the war in 1850, Denver traveled to California, where he became a trader. Denver killed newspaper editor Edward Gilbert
in a duel
on August 2, 1852. Later that same year, he was elected to the California State Senate
. He was later appointed as Secretary of State of California
. In 1854 he was elected to the United States Congress
as representative from California, serving from March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1856. On April 17, 1857, President James Buchanan
appointed him as Commissioner of Indian Affairs
.
On June 17, 1857, he resigned as Commissioner of Indian Affairs and was appointed by Buchanan as Secretary of the Kansas Territory. In December 1857 he was appointed as Territorial Governor. On the day that Denver assumed the territorial governorship, citizens in the territory voted on the Lecompton Constitution
, which opened the territory to slavery. The vote offered a choice only between full slavery and limited slavery in the territory and was thus largely boycotted by Free-Staters who were in favor of abolishing slavery
. The pro-slavery constitution passed by an overwhelming margin. Later it was discovered that several thousand votes were cast fraudulently by "border ruffians" who had crossed into the territory from Missouri
in order to cast pro-slavery ballots (The vote was overturned by a subsequent election in August 1858, and Kansas was later admitted to the Union in 1861 as free state. See Bleeding Kansas
for details.).
In November 1858, while Denver was still serving as territorial governor, William Larimer, Jr.
, a land speculator from Leavenworth
, planted the townsite of "Denver City
" along the South Platte River
in Arapaho County in western Kansas Territory
(the present-day state of Colorado
). Larimer chose the name "Denver" to honor the current territorial governor with the intention that the city would be chosen as the county seat of Arapaho County. It was actually William McGaa and William Larimer who got the settlement of St. Charles at the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River to change its name to Denver in hope of becoming the county seat.
Denver retired as territorial governor in November 1858 and was reappointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs, serving until his resignation on March 31, 1859.
in early 1861, President Abraham Lincoln
commissioned Denver a brigadier general in the volunteer army on August 14. During early 1862, Denver commanded the 3rd Brigade/5th Division under Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman during the Siege of Corinth
. In November 1861, he was ordered to report to Fort Scott
in Kansas. In December, he assumed command of all Federal troops in Kansas. Denver subsequently served on garrison duty in that state until his resignation from the Union Army on March 5, 1863.
After the end of the war, Denver practiced law in Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, Ohio
. He served as a delegate to Democratic National Convention in 1876, 1880, and 1884. He was mentioned as possible Democratic presidential nominee in 1876 and 1884, although his name was never offered into formal nomination.
Denver reportedly visited Denver, Colorado in 1875 and 1882, but complained that his visits received little affection from the residents of the city named after him.
He died in Washington, D.C. in 1892 and is buried in Sugar Grove Cemetery in Wilmington, Ohio
.
His son, Matthew R. Denver, was a U.S. Congressman from Ohio from 1907–1913.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in two wars, and as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from California, as well as playing lead roles in local productions of Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
and Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
. He served as secretary and Governor of the Kansas Territory
Kansas Territory
The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Kansas....
during the struggle over whether or not Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
would be open to slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. The city of Denver, Colorado, is named after him, as is the Denver omelette.
Early life and career
James W. Denver was born near Winchester, VirginiaWinchester, Virginia
Winchester is an independent city located in the northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the USA. The city's population was 26,203 according to the 2010 Census...
. He attended public schools and moved to Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
with his parents in 1830, settling near Wilmington
Wilmington, Ohio
Wilmington is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 12,520 at the 2010 census. At city entrances from state routes, county roads, and U.S. highways, the city slogan of "We Honor Our Champions" is seen, accompanied by signs that highlight various...
. In 1841 he taught school in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, and in 1844 he graduated from the law school of the University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
. He was admitted to the bar and practiced law near Xenia, Ohio
Xenia, Ohio
Xenia is a city in and the county seat of Greene County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio 21 miles from Dayton and is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. He moved to Platte City, Missouri
Platte City, Missouri
Platte City is a city in Platte County, Missouri, along the Little Platte River. The population was 3,866 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Platte County.-Geography:Platte City is located at...
, in 1845, where he continued his law practice and acting career.
In 1847, during the Mexican-American War, he recruited a company for the 12th U.S. Volunteer Infantry and was commissioned a captain, serving under General Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....
. After the war in 1850, Denver traveled to California, where he became a trader. Denver killed newspaper editor Edward Gilbert
Edward Gilbert
Edward Gilbert was a Democratic California Politician. He was elected in November 1849 at-large as one of California's first two Representatives in the 31st Congress he was seated on September 11, 1850 and served until March 3, 1851. A newspaper editor after his service in Congress, he was killed...
in a duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
on August 2, 1852. Later that same year, he was elected to the California State Senate
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...
. He was later appointed as Secretary of State of California
California Secretary of State
The Secretary of State of California is the chief elections officer of that U.S. state. The Secretary of State is also responsible for the California State Archives, as well as chartering corporations. The Secretary of State is elected to four year terms, concurrent with the other constitutional...
. In 1854 he was elected to the United States Congress
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....
as representative from California, serving from March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1856. On April 17, 1857, President James Buchanan
James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
appointed him as Commissioner of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
.
On June 17, 1857, he resigned as Commissioner of Indian Affairs and was appointed by Buchanan as Secretary of the Kansas Territory. In December 1857 he was appointed as Territorial Governor. On the day that Denver assumed the territorial governorship, citizens in the territory voted on the Lecompton Constitution
Lecompton Constitution
The Lecompton Constitution was the second of four proposed constitutions for the state of Kansas . The document was written in response to the anti-slavery position of the 1855 Topeka Constitution of James H. Lane and other free-state advocates...
, which opened the territory to slavery. The vote offered a choice only between full slavery and limited slavery in the territory and was thus largely boycotted by Free-Staters who were in favor of abolishing slavery
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
. The pro-slavery constitution passed by an overwhelming margin. Later it was discovered that several thousand votes were cast fraudulently by "border ruffians" who had crossed into the territory from Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
in order to cast pro-slavery ballots (The vote was overturned by a subsequent election in August 1858, and Kansas was later admitted to the Union in 1861 as free state. See Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent events, involving anti-slavery Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements, that took place in the Kansas Territory and the western frontier towns of the U.S. state of Missouri roughly between 1854 and 1858...
for details.).
William Larimer, Jr.
William Larimer, Jr. was a Kansas state senator, American settler, and land developer who is best known as the founder of Denver, Colorado in 1858. Larimer often went by "General Larimer", having acquired the title in the Pennsylvania Militia....
, a land speculator from Leavenworth
Leavenworth, Kansas
Leavenworth is the largest city and county seat of Leavenworth County, in the U.S. state of Kansas and within the Kansas City, Missouri Metropolitan Area. Located in the northeast portion of the state, it is on the west bank of the Missouri River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, planted the townsite of "Denver City
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
" along the South Platte River
South Platte River
The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River and itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/Mountain West, located in the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska...
in Arapaho County in western Kansas Territory
Kansas Territory
The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Kansas....
(the present-day state of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
). Larimer chose the name "Denver" to honor the current territorial governor with the intention that the city would be chosen as the county seat of Arapaho County. It was actually William McGaa and William Larimer who got the settlement of St. Charles at the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River to change its name to Denver in hope of becoming the county seat.
Denver retired as territorial governor in November 1858 and was reappointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs, serving until his resignation on March 31, 1859.
Civil War and later career
A few months after the start of the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
in early 1861, President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
commissioned Denver a brigadier general in the volunteer army on August 14. During early 1862, Denver commanded the 3rd Brigade/5th Division under Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman during the Siege of Corinth
Siege of Corinth
The Siege of Corinth was an American Civil War battle fought from April 29 to May 30, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi.-Background:...
. In November 1861, he was ordered to report to Fort Scott
Fort Scott
General Winfield Scott, former General-in-Chief of the U.S. Army, was the namesake for five places named Fort Scott:*Fort Scott, Kansas, a city that grew up around a military fort of the same name**Fort Scott National Historic Site...
in Kansas. In December, he assumed command of all Federal troops in Kansas. Denver subsequently served on garrison duty in that state until his resignation from the Union Army on March 5, 1863.
After the end of the war, Denver practiced law in Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, Ohio
Wilmington, Ohio
Wilmington is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 12,520 at the 2010 census. At city entrances from state routes, county roads, and U.S. highways, the city slogan of "We Honor Our Champions" is seen, accompanied by signs that highlight various...
. He served as a delegate to Democratic National Convention in 1876, 1880, and 1884. He was mentioned as possible Democratic presidential nominee in 1876 and 1884, although his name was never offered into formal nomination.
Denver reportedly visited Denver, Colorado in 1875 and 1882, but complained that his visits received little affection from the residents of the city named after him.
He died in Washington, D.C. in 1892 and is buried in Sugar Grove Cemetery in Wilmington, Ohio
Wilmington, Ohio
Wilmington is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 12,520 at the 2010 census. At city entrances from state routes, county roads, and U.S. highways, the city slogan of "We Honor Our Champions" is seen, accompanied by signs that highlight various...
.
His son, Matthew R. Denver, was a U.S. Congressman from Ohio from 1907–1913.
Further reading
- Barns, George C., Denver, the Man; the Life, Letters and Public Papers of the Lawyer, Soldier and Statesman. Wilmington, Ohio, 1949.
- Cook, Edward Magruder (ed.), Justified by Honor: Highlights in the Life of General James William Denver. Falls Church, Virginia: Higher Education Publications, 1988.
External links
- Denver's papers at the University of Kansas
- Guide to the James William Denver Papers at The Bancroft Library