John J. Casey
Encyclopedia
John Joseph Casey was a Democratic
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...

 member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

.

John J. Casey was born in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre Township is a township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,235 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Wilkes-Barre Township is located at ....

. He was an early union organizer and a member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from 1907 to 1909.

Early life

Casey was born in the Georgetown section of Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania in 1875 - the oldest son of an Irish immigrant family. At the age of seven, his father, Andrew Casey, died in a mining accident in the Wilkes-Barre Coal Mines. In accordance with company policy, the oldest son of a miner was required to take his father's place in the mine if his family was to retain their home and company credit (the mining companies owned both the miner homes and paid the miners with company credit rather than money)

In 1883 at the age of eight, Casey was a breaker boy in Plymouth, Pennsylvania
Plymouth, Pennsylvania
Plymouth is an incorporated borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States 4 miles west of Wilkes Barre, on the Susquehanna River. Prior to its incorporation in 1866, it was part of Plymouth Township, established in 1769 by the Susquehanna Company and claimed by Connecticut based on...

, responsible for breaking the slag off of coal fragments as they were excavated from the mine. By the age of 12 he was a 'mule skinner', charged with dragging the mules in and out of the mines. According to his grandson, Terry W. Casey: "he used to speak about his excitement towards days with the occasional noontime break, which could last almost an hour in length. That was until he realized why they had the breaks - which were used as time to remove bodies of dead miners from the work zone, as had been done to his father." His harrowing experience in the coal mines of the 1880s and 90s would have a profound impact on his career both as a union organizer and a Congressman.

Union Organizer and U.S. Congressman

In 1900 the United Mine Workers
United Mine Workers
The United Mine Workers of America is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners and coal technicians. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the United States and Canada...

 President John Mitchell (United Mine Workers)
John Mitchell (United Mine Workers)
John Mitchell was a United States labor leader and president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1898 to 1908....

 visited the Pennsylvania anthrecite region and Casey quickly made a name for himself as a union organizer. His work with big labor allowed him to enter into the political arena. Running on the Labor Party ticket, and in 1906 Casey was elected to the Pennsylvania State Legislature. In the 1912 general election, Casey scored the first of what would be six congressional victories over the next twenty years.

Casey was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-third
63rd United States Congress
- House of Representatives:*Democratic : 291 *Republican : 134*Progressive : 9*Independent : 1TOTAL members: 435-Senate:*President of the Senate: Thomas R. Marshall*President pro tempore: James P. Clarke-Senate:...

 and Sixty-fourth
64th United States Congress
The Sixty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1915 to March 4, 1917, during the third and fourth...

 Congresses, but was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1916
United States House election, 1916
The U.S. House election, 1916 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1916 which coincided with President Woodrow Wilson's re-election....

. He was appointed a member of the advisory council to the United States Secretary of Labor
United States Secretary of Labor
The United States Secretary of Labor is the head of the Department of Labor who exercises control over the department and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all other issues involving any form of business-person controversies....

 in 1918, and appointed labor advisor and executive of the labor adjustment division for the Emergency Fleet Corporation, United States Shipping Board
United States Shipping Board
The United States Shipping Board was established as an emergency agency by the Shipping Act , 7 September 1916. It was formally organized 30 January 1917. It was sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board.http://www.gwpda.org/wwi-www/Hurley/bridgeTC.htm | The Bridge To France by Edward N....

, during the First World War.

The early 1920s was a lonely place to be for a pro labor candidate in what was then a republican dominated region. He was again elected to the Sixty-sixth
66th United States Congress
The Sixty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, comprising the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1919 to March 4, 1921, during the last two years of...

 Congress, but was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1920
United States House election, 1920
The U.S. House election, 1920 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1920 which coincided with the election of President Warren G. Harding....

. Again elected to the Sixty-eighth
68th United States Congress
The Sixty-eighth 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, 1923 to March 4, 1925, during the last months of...

 Congress, but an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1924
United States House election, 1924
The U.S. House election, 1924 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1924 which coincided with the election of President Calvin Coolidge, who had replaced Warren Harding following his death....

. After this defeat he worked as a business agent for the Plumbers and Steam Fitters’ Union
United Association
The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing, Pipefitting and Sprinkler Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, commonly known as the United Association is a trade union of journeymen and apprentices of the plumbing, pipefitting, and sprinkler fitting industry of...

. He was finally elected to the Seventieth
70th United States Congress
The Seventieth 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, 1927 to March 3, 1929, during the last two years of...

 and Seventy-first
71st United States Congress
The Seventy-first 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, 1929 to March 4, 1931, during the first two years...

 Congresses and served until his death at Balboa
Balboa, Panama
Balboa is a district of Panama City, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal.- History :The town of Balboa, founded by the United States during the construction of the Panama Canal, was named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spanish conquistador credited with discovering the Pacific Ocean...

, Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...

.

Death and legacy

During his political career Casey espoused the views of organized labor and was aggressive in educating both his colleagues and the general public about the issues pertaining to safe working conditions for miners and collective bargaining for unions. Additionally he staunchly opposed several acts of anti-immigration legislation specifically targeting immigrants from eastern and southern Europe. In short, Casey's career was characterized in championing the poorer classes of society. This populist stance resulted, in some instances, with endorsements from one or both of the major parties, even while running on the labor ticket.

Throughout his later life Casey struggled with high blood pressure in a time when there were no medications to control this. A health related Caribbean vacation ended on May 5, 1929 when the 53 year old Congressman suffered a stroke and died. His fueneral took place nine days later in his home town of Wilkes Barre PA, where approximately 20,000 people lined the streets to show their affection for the late congressman. Casey is Interred in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Hanover Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Hanover Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Hanover Township is a township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 11,488 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which of it is land and is water. The Susquehanna River drains it and...

. On his tombstone there are two titles engraved. One is 'United States Congressman', but above that title is emblazoned 'Labor Man', a very symbolic gesture of his dedication to ideals over his personal position.

Personal Life and Miscellanoues Facts

Casey was survived by his wife and nine of his eleven children. He ensured that none of these children ever worked in a mine, with several of his sons attending both westpoint and Annapolis. Accounts of Casey characterize him by his gregarious personality, his bright red hair and tremendous physical stature. Without doubt he is another of many stories of the American dream, born into poverty but in command of his own destiny.

It was reported that his congressional staff would always keep an extra desktop on hand. The Congressman was reputed to regularly split desktops in half with a blow that could only be produced by the 6'5", 250 lb Irish miner.

During his tenure as a union organizer, Casey on many occasions, was pursued by private detective organizations, including the Pinkerton National Detective Agency
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, is a private U.S. security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired...

, and private company owned police forces in an attempt to deter him from unionizing several industries. In the 1890s Labor organizing was a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment, assuming the organizers weren't 'inadvertently' killed during apprehension.

As a young boy, Casey would go leave for work at 6 am. He would enter the Wilkes Barre mine shaft, walk beneath the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...

, and surface in the Plymouth shaft to report in as a breaker boy.

Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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