William Atkinson Jones
Encyclopedia
Jones was born in Warsaw, Virginia
Warsaw, Virginia
Warsaw is the county seat of Richmond County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,375 at the 2000 census.-History:The original name of the town was Richmond Courthouse. In 1830 the town's named changed to Warsaw...
, and graduated from the law department of the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
in 1870. He became active in Democratic Party
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...
politics and served as 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 1880, 1896, and 1900.
Jones was elected to thirteen consecutive congresses beginning in 1891. From 1911 to 1918, he served as Chairman of the House Committee on Insular Affairs, which had jurisdiction over areas including the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, and is best remembered as the House sponsor of the Jones Act, which promised ultimate independence to the Philippines, and of the Jones-Shafroth Act
Jones-Shafroth Act
The Jones–Shafroth Act was a 1917 Act of the United States Congress by which Puerto Ricans were collectively made U.S. citizens, the people of Puerto Rico were empowered to have a popularly-elected Senate, established a bill of rights, and authorized the election of a Resident Commissioner to a...
which modified the Organic Act
Organic Act
An Organic Act, in United States law, is an Act of the United States Congress that establishes a territory of the United States or an agency to manage certain federal lands. The first such act was the Northwest Ordinance, enacted by the Congress of the Confederation in 1787 in order to create the...
of Puerto Rico and conferred United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
on Puerto Ricans
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
.
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
and are open for research. He is buried in the graveyard of St. John's Episcopal Church in Warsaw; the marker over his grave was paid for by the citizens of the Philippines in gratitude for his support of their independence as sponsor of the Philippine Autonomy Act in 1916.
The Jones Bridge
Jones Bridge
Jones Bridge is a bridge that spans the Pasig River in the city Philippines connecting the districts of Binondo on Rosario Street with the center of Manila...
in Manila was named in his honor. Formerly known as Puente de Espana (Bridge of Spain) and first built in 1701, the bridge was rebuilt by the Americans in 1916 and renamed it after Jones. The municipality of Jones, Isabela
Jones, Isabela
Jones is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 41,237 people in 8,171 households.-History:...
is also named in his honor.