Arthur Horace James (July 14, 1883April 27, 1973) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he served as the 14th lieutenant governor (1927–1931) and the 31st

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

(1939–1943) of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Early life and career

The oldest of eight children, Arthur James was born in Plymouth,

, to James D. James, a mine foreman, and Rachel (née Edwards) James, a schoolteacher. Both parents were Welsh immigrants. As a child, he worked as a

breaker boy A breaker boy was a coal-mining worker in the United StatesHindman, Hugh D. ''Child Labor: An American History.'' Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2002. and United Kingdom whose job was to separate impurities from coal by hand in a coal breaker. Altho ...

and mule driver in the coal mines of northeastern Pennsylvania. His mother died while he was still in grammar school, after which his father tutored him and his siblings. After graduating from Plymouth High School in 1901, James studied at

Dickinson Law School Penn State Dickinson Law, formerly Dickinson School of Law, is a public law school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It is one of two separately accredited law schools of The Pennsylvania State University. According to Penn State Dickinson Law's 2019 A ...

in Carlisle. where he was a member of the varsity

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

team. To help pay for his education he continued to work as a mule driver in the Plymouth mines during his summer vacations. In 1904, he earned his law degree, was admitted to the Luzerne County bar, and began to practice law, first at Plymouth, and later at

Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the s ...

. In 1912, he married Ada Morris. They had one son, Arthur H. James Jr., who died at the age of 20, and one daughter, Dorothy James, who studied theater at Syracuse University until the death of her mother in 1935, when she left to keep house for her father, and to act as Pennsylvania’s First Lady after he became the state’s governor in 1939. From 1920 to 1926, he served as district attorney of

Luzerne County Luzerne County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of ...

. In 1926, James was elected

Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania The lieutenant governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as the governor. Each party picks a candidate for lieutenant governor independently o ...

after defeating his Democratic opponent, former state Senator W. Clayton Hackett, by 761,619 votes. After serving one term under Governor John S. Fisher, he was elected as a judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, serving from 1932 to 1939.

Governor of Pennsylvania

In 1938, incumbent Democratic Governor George H. Earle unsuccessfully challenged Republican James J. Davis for a seat in the

United States 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 pow ...

. James entered the

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

to succeed Earle as governor, campaigning to reduce taxes, balance the budget, make the state more attractive to businesses, and end political corruption. A strong opponent of Governor Earle's "Little New Deal," he promised to "make a bonfire of all the laws passed by the 1937 legislature." In the Republican primary, he defeated former Governor

Gifford Pinchot Gifford Pinchot (August 11, 1865October 4, 1946) was an American forester and politician. He served as the fourth chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry, as the first head of the United States Forest Service, and as the 28th governor of Pennsy ...

, whom James claimed would sell the Republican Party "down the New Deal river," by a margin of 486,000 votes. He was elected the 31st Governor of Pennsylvania in the general election, defeating Democrat

Charles Alvin Jones Charles Alvin Jones (August 27, 1887 – May 22, 1966) was a United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Education an ...

by more than 279,000 votes. He received more votes than any previous gubernatorial candidate in Pennsylvania. During his tenure as governor, James created the state Department of Commerce and the Anthracite Emergency Commission, extended the Pennsylvania Turnpike, signed a bill banning sit-down strikes, strengthened the civil service, and reinforced liquor control laws. He also turned the state's $58 million deficit into a $75 million surplus. During the early part of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he established the State Council of Defense and the Selective Service Board and later created the Pennsylvania Reserve Defense Corps and the Citizens' Defense Corps for homeland defense. At the

1940 Republican National Convention The 1940 Republican National Convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from June 24 to June 28, 1940. It nominated Wendell Willkie of New York for president and Senator Charles McNary of Oregon for vice president. The contest for the ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, he was nominated for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Joseph N. Pew Jr. Joseph Newton Pew Jr. (November 12, 1886 – April 9, 1963) was an American industrialist and influential member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. Early life Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pew was the youngest son of J ...

He lasted for all six ballots, and endorsed the eventual winner,

Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 Republican nominee for President. Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican ...

Later life and death

In 1941, while still governor, James married Emily Radcliffe Case (1893-1984), a widow, and in 1943, when his term as governor ended, they returned to Plymouth where James resumed his law practice. In 1944, Governor Edward Martin appointed James to fill a vacancy on the Superior Court, on which he had previously served, but that same year he was defeated in a reelection bid to remain on the court, losing to Democrat F. Clair Ross. James died on April 27, 1973, at the age of 89, and is buried in Hanover Green Cemetery, Hanover Township, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Arthur H. 1883 births 1973 deaths Republican Party governors of Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governors of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania state court judges County district attorneys in Pennsylvania Candidates in the 1940 United States presidential election 20th-century American politicians People from Plymouth, Pennsylvania Dickinson School of Law alumni 20th-century American judges

Early life and career

Governor of Pennsylvania

Later life and death

See also

References

External links