Peter Francis Tague
Encyclopedia
Peter Francis Tague was a member of the United States House of Representatives
from Boston
, Massachusetts
.
.
Tague attended Frothingham Grammar school and English High School in Boston. Tague then entered business, supplying blacksmiths and building contractors.
Tague later became a Manufacturing Chemist, and a supplier of chemicals.
, serving in 1897-1898. The following year he was elected a State senator
, serving for two years. He gave up politics for a time to concentrate on his business. He ran again in 1913, winning election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
Tague next entered national politics, serving as a Democrat
in the Sixty-fourth
and Sixty-fifth
Congresses (March 4, 1915-March 3, 1919).
. Tague lost the 1918 primary election to John F. Fitzgerald
, by 50 votes. Tague contested his loss in the primary and appealed that loss to the election commissioners, but he lost that appeal and Fitzgerald was declared the nominee of the Democratic party. Tague contested the election as a sticker and write in candidate and initially Tague narrowly lost the general election to Fitzgerald by 238 votes
Tague contested the election. On October 2, 1919, by a vote of 5 to 2, the House of Representatives elections committee voted to unseat Fitzgerald and to seat Teague.
After the House committee canvassed over 1,300 votes Fitzgerald's plurality went down to 10 votes. After determining that one third of the votes in three precincts of Boston's Ward 5 were fraudulent the House of Representatives committee threw out the votes of those precincts. The committee determined that the election had been tainted by illegal registrations and fraud. The committee determined that Tague won the election by 525 votes.
On October 23, 1919 the full House of Representatives unseated Fitzgerald and seated Teague.
and Sixty-eighth
Congresses, serving from October 23, 1919, to March 3, 1925. He was defeated for reelection in 1924.
Tague is noted for having introduced a bill in Congress in 1921 to investigate the KKK
, which then was becoming a powerful force nationwide.
Tague died in Boston on September 17, 1941, at the age of 70. He was interred in Holy Cross Cemetery, Malden, Massachusetts
.
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 Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
Biography
Tague was a son of Peter and Mary (Shaw) Tague, immigrants from Ireland. His father was a cooperCooper (profession)
Traditionally, a cooper is someone who makes wooden staved vessels of a conical form, of greater length than breadth, bound together with hoops and possessing flat ends or heads...
.
Tague attended Frothingham Grammar school and English High School in Boston. Tague then entered business, supplying blacksmiths and building contractors.
Marriage and family
Tague married Josephine T. Fitzgerald on January 31, 1900, they had two sons.Business career
Tague was a Book keeper and NE representative of Never slip Manufacturing Company.Tague later became a Manufacturing Chemist, and a supplier of chemicals.
Political career
Tague became a member of the Boston Common Council in 1894, at the age of just 23. He served for two years, and then was elected a member of the Massachusetts House of RepresentativesMassachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
, serving in 1897-1898. The following year he was elected a State senator
Massachusetts Senate
The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the state...
, serving for two years. He gave up politics for a time to concentrate on his business. He ran again in 1913, winning election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
Tague next entered national politics, serving as a Democrat
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 the 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...
and Sixty-fifth
65th United States Congress
The Sixty-fifth 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, 1917 to March 4, 1919, during the fourth and fifth...
Congresses (March 4, 1915-March 3, 1919).
1918 Election
In 1918 Tague was faced with a major challenge from ex Boston Mayor John F. FitzgeraldJohn F. Fitzgerald
John Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald was an Irish-American politician and the maternal grandfather of three prominent United States politicians—President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Senators Robert Francis Kennedy and Edward Moore Kennedy.-Early life and family:Fitzgerald was born in...
. Tague lost the 1918 primary election to John F. Fitzgerald
John F. Fitzgerald
John Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald was an Irish-American politician and the maternal grandfather of three prominent United States politicians—President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Senators Robert Francis Kennedy and Edward Moore Kennedy.-Early life and family:Fitzgerald was born in...
, by 50 votes. Tague contested his loss in the primary and appealed that loss to the election commissioners, but he lost that appeal and Fitzgerald was declared the nominee of the Democratic party. Tague contested the election as a sticker and write in candidate and initially Tague narrowly lost the general election to Fitzgerald by 238 votes
Tague contested the election. On October 2, 1919, by a vote of 5 to 2, the House of Representatives elections committee voted to unseat Fitzgerald and to seat Teague.
After the House committee canvassed over 1,300 votes Fitzgerald's plurality went down to 10 votes. After determining that one third of the votes in three precincts of Boston's Ward 5 were fraudulent the House of Representatives committee threw out the votes of those precincts. The committee determined that the election had been tainted by illegal registrations and fraud. The committee determined that Tague won the election by 525 votes.
On October 23, 1919 the full House of Representatives unseated Fitzgerald and seated Teague.
1917 Boston Mayoral election
Tague was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Boston in 1917, but was reelected to the Sixty-seventh67th United States Congress
The Sixty-seventh 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, 1921 to March 4, 1923, during the first two years...
and 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...
Congresses, serving from October 23, 1919, to March 3, 1925. He was defeated for reelection in 1924.
Tague is noted for having introduced a bill in Congress in 1921 to investigate the KKK
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
, which then was becoming a powerful force nationwide.
Later years
Following his defeat for Congress in 1924, Tague resumed his business career. He was appointed assessor of Boston in 1930 and chairman of the election commission of Boston the same year. In 1936, he was appointed postmaster and served until his death.Tague died in Boston on September 17, 1941, at the age of 70. He was interred in Holy Cross Cemetery, Malden, Massachusetts
Malden, Massachusetts
Malden is a suburban city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 59,450 at the 2010 census. In 2009 Malden was ranked as the "Best Place to Raise Your Kids" in Massachusetts by Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine.-History:...
.