American politician (1835?1890)
George W. McCrary
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In office
December 9, 1879 ? March 18, 1884
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Appointed by
| Rutherford B. Hayes
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Preceded by
| John Forrest Dillon
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Succeeded by
| David Josiah Brewer
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In office
March 12, 1877 ? December 9, 1879
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President
| Rutherford B. Hayes
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Preceded by
| J. Donald Cameron
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Succeeded by
| Alexander Ramsey
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In office
March 4, 1875 ? March 3, 1877
|
Speaker
| Michael C. Kerr
(1875?1876)
Samuel J. Randall
(1876?1877)
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Preceded by
| Horace Maynard
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Succeeded by
| Eugene Hale
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In office
March 4, 1869 ? March 3, 1877
|
Preceded by
| James F. Wilson
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Succeeded by
| Joseph Champlin Stone
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Born
| George Washington McCrary
(
1835-08-29
)
August 29, 1835
Evansville
,
Indiana
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Died
| June 23, 1890
(1890-06-23)
(aged 54)
St. Joseph
,
Missouri
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Resting place
| Oakland Cemetery
Keokuk
,
Iowa
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Political party
| Republican
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Education
| Read law
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George Washington McCrary
(August 29, 1835 ? June 23, 1890) was a
United States representative
from Iowa, the 33rd
United States Secretary of War
and a
United States circuit judge
of the
United States Circuit Courts for the Eighth Circuit
.
Education and career
[
edit
]
Born on August 29, 1835, near
Evansville
,
Vanderburg County
,
Indiana
,
[1]
McCrary moved with his parents in 1836 to the
Wisconsin Territory
(
Iowa Territory
from July 4, 1838, State of
Iowa
from December 28, 1846) who settled in
Van Buren County
.
[2]
[3]
He attended the public schools, taught in the country schools at age 18,
[3]
read law
at the
law firm
of future
United States Supreme Court
Justice
Samuel Freeman Miller
[3]
and was admitted to the bar in 1856.
[1]
He entered private practice in
Keokuk
,
Iowa
from 1856 to 1857.
[1]
He was a member of the
Iowa House of Representatives
in 1857, resuming private practice in Keokuk from 1858 to 1861.
[1]
He was a member of the
Iowa Senate
from 1861 to 1865,
[4]
again resuming private practice in Keokuk from 1862 to 1869.
[1]
Congressional service
[
edit
]
In 1868, McCrary successfully sought a U.S. House seat from
Iowa's 1st congressional district
to succeed
Radical Republican
James F. Wilson
. He was elected as a
Republican
from the district to the
United States House of Representatives
of the
41st United States Congress
and to the three succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1869, to March 3, 1877.
[5]
He was Chairman of the Committee on Elections for the
42nd United States Congress
and Chairman of the Committee on Railways and Canals for the
43rd United States Congress
.
[5]
He was not a candidate for renomination in 1876.
[5]
Congressional activity
[
edit
]
In McCrary's first month in Congress, he received national attention for refusing to support an appropriation for a federal courthouse in Keokuk because the nation was in debt and he could not support such a courthouse in every district.
[6]
He published
A Treatise on the American Law of Elections
, in 1875.
[3]
[7]
In the
44th United States Congress
, as a member of the
United States House Committee on the Judiciary
, he was the author of a farsighted (but unsuccessful) bill to reorganize the federal courts to enable reasonable and prompt judicial review.
[8]
He helped create the Electoral Commission to resolve the outcome of the
1876 Presidential Election
, and served on the committee that investigated the
Credit Mobilier scandal
.
[3]
Maintaining his passion for law, McCrary established an expertise in contested elections and laws pertaining to elections.
[9]
He published
A Treatise on the American Law of Elections
in 1875, which later underwent four editions.
During his House years, McCrary allied with the congressional "
Half-Breeds
,"
[10]
the loosely organized and more
moderate wing of the Republican Party
(in comparison to the pro-
spoils system
Stalwarts
) which emphasized industrial interests and protective
tariffs
in addition to supporting
civil service reform
.
Secretary of War
[
edit
]
McCrary was the 33rd
United States Secretary of War
in the cabinet of President
Rutherford B. Hayes
from March 12, 1877, to December 11, 1879, when he resigned.
[11]
As Secretary, McCrary withdrew federal troops from the remaining reconstruction governments in
South Carolina
and
Louisiana
, and used federal troops in the 1877 railway strike and in Mexican border disturbances.
[3]
The greatest military conflicts during his watch occurred in the American West, in battles with certain
Native American
tribes in
Colorado
,
New Mexico
, and elsewhere.
[12]
Memberships
[
edit
]
McCrary was elected as a 3rd Class (honorary) member of the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
(MOLLUS).
[
citation needed
]
This was probably due to President Hayes' influence as a prominent member of MOLLUS.
[
citation needed
]
(Hayes would later serve as MOLLUS commander-in-chief.)
[
citation needed
]
Federal judicial service
[
edit
]
McCrary was nominated by President
Rutherford B. Hayes
on December 1, 1879, to a seat on the
United States Circuit Courts for the Eighth Circuit
vacated by Judge
John Forrest Dillon
.
[1]
He was confirmed by the
United States Senate
on December 9, 1879, and received his commission the same day.
[1]
His service terminated on March 18, 1884, due to his resignation, which he attributed to his family's financial need after his many years of public service.
[1]
[3]
[13]
Later career and death
[
edit
]
Following his resignation from the federal bench, McCrary resumed private practice in
Kansas City
,
Missouri
from 1884 to 1890.
[1]
He served as general counsel for the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Company
in Kansas City, Missouri from 1884 to 1890.
[3]
[13]
He died on June 23, 1890, in
St. Joseph
, Missouri,
[1]
after suffering from a stomach tumor.
[2]
He was interred in Oakland Cemetery in Keokuk.
[5]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
"McCrary, George Washington - Federal Judicial Center"
.
www.fjc.gov
.
- ^
a
b
"
Obituary of George McCrary
," New York Times, 1890-06-24 at p. 3.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
"George Washington McCrary"
.
Secretaries of War and Secretaries of the Army
.
United States Army Center of Military History
. CMH Pub 70-12
. Retrieved
2009-06-06
.
- ^
"Representative George Washington McCrary"
. Iowa General Assembly
. Retrieved
May 20,
2024
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
United States Congress.
"George W. McCrary (id: M000379)"
.
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
.
- ^
"
Needless Appropriations: Letter from George W. McCrary
," New York Times, 1869-04-19 at p. 8.
- ^
George W. McCrary, "
A Treatise on the American law of Elections
," (Keokuk: R.B. Ogden 2nd ed. 1880).
- ^
Felix Frankfurter & John M. Landis,"
The Business of the Supreme Court
," pp. 78-79 (1st ed. 1927, reprinted Transaction Pub. 2007),
ISBN
1-4128-0612-7
.
- ^
Goedeken, Edward A.
McCrary, George Washington
.
The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa
. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
- ^
Welch, Richard E., Jr. (1971).
George Frisbie Hoar and the Half-Breed Republicans
, p. 91.
Harvard University Press
.
- ^
"
Nominations by the President
,' New York Times, 1879-12-02 at p. 3.
- ^
"
War Department Needs: Secretary M'Crary's Annual Report
," New York Times, 1879-11-24 at p. 2.
- ^
a
b
"
Judge M'Crary Resigns
," New York Times, 1884-01-02 at p. 1.
Sources
[
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]
External links
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]
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International
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National
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People
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Other
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