Atkins Jefferson McLemore (March 13, 1857 – March 4, 1929) was an American newspaper publisher, State Representative and

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Early life

McLemore was born on a farm near

Spring Hill, Tennessee Spring Hill is a city in Maury and Williamson counties, Tennessee, located approximately south of Nashville. Spring Hill's population as of 2020 was 50,005. Spring Hill is recognized as the 4th fastest growing city in Tennessee by the U.S. Cen ...

, on March 13, 1857. He was educated in local schools and by private tutors. McLemore moved to

in 1878 and was employed as a cowboy, printer, and newspaper reporter, and later as a miner in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. He returned to Texas and settled in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

working primarily in the newspaper business in

Kyle, Texas Kyle is a city in Hays County, Texas, United States. Its population grew from 28,016 in 2010 to 45,697 in 2020, making Kyle one of the fastest-growing cities in Texas. Geography Kyle is located in eastern Hays County at (29.989080, –97.875947 ...

Political career

McLemore moved to Corpus Christi in 1889 and established the ''

Gulf News ''Gulf News'' is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was first launched in 1978, and is currently distributed throughout the UAE and also in other Persian Gulf Countries. Its online edition was launch ...

'' and was elected to the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

, serving from 1892 to 1896.Handbook of Texas Online
/ref> He later moved to

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, where he was elected to the Board of Aldermen for one term. McLemore was elected Secretary of the Democratic State executive committee from 1900 to 1904. In 1903, he founded a weekly magazine entitled ''State Topics'', which eventually became ''Texas Monthly Review and State Topics''. McLemore relocated, now to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, in 1911, where he again engaged in the newspaper publishing business. In 1915, he was elected as a Democrat to Congress to represent one of the state's two at-large districts. He served two terms, from March 4, 1915, to March 3, 1919. McLemore was an ardent opponent of America's entry into

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, a position that he believed he held in common with President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

, who campaigned for reelection on the slogan "He kept us out of war". Less than 90 days after the re-election of Wilson to a second term in 1916, he called on

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

to declare war on

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. McLemore was one of the 50 representatives who voted against declaring war, the only member of Congress from Texas to do so. When McLemore became a strident opponent of the president, the Democratic-dominated Texas legislature redrew the state's congressional districts to eliminate McLemore's statewide at-large district and drew 18 districts, forcing McLemore into the same district with fellow Houston incumbents

Joe H. Eagle Joe Henry Eagle (January 23, 1870 – January 10, 1963) was a U.S. Representative from Texas. Born in Tompkinsville, Kentucky, Eagle was graduated from the local high school in 1883 and obtained a teacher's certificate in 1884. He was als ...

and Daniel E. Garrett in the 8th District. Garrett bowed out of the contest, and Eagle defeated McLemore.

Later life

In 1919, McLemore moved from Houston to Hebbronville, and he resumed the newspaper publishing business in South Texas and eventually resided in Laredo. In

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

, McLemore made one more run for public office for an open

US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

seat, but he was defeated by

Thomas T. Connally Thomas Terry Connally (August 19, 1877October 28, 1963) was an American politician, who represented Texas in both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, as a member of the Democratic Party. He served in the U.S. House of Representa ...

. McLemore died in Laredo on March 4, 1929, the day after he would have taken office if he had won the Senate race. He is interred in Oakwood Cemetery in Austin.Political Graveyard
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McLemore, A. Jeff 1857 births 1929 deaths Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives People from Austin, Texas People from Corpus Christi, Texas People from Houston American male journalists People from Jim Hogg County, Texas Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas Journalists from Texas People from San Antonio