Everything about Champ Clark totally explained
James Beauchamp Clark best known as
Champ Clark (
March 7,
1850 –
March 2,
1921) was a prominent
American politician in the
Democratic Party from the 1890s until his death, and was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for
President in
1912. He served as the
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from
1911 to
1919.
Clark was born in
Lawrenceburg, Kentucky to John Hampton Clark and Aletha Beauchamp. Through his mother he was the first cousin twice removed of the famous
lawyer turned murderer
Jereboam O. Beauchamp. He graduated from
Bethany College (Bethany, West Virginia) and
Cincinnati Law School and moved to
Missouri in
1875, and opened a law practice the following year. He eventually settled in
Bowling Green, Missouri, the county seat of
Pike County, from where he was elected to the
United States House of Representatives in
1892. After a surprise loss in
1894 to
William M. Treloar, he regained the seat in
1896, and remained in the House until shortly before his death.
Clark ran for
House Minority Leader in
1903, but was defeated by
John Sharp Williams of Mississippi. After Williams ran for the Senate in
1908, Clark ran again for the position and won. When the
Democrats won control of the House in
1911, Clark became
Speaker.
In
1912, Clark was the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, coming into the convention with a majority of delegates pledged to him. But he failed to receive the necessary two-thirds of the vote on the first several ballots, and after lengthy negotiation, clever management by his supporters, and widespread allegations of influence by special interests,
New Jersey Governor
Woodrow Wilson received the nomination instead.
Clark's Speakership was notable for two things: First, Clark's skill from
1910 to
1914 in maintaining party unity to block
William Howard Taft's legislation and then pass Wilson's; and second, Clark's splitting of the party in
1917 and
1918 when he opposed Wilson's decision to bring the
United States into
World War I.
In addition, Clark opposed the
Federal Reserve Act, which concentrated financial power in the hands of eastern banks (mostly centered in New York City). Clark's opposition to the Federal Reserve Act is said to be the reason why Missouri is the home of two
Federal Reserve Banks (one in St. Louis and one in Kansas City).
Clark was defeated in the
Republican landslide of 1920, and died shortly thereafter in his home in
Washington, DC.
Clark's son
Joel Bennett Clark served as a
United States Senator from
Missouri from
1932 to
1945.
Further Information
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