James Weaver
Encyclopedia
James Baird Weaver was a United States
politician
and member of the United States House of Representatives
, representing Iowa
as a member of the Greenback Party
. He ran for President
two times on third party tickets in the late 19th century. An opponent of the gold standard
and national bank
s, he is most famous as the presidential nominee of the Populist Party in the 1892 election.
. He was the fifth child and eldest son of the 13 children of Abram Weaver (1804–1887) and Susan Imlay (1807–1886). His father was a farmer
. His family moved to a farm nine miles north of Cassopolis, Michigan
in 1835. In 1842, the Weaver family moved to the Iowa Territory
to await the opening of new land on May 1, 1843, when they established a farm four miles north of Bloomfield, Iowa
. Five years later the family moved into town when his father was elected Clerk of District Court. In 1853, Weaver accompanied his brother-in-law on a cattle drive overland from Bloomfield to Sacramento, California
, returning by way of Panama
.
Upon his return Weaver studied law
in Bloomfield then later at the Cincinnati Law School
. He established himself as a lawyer
in Bloomfield. After reading Uncle Tom's Cabin
by Harriet Beecher Stowe
, he became active in the abolition
ist movement. During this time Weaver met Clarrisa Vinson (1832–1913), a native of St. Mary's, Ohio, who was a teacher in nearby Keosauqua, Iowa
. They married on July 13, 1858.
After the start of the Union
mobilization in the American Civil War
, he enlisted as a private in the 2nd Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment
. In 1861 he received a commission as a lieutenant and fought at the Battle of Fort Donelson
, Battle of Shiloh
and Second Battle of Corinth
. Weaver was promoted from lieutenant to major prior to Corinth and to colonel immediately following the battle. By the end of the war, he had been made brevet
brigadier general
.
After the war he became active in Iowa politics
as a member of the Republican Party. In 1866 he was elected district attorney
of the Second Iowa Judicial District. On March 25, 1867, he was appointed a federal assessor of internal revenue by President Andrew Johnson
.
Weaver became increasingly disenchanted with the Republican Party and the presidential administration of Ulysses S. Grant
, viewing it as under the control of big business at the expense of farmers and small businessmen. He joined the Greenback Party, which advocated an expanded and flexible national currency based on the use of silver
alongside gold
, as well as an eight-hour work day, the tax
ation of interest
from government bonds
, and a graduated income tax
. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1878 on the Greenback ticket and served in the Forty-sixth Congress
from 1879 to 1881, but in 1880 was nominated for the presidency instead of re-election to Congress. He ran again for Congress in 1882, but lost to Republican Marsena E. Cutts
. He successfully ran again in 1884 and was re-elected in 1886, serving from 1885 to 1889. During that period, he served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Interior from 1885 to 1887 and of the Committee on Patents
from 1887 to 1889. When seeking re-election in 1888, Weaver was defeated in the general election by Republican John F. Lacey
.
. In the 1880 presidential election, he received 308,578 votes, compared to 4,454,416 for Republican James Garfield
and 4,444,952 for Democrat Winfield Hancock. Much of Weaver's support came from the Great Plains
and rural
West, areas where the Farmers' Alliance
was strong.
The Greenback Party eventually merged with the Democratic Party
in most states, a move that Weaver opposed. In 1891 Weaver helped found the Populist Party ("People's Party"). In 1892
he was the presidential nominee of the Populist Party at its convention in Omaha
and chose a strategy of forming alliances with African American
s in the South
. His policy was not well received by Whites
in the South and led to violence and intimidation against black voters. In one of the better showings by a third-party candidate in U.S. history, Weaver received over a million popular votes, and won four states (Colorado
, Kansas
, Idaho
, and Nevada
) and 22 electoral votes.
Weaver's running mate was James G. Field
, a former Confederate
general from Virginia
whom he selected in an effort to move beyond the era's prevailing bloody shirt
politics.
, who supported many of the Populist Party causes and who subsequently captured the Democratic Party nomination. Weaver had believed that he had struck a deal with Bryan that Tom Watson
, who had helped found the Populist Party with Weaver, would be Bryan's running mate. Instead Bryan chose Arthur Sewall
, a conservative
opponent of trade union
s from Maine
. As a consequence, many in the Populist Party turned against Bryan and refused to support him in the general election. Bryan was defeated by Republican nominee William McKinley
.
The Populist Party went into decline after 1896 and soon disappeared; however, many of its core ideas, such as the direct election of United States Senators, a graduated income tax, and the relaxation of the gold standard, were implemented in later decades, the first two by means of the necessary constitutional amendments.
Weaver served as mayor
of Colfax, Iowa
from 1901 to 1903. He died in Des Moines, Iowa
.
The James B. Weaver House
in Bloomfield, Iowa is a National Historic Landmark
.
Weaver's descendents include cartoonist Hank Ketcham
, and actor Stephen Collins.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and 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...
, representing Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
as a member of the Greenback Party
United States Greenback Party
The Greenback Party was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology that was active between 1874 and 1884. Its name referred to paper money, or "greenbacks," that had been issued during the American Civil War and afterward...
. He ran for President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
two times on third party tickets in the late 19th century. An opponent of the gold standard
Gold standard
The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed mass of gold. There are distinct kinds of gold standard...
and national bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
s, he is most famous as the presidential nominee of the Populist Party in the 1892 election.
Early years
Weaver was born in Dayton, OhioDayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
. He was the fifth child and eldest son of the 13 children of Abram Weaver (1804–1887) and Susan Imlay (1807–1886). His father was a farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
. His family moved to a farm nine miles north of Cassopolis, Michigan
Cassopolis, Michigan
Cassopolis is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 14,275. It is the county seat of Cass County. The village and county are named after statesman Lewis Cass, a New Hampshire native and a prominent U.S...
in 1835. In 1842, the Weaver family moved to the Iowa Territory
Iowa Territory
The Territory of Iowa was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Iowa.-History:...
to await the opening of new land on May 1, 1843, when they established a farm four miles north of Bloomfield, Iowa
Bloomfield, Iowa
Bloomfield is a city in Davis County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,601 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Davis County.-Geography:Bloomfield is located in the southeastern part of Iowa near the Missouri border....
. Five years later the family moved into town when his father was elected Clerk of District Court. In 1853, Weaver accompanied his brother-in-law on a cattle drive overland from Bloomfield to Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, returning by way of Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
.
Upon his return Weaver studied law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
in Bloomfield then later at the Cincinnati Law School
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 established himself as a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in Bloomfield. After reading Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....
by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
, he became active in the abolition
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...
ist movement. During this time Weaver met Clarrisa Vinson (1832–1913), a native of St. Mary's, Ohio, who was a teacher in nearby Keosauqua, Iowa
Keosauqua, Iowa
Keosauqua is a city in Van Buren County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,066 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Van Buren County.-History:...
. They married on July 13, 1858.
After the start of the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
mobilization in the American Civil War
American 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...
, he enlisted as a private in the 2nd Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment
2nd Iowa Regiment
The 2nd Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 2nd Iowa Infantry was organized at Keokuk, Iowa and mustered into Federal service on May 27, 1861. Among its officers, several would reach the rank of general...
. In 1861 he received a commission as a lieutenant and fought at the Battle of Fort Donelson
Battle of Fort Donelson
The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11 to February 16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The capture of the fort by Union forces opened the Cumberland River as an avenue for the invasion of the South. The success elevated Brig. Gen. Ulysses S...
, Battle of Shiloh
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...
and Second Battle of Corinth
Second Battle of Corinth
The Second Battle of Corinth was fought October 3–4, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi. For the second time in the Iuka-Corinth Campaign, Union Maj. Gen. William S...
. Weaver was promoted from lieutenant to major prior to Corinth and to colonel immediately following the battle. By the end of the war, he had been made brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
.
After the war he became active in Iowa politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
as a member of the Republican Party. In 1866 he was elected district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
of the Second Iowa Judicial District. On March 25, 1867, he was appointed a federal assessor of internal revenue by President Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
.
Weaver became increasingly disenchanted with the Republican Party and the presidential administration of Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
, viewing it as under the control of big business at the expense of farmers and small businessmen. He joined the Greenback Party, which advocated an expanded and flexible national currency based on the use of silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
alongside gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, as well as an eight-hour work day, the tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
ation of interest
Interest
Interest is a fee paid by a borrower of assets to the owner as a form of compensation for the use of the assets. It is most commonly the price paid for the use of borrowed money, or money earned by deposited funds....
from government bonds
Bond (finance)
In finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest to use and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...
, and a graduated income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1878 on the Greenback ticket and served in the Forty-sixth Congress
46th United States Congress
The Forty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1879 to March 4, 1881, during the last two years of...
from 1879 to 1881, but in 1880 was nominated for the presidency instead of re-election to Congress. He ran again for Congress in 1882, but lost to Republican Marsena E. Cutts
Marsena E. Cutts
Marsena Edgar Cutts was a nineteenth century politician, lawyer and teacher from Iowa.Born in Orwell, Vermont, Cutts attended common schools in his native village and later attended St. Lawrence Academy in Potsdam, New York. He moved to Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin in 1853 where he taught school for...
. He successfully ran again in 1884 and was re-elected in 1886, serving from 1885 to 1889. During that period, he served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Interior from 1885 to 1887 and of the Committee on Patents
United States Senate Committee on Patents
The United States Senate Committee on Patents was a committee of the United States Senate. It was established September 7, 1837 as the "Committee on Patents and the Patent Office" when the Senate approved a resolution of Henry Hubbard of Kentucky...
from 1887 to 1889. When seeking re-election in 1888, Weaver was defeated in the general election by Republican John F. Lacey
John F. Lacey
John Fletcher Lacey was an eight-term Republican United States congressman from Iowa's 6th congressional district. He was also the author of the Lacey Act of 1900, which made it a crime to ship illegal game across state lines, and the Lacey Act of 1907, which further regulated the handling of...
.
1880
Weaver was a candidate for renomination in 1880, but he was instead nominated as the presidential candidate of the Greenback Party at its convention in Chicago where he outpolled Pennsylvania congressman Hendrick Bradley WrightHendrick Bradley Wright
Hendrick Bradley Wright was a Democratic and Greenback member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.-Early life:...
. In the 1880 presidential election, he received 308,578 votes, compared to 4,454,416 for Republican James Garfield
James Garfield
James Abram Garfield served as the 20th President of the United States, after completing nine consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Garfield's accomplishments as President included a controversial resurgence of Presidential authority above Senatorial courtesy in executive...
and 4,444,952 for Democrat Winfield Hancock. Much of Weaver's support came from the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
and rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
West, areas where the Farmers' Alliance
Farmers' Alliance
The Farmers Alliance was an organized agrarian economic movement amongst U.S. farmers that flourished in the 1880s. One of the goals of the organization was to end the adverse effects of the crop-lien system on farmers after the American Civil War...
was strong.
1892
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
in most states, a move that Weaver opposed. In 1891 Weaver helped found the Populist Party ("People's Party"). In 1892
United States presidential election, 1892
In the United States presidential election of 1892, former President Grover Cleveland ran for re-election against the incumbent President Benjamin Harrison, who was also running for re-election. Cleveland defeated Harrison, thus becoming the only person in American history to be elected to a...
he was the presidential nominee of the Populist Party at its convention in Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
and chose a strategy of forming alliances with African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s in the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. His policy was not well received by Whites
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
in the South and led to violence and intimidation against black voters. In one of the better showings by a third-party candidate in U.S. history, Weaver received over a million popular votes, and won four states (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...
, 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...
, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, and Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
) and 22 electoral votes.
Weaver's running mate was James G. Field
James G. Field
James Gaven Field was an Attorney General of Virginia and the People's Party candidate for Vice President of the United States in 1892.-Biography:...
, a former Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
general from Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
whom he selected in an effort to move beyond the era's prevailing bloody shirt
Waving the bloody shirt
In the history of the United States, "waving the bloody shirt" refers to the practice of politicians referencing the blood of martyrs or heroes to criticize opponents. In American history, the phrase gained popularity with a fictitious incident in which Benjamin Franklin Butler of Massachusetts,...
politics.
Work with the 1896 election
In the 1896 election, he threw his support behind Democrat William Jennings BryanWilliam Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
, who supported many of the Populist Party causes and who subsequently captured the Democratic Party nomination. Weaver had believed that he had struck a deal with Bryan that Tom Watson
Thomas E. Watson
Thomas Edward "Tom" Watson was an American politician, newspaper editor, and writer from Georgia. In the 1890s Watson championed poor farmers as a leader of the Populist Party, articulating an agrarian political viewpoint while attacking business, bankers, railroads, Democratic President Grover...
, who had helped found the Populist Party with Weaver, would be Bryan's running mate. Instead Bryan chose Arthur Sewall
Arthur Sewall
Arthur Sewall was a U.S. Democratic politician from Maine most notable as William Jennings Bryan's first running mate in 1896. As the Populist Party nominee, Bryan had another running mate as well, Thomas E. Watson...
, a conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
opponent of trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s from Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. As a consequence, many in the Populist Party turned against Bryan and refused to support him in the general election. Bryan was defeated by Republican nominee William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
.
The Populist Party went into decline after 1896 and soon disappeared; however, many of its core ideas, such as the direct election of United States Senators, a graduated income tax, and the relaxation of the gold standard, were implemented in later decades, the first two by means of the necessary constitutional amendments.
Weaver served as mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Colfax, Iowa
Colfax, Iowa
Colfax is a city in Jasper County, Iowa, United States. The town was founded in 1866, and was named for Schuyler Colfax, vice-president with U.S. Grant...
from 1901 to 1903. He died in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
.
The James B. Weaver House
James B. Weaver House
The James B. Weaver House, in Bloomfield, Iowa was the home of James Weaver from about 1865 to 1890. Weaver was the Greenback candidate for President in 1880 and the Populist candidate in 1892...
in Bloomfield, Iowa is a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
Weaver's descendents include cartoonist Hank Ketcham
Hank Ketcham
Henry King "Hank" Ketcham was an American cartoonist who created the Dennis the Menace comic strip, writing and drawing it from 1951 to 1994, when he retired from drawing the daily page and took up painting full time in his studio at his home. He received the Reuben Award for the strip in 1953...
, and actor Stephen Collins.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals