Champ Clark

Champ Clark
36thSpeaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office April 4, 1911 – March 3, 1919
Preceded by	Joseph G. Cannon
Succeeded by	Frederick H. Gillett
Leader of the House Democratic Caucus
In office March 4, 1909 – March 2, 1921
Preceded by	John Sharp Williams
Succeeded by	Claude Kitchin
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMissouri's9thdistrict
In office March 4, 1897 – March 2, 1921
Preceded by	William M. Treloar
Succeeded by	Theodore W. Hukriede
In office March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895
Preceded by	Seth W. Cobb
Succeeded by	William M. Treloar
Personal details
Born	James Beauchamp Clark March 7, 1850 Lawrenceburg, Kentucky,U.S.
Died	March 2, 1921(1921-03-02)(aged 70) Washington, D.C.,U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Genevieve Davis Bennett
Children	2
Alma mater	Bethany College University of Cincinnati College of Law
Profession	Lawyer
Signature

James Beauchamp Clark(March 7, 1850 – March 2, 1921) was an Americanpoliticianand attorney who representedMissouriin theUnited States House of Representativesfor thirteen terms between 1893 and 1921 and served asSpeaker of the Housefrom 1911 to 1919.

Born inKentucky,Clark established a law practice inBowling Green, Missouri.After serving in local, county, and state office, he won election to the U.S. House in 1892, lost his seat in 1894, and won the seat back in 1896. He became the House Minority Leader in 1908 and was elevated to Speaker after Democrats took control of the House in the1910 elections.He inadvertently helped defeat theCanadian–American Reciprocity Treaty of 1911by arguing that ratification of the treaty would lead to the incorporation ofCanadainto the United States.

Entering the1912 Democratic National Convention,Clark had won the backing of a majority of the delegates, but lacked the necessary two-thirds majority to win the presidential nomination. After dozens of ballots,Woodrow Wilsonemerged as the Democratic presidential nominee, and went on to win the1912 presidential election.Clark helped Wilson pass much of hisprogressiveagenda but opposed U.S. entry intoWorld War I.In the1918 midterm elections,Democrats lost their control of the House of Representatives, ending Clark's tenure as Speaker. The1920 House electionssaw the defeat of numerous Democrats, including Clark. He died the following March, two days before he would have left office.

Early life and education

Clark was born inLawrenceburg, Kentucky,to John Hampton Clark and Aletha Beauchamp. Through his mother, he was the first cousin twice removed of the famouslawyer-turned-murdererJereboam O. Beauchamp.He is also directly descended from the famousJohn Beauchamp (Plymouth Company)through his mother. He graduated fromBethany Collegein 1873, and fromCincinnati Law Schoolin 1875.

Career

Clark served as president of Marshall College (nowMarshall University) from 1873 to 1874. In 1875, he was admitted to the bar, and the following year he moved toBowling Green, Missouri,the county seat ofPike County,where he practiced law. He was city attorney from 1878 to 1881, and prosecuting attorney of Pike County from 1885 to 1889.

Politics

Clark was a member of theMissouri House of Representativesin 1889 and 1891.Clark was elected to theUnited States House of Representativesin 1892. After a surprise loss in 1894 toWilliam M. Treloar,he regained the seat in 1896, and remained in the House until his death, the day before he was to leave office.

Clark ran forHouse Minority Leaderin 1903 but was defeated byJohn Sharp Williamsof 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 becameSpeaker.

Canadian reciprocity treaty

Main articles:1911 Canadian federal electionandReciprocity (Canadian politics)

Champ Clark,c. 1900-10

In 1911, Clark gave a speech that helped to decide theelection in Canada.On the floor of the House, Clark argued for the recentCanadian–American Reciprocity Treaty of 1911and declared: "I look forward to the time when the American flag will fly over every square foot of British North America up to the North Pole."

Clark went on to suggest in his speech that the treaty was the first step towards the end of Canada, a speech that was greeted with "prolonged applause" according to theCongressional Record.TheWashington Postreported, "Evidently, then, the Democrats generally approved of Mr. Clark's annexation sentiments and voted for the reciprocity bill because, among other things, it improves the prospect of annexation."

TheChicago Tribunecondemned Clark in an editorial, predicting that Clark's speech might have fatally damaged the treaty in Canada; "He lets his imagination run wild like a Missouri mule on a rampage. Remarks about the absorption of one country by another grate harshly on the ears of the smaller."TheConservative Party of Canada,which opposed the treaty, won the Canadian election in large part because of Clark's speech.

Later career

In 1912, Clark was the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination, coming intothe conventionwith a majority of delegates pledged to him, but he failed to receive the necessary two-thirds of the vote on the first several ballots. After lengthy negotiation, clever management by supporters ofNew JerseyGovernorWoodrow Wilson,with widespread allegations of influence by special interests, delivered the nomination instead to Wilson.

Clark's speakership was notable for his skill from 1910 to 1914 in maintaining party unity to blockWilliam Howard Taft's legislation and then pass Wilson's. Clark split the party in 1917 and 1918, when he opposed Wilson's decision to bring the United States intoWorld War I.

In addition, Clark opposed theFederal Reserve Act,which concentrated financial power in the hands of eastern banks (mostly centered inNew York City). Clark's opposition to the Federal Reserve Act is said to be the reason that Missouri is the only state granted twoFederal Reserve Banks(one in St. Louis and one in Kansas City).

Clark was defeated in theRepublican landslide of 1920and died shortly thereafter in his home inWashington, D.C.

Champ Clark is the namesake of the small community ofChamp, Audrain County, Missouri.The formerClark National Forestlikewise was named after him.

Personal life

Genevieve Bennett Clark

Clark married Genevieve Bennett Clark on December 14, 1881. Together, they had two children,Joel Bennett ClarkandGenevieve Clark Thomson.Bennet served as aUnited States senatorfromMissourifrom 1933 to 1945. Genevieve was asuffragetteand a candidate for the House of Representatives for Louisiana.

He was an adherent of theDisciples of Christ.

Champ Clark Bridge

Abridgein Louisiana, Missouri that connects Missouri to neighboring Illinois was originally built in 1928. It bears the name Champ Clark. In late 2019,another bridgeof the same name was constructed to replace the structurally deficient original bridge.

Gallery

• 
  Speaker Clark's official portrait
• 
  Speaker Clark (left) with RepresentativeJames R. MannofIllinois
• 
  Champ Clark's casket being loaded into a hearse outside theUnited States Capitol,flag at half staff, March 5, 1921
• 
  Clark about a month before his death, wearing an antique-stylebeaver hat.
• 
  Clark's former residence inWashington, D.C.
• 
  Bennet and Genevieve Clark
• 
  Champ Clark and daughter Genevieve
• 
  Champ Clark, left, examining marble bust of himself, made byMoses Wainer-Dykaar,right.

See also

• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49)

Further reading

• Chiu, Chang-wei.The Speaker of the House of Representatives since 1896.
• Gould, Louis. "Clark, Champ" in John A. Garraty, and Mark C. Carnes, eds.American National Biography(1999), vol. 4,. New York: Oxford Univ. Press; also online..
• Krahn, Carole Ellen (1965).Champ Clark: Presidential Candidate.S. Ill. Univ. Press.
• Morrison, Geoffrey F. (1979).A Political Biography of Champ Clark.St. Louis Univ. Press.
• Webb, William Larkin (1912).Champ Clark.New York: Neale Pub. Co.
• White, Hollis Lee (1950).A Rhetorical Criticism of the Speeches of Speaker Champ Clark.Univ. of Missouri Press.

Primary sources

• Clark, Champ (1920).My Quarter Century of American Politics.Harper.
• Clark, Champ. "The Work of the Democratic House"The North American Review(Sept 1911) pp 337–343.online

External links

• United States Congress."Champ Clark (id: C000437)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• James Beauchamp ClarkatFind a Grave
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922)."Clark, Champ".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 30 (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. p. 701.)
• James Beauchamp Clark's Signature on the 17th Amendment to the constitutionImage of original document
• Champ Clark, late a representative from Missouri, Memorial addresses delivered in the House of Representatives and Senate frontispiece 1922