James Donald Cameron (May 14, 1833 – August 30, 1918) was an American politician from
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, ...
who served as
Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
under President
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
and 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 ...
for nearly twenty years. In May, 1876 Cameron was part of a Cabinet realignment by President Grant, having been appointed after a brief tenure by Secretary
Alphonso Taft
Alphonso Taft (November 5, 1810 – May 21, 1891) was an American jurist, diplomat, politician, Attorney General and Secretary of War under President Ulysses S. Grant. He was also the founder of the Taft political dynasty, and father of President ...
, whom Grant appointed U.S. Attorney General. Former Secretary
William W. Belknap had resigned from office, was impeached by the House for taking
kickbacks
A kickback is a form of negotiated bribery in which a commission is paid to the bribe-taker in exchange for services rendered. Generally speaking, the remuneration (money, goods, or services handed over) is negotiated ahead of time. The kickbac ...
from the Fort Sill tradership, put on trial in the Senate and acquitted. Secretary Cameron was one of two father-son combinations that served as Secretary of War. Cameron's father,
Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron (March 8, 1799June 26, 1889) was an American businessman and politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate and served as United States Secretary of War under President Abraham Lincoln at the start of the Americ ...
, served in that office under President
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
. The other father-son combination was Secretary Alphonso Taft and his son Secretary
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
. During Cameron's tenure the U.S. military was challenged by the
Great Sioux War
The Great Sioux War of 1876, also known as the Black Hills War, was a series of battles and negotiations that occurred in 1876 and 1877 in an alliance of Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne against the United States. The cause of the war was the ...
and by the threat of a second Southern secession after the controversial election of President
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governo ...
that ended
Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
. Cameron proved to be an energetic administrator and his appointment as Secretary of War launched his lengthy political career in the Senate.
Cameron was raised and educated near
Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...
,
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, ...
. After graduating from
Princeton College
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
, Cameron worked in the banking and railroad industries. In May 1876, Cameron was appointed Secretary of War by President
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
serving until March 1877. After leaving the Grant Cabinet, Cameron was elected Senator by the Pennsylvania legislature, under the control of Senator Simon Cameron, his father. Cameron served as
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, ...
's U.S. Senator from 1877 to 1897, and as chairman on two powerful Senate committees. After leaving the Senate, Cameron worked in various industrial businesses until his death in 1918. Cameron was the last surviving cabinet member of the Grant Administration.
Cameron's senatorial career, spanning nearly 20 years, was mostly undistinguished, voting the party line. Senatorial ''bossism'', practiced by Cameron, who ran the
Pennsylvania machine, was significantly curbed by the passage of the
17th Amendment in May 1913, that mandated U.S. senators be elected by the popular vote of the people.
Early life
James Donald Cameron was born on May 14, 1833 in
Middletown, Pennsylvania in the
family home, the first-born son of
Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron (March 8, 1799June 26, 1889) was an American businessman and politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate and served as United States Secretary of War under President Abraham Lincoln at the start of the Americ ...
, the 26th Secretary of War under President
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
and a powerful
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, ...
politician. Cameron's mother was Margaret Brua. Cameron was commonly referred to as "Don." Having received his elementary education in Harrisburg, Cameron enrolled in
Princeton College
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
(today
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
); he graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
in 1852 and received a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...
degree in 1855.
[New York Times (May 23, 1876), ''The Presidency'']
Banking and railroad career
After leaving Princeton, Cameron's father Simon placed Cameron as a clerk at the successful Middleton Bank; whose main investments were in the iron, coal, and lumber businesses of Pennsylvania.
[ Cameron worked his way up to being cashier and then president of the bank. As an executive of the ]Northern Central Railway
The Northern Central Railway (NCRY) was a Class I Railroad connecting Baltimore, Maryland with Sunbury, Pennsylvania, along the Susquehanna River. Completed in 1858, the line came under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in 1861, whe ...
during the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
, Cameron managed the flow of supplies and soldiers from the northeastern states to Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
and Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, including efforts to keep the railroad open despite Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
attempt to damage or destroy it. From 1866 to December 1874 Cameron was president of the Northern Central.[ As bank president, Cameron was able to improve the financial condition of the railroad. After leaving the Railroad, Cameron worked in various industrial enterprises in Pennsylvania.][
]
Secretary of War
In 1876, President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
appointed Cameron to his cabinet as Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
, a post his father once served in during the Lincoln administration
The presidency of Abraham Lincoln began on March 4, 1861, when Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the 16th president of the United States, and ended upon his assassination and death on April 15, 1865, days into his second term. Lincoln was th ...
, to succeed Alphonso Taft
Alphonso Taft (November 5, 1810 – May 21, 1891) was an American jurist, diplomat, politician, Attorney General and Secretary of War under President Ulysses S. Grant. He was also the founder of the Taft political dynasty, and father of President ...
, who became Attorney General, and served as so until the end of Grant's presidency. Cameron's predecessor, Alphonso Taft
Alphonso Taft (November 5, 1810 – May 21, 1891) was an American jurist, diplomat, politician, Attorney General and Secretary of War under President Ulysses S. Grant. He was also the founder of the Taft political dynasty, and father of President ...
, had initially replaced William W. Belknap, who had abruptly resigned over taking profit payments from the Fort Sill tradership. The Secretary of War had been given control over all Indian traderships in 1870. Belknap was impeached by the House, and during the summer of 1876 was tried and acquitted by the Senate. Cameron's appointment as Secretary of War was part of a sensational three move realignment by President Grant.[ U.S. Attorney General Edwards Pierrepont was appointed Minister to ]England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
; Secretary Taft was appointed U.S. Attorney General; and Cameron was appointed Secretary of War, on the advice of his father, Senator Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron (March 8, 1799June 26, 1889) was an American businessman and politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate and served as United States Secretary of War under President Abraham Lincoln at the start of the Americ ...
.[ Cameron had never served political office until appointed Secretary of War.][ Cameron had to quickly acquaint himself with the War Department that was in the midst of fighting the ]Great Sioux War
The Great Sioux War of 1876, also known as the Black Hills War, was a series of battles and negotiations that occurred in 1876 and 1877 in an alliance of Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne against the United States. The cause of the war was the ...
. After the controversial 1876 Presidential election, Cameron had to contend with the Southern States who threatened to secede from the United States a second time. According to General of the Army William T. Sherman
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, the U.S. military during 1876 was as active as it had been since the Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
.
Secretary Cameron requested legislation from Congress that required war contractors be required to stand by their bids for a definite time period. Secretary Cameron requested funding from Congress through allocations that paid for the War of Rebellion Records, for the preservation Mathew Brady's American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
photographs.
The U.S. Military, including the Army, headed by Cameron, and Navy, headed by Secretary George M. Robeson
George Maxwell Robeson (March 16, 1829 – September 27, 1897) was an American politician and lawyer from New Jersey. A brigadier general in the New Jersey Militia during the American Civil War, he served as Secretary of the Navy, appointed by Pr ...
, were also in a technological transition developing submarine technology; and torpedo mines and ships to protect United States' waterways and harbors.
Great Sioux War
Without ever holding political office, Secretary of War Cameron had to immediately contend with the Great Sioux War
The Great Sioux War of 1876, also known as the Black Hills War, was a series of battles and negotiations that occurred in 1876 and 1877 in an alliance of Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne against the United States. The cause of the war was the ...
and quickly become acquainted with the bureaucracy of the War Department. When gold was discovered in the Black Hills, miners began to invade Indian territory given by the federal government to the Sioux tribe under the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868
The Treaty of Fort Laramie (also the Sioux Treaty of 1868) is an agreement between the United States and the Oglala, Miniconjou, and Brulé bands of Lakota people, Yanktonai Dakota and Arapaho Nation, following the failure of the first Fo ...
. In addition, the federal government planned to put a route of the Northern Pacific Railroad
The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whi ...
through the Sioux and Cheyenne buffalo hunting grounds. After negotiation for the sale of Sioux land failed in May 1875, President Grant ordered all non-treaty bands to return to the reservation. When Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse refused to comply, Secretary of Interior Zachariah Chandler
Zachariah Chandler (December 10, 1813 – November 1, 1879) was an American businessman, politician, one of the founders of the Republican Party, whose radical wing he dominated as a lifelong abolitionist. He was mayor of Detroit, a four-term sena ...
handed over the jurisdiction of the hostile Indians to the War Department on January 31, 1876, launching the Great Sioux War.
Three battles took place during summer 1876 while Cameron was in charge of the War Department: including the Battle of Rosebud
The Battle of the Rosebud (also known as the Battle of Rosebud Creek) took place on June 17, 1876, in the Montana Territory between the United States Army and its Crow and Shoshoni allies against a force consisting mostly of Lakota Sioux and Nor ...
, the Battle of the Little Big Horn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...
, and the Battle of Slim Buttes. By October 1876, the War Department, under Secretary Cameron, had increased troop levels at Western Indian Agencies to crack down on Indian resistance. This was to prevent another massacre that had taken the lives of Colonel George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars.
Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...
and the 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. After all hostile Indians were rounded up a new treaty was signed that ceded the Black Hills to the federal government.
Presidential election 1876 crisis
After the controversial Presidential election of 1876 the majority of electoral votes for Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governo ...
and Democratic candidate Samuel J. Tilden were disputed in the Reconstructed states of Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
and Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. Secretary of War Cameron allowed military troops stationed in both contested states to be at the disposal of Republican politicians. Previously in June, 1876 at the Republican National convention Secretary Cameron was instrumental in nominating Hayes as the Republican candidate. In his 1876 ''Annual Report'' Cameron mentioned that General of the Army William T. Sherman
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, notifying the War Department, said Southern states threatened to secede from the Union if Tilden was not elected. President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
responded through the War Department by having troops concentrated in Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
under Brigadier General Christopher C. Augur and reinforced in North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
under Brigadier General Thomas H. Ruger. These stationed troops and the delicate and prudent actions of both generals, Augur and Ruger, to keep peace, prevented a second Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. A Presidential commission set up by Congress and President Grant in 1877 finally chose Hayes to be elected President of the United States.["Hayes v. Tilden: The Electoral College Controversy of 1876–1877." HarpWeek.](_blank)
Cameron's father, Senator Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron (March 8, 1799June 26, 1889) was an American businessman and politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate and served as United States Secretary of War under President Abraham Lincoln at the start of the Americ ...
, and other Republican politicians lobbied President Hayes that Cameron remain Secretary of War, however President Hayes refused, not wanting to be part of any Cameron political dynasty and having desired to nominate his own Cabinet.
U.S. Senator
In March 1877, his father resigned his 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 ...
, after receiving assurance that his son would be elected to succeed him by the state legislature. Later that month Cameron was elected Elected may refer to:
* "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973
* ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008
*The Elected, an American indie rock band
See also
*Election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...
by the Pennsylvania Legislature
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvani ...
. He was reelected three more times serving for a total of twenty years. He served as chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs from 1881 to 1891 and again from 1895 to 1897 and as chairman of the Committee on Revolutionary Claims
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
from 1893 to 1895. Cameron also served as chairman of the Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. Political action committee, political committee that assists the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republi ...
from 1879 to 1880.
Cameron was an active politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
who, with the initial aid of his father Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron (March 8, 1799June 26, 1889) was an American businessman and politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate and served as United States Secretary of War under President Abraham Lincoln at the start of the Americ ...
, and his political ally Matthew Quay
Matthew Stanley "Matt" Quay (September 30, 1833May 28, 1904) was an American politician of the Republican Party who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1887 until 1899 and from 1901 until his death in 1904. Quay's control ...
, set up a political machine in the Pennsylvania legislature that ensured Cameron would be reelected to office. Senator Cameron rarely gave speeches, and he was viewed as being judicious, unemotional, and reticent. Cameron disapproved of the popular artful oratory methods used by his contemporaries while his own speeches were forceful and direct. Adopting his father's method, Cameron's strength as a politician relied on working inside the antechamber, committees, and caucuses
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures.
The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...
to obtain his goals. Cameron would ally with other pro-free silver Republicans to block the passage of the Federal Elections Bill
The Lodge Bill of 1890, also referred to as the Federal Elections Bill or by critics as the Lodge Force Bill, was a proposed bill to ensure the security of elections for U.S. Representatives.
It was drafted and proposed by Representative Henry Cab ...
, that ensured African Americans' voting protection rights in the Solid South
The Solid South or Southern bloc was the electoral voting bloc of the states of the Southern United States for issues that were regarded as particularly important to the interests of Democrats in those states. The Southern bloc existed especial ...
. On the whole, Cameron's nearly twenty years in the Senate remained undistinguished while for the most part he voted on the Republican Party line. Cameron, like his father, protected the interest of the Pennsylvania Railroad ''PRR'', ensuring that Pennsylvania government House Speakers E. Reed Myer and his successor Henry M. Long, remained sympathetic to the ''PRR''.
Cameron was re-elected in 1879, 1885, and in 1891 with his last term ending in March 1897. He was succeeded by Boies Penrose
Boies Penrose (November 1, 1860 – December 31, 1921) was an American lawyer and Republican politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
After serving in both houses of the Pennsylvania legislature, he represented Pennsylvania in the United ...
.
Later career
After not being a candidate for reelection in 1896, Cameron engaged in several business enterprises in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Death and burial
Cameron died on August 30, 1918 at his country home called "Donegal" ( Cameron Estate) in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Cameron was interred at Harrisburg Cemetery
Harrisburg Cemetery, sometimes referred to as Mount Kalmia Cemetery, is a prominent rural cemetery and national historic district in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, located at 13th and Liberty streets in the Allison Hill/East Harrisburg neighborhoods ...
in Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...
, 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, ...
. Cameron was the last surviving Cabinet member of the Grant Administration.
Historical reputation
Cameron was part of a political family dynasty started by his father Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron (March 8, 1799June 26, 1889) was an American businessman and politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate and served as United States Secretary of War under President Abraham Lincoln at the start of the Americ ...
carrying on his legacy as Secretary of War and U.S. Senator. Cameron's ascendancy to Secretary of War, was started when a Democratic controlled House launched an investigation in 1876 into Secretary of War William W. Belknap, who abruptly resigned office over bribery charges. Succeeding Alphonso Taft
Alphonso Taft (November 5, 1810 – May 21, 1891) was an American jurist, diplomat, politician, Attorney General and Secretary of War under President Ulysses S. Grant. He was also the founder of the Taft political dynasty, and father of President ...
as Secretary of War, Cameron was in charge of the Great Sioux War and the controversial Election of 1876, that almost caused a second civil war. Cameron was part of a transitional period when civilian control was reestablished over the War Department during the end of Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
. As Senator, Cameron was known as a quiet, but powerful, political boss during the Gilded Age, who supported African American voting rights. Cameron followed in his father Simon's footsteps, protecting the railroad interests of the ''PPR'', in control of Pennsylvania Republican Party politics.
According to Cameron's biographer Howard Meneely, Cameron "made politics, not statesmanship, his principle public business." However, Meneely admired Cameron for breaking from the rest of his party and opposing the African American 1890 voting rights legislation, "Force Bill", saying that Cameron "showed admirable and courageous independence," and demonstrating the racist tendencies common among historians of the era. Meneely concluded that Cameron was " oroughly honest in personal matters" and "held in high regard by his friends". As a political boss, Cameron "took over the active management" of Pennsylvania's political machine created by his father, and "with the aid of lieutenants like Matthew Quay
Matthew Stanley "Matt" Quay (September 30, 1833May 28, 1904) was an American politician of the Republican Party who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1887 until 1899 and from 1901 until his death in 1904. Quay's control ...
ran it skillfully and defiantly as long as he remained in public life."
On April 17, 1913 the 17th Amendment was ratified that mandated the popular vote to elect U.S. Senators, rather than being chosen by state legislatures.[17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)]
/ref> The Senate by this time was known as a "Millionaires Club" and political machines, such as the one Cameron ran in Pennsylvania, controlled who would be elected Senator.
Marriages, family, and estate
Cameron married Mary McCormick on May 20, 1856, and together they had six children: Eliza McCormick Cameron (born 1857), who married William H. Bradley; Virginia Rolette Cameron (born 1861), who married Lt. Alexander Rodgers; James McCormick Cameron (born 1865); Mary Cameron (born 1867); Margaretta Brua Cameron (born 1869), who married John William Clark; and Rachel Burnside Cameron (born 1871).
Cameron's second wife, the former Elizabeth Sherman, whom he married in 1878, was the niece of William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...
and John Sherman
John Sherman (May 10, 1823October 22, 1900) was an American politician from Ohio throughout the Civil War and into the late nineteenth century. A member of the Republican Party, he served in both houses of the U.S. Congress. He also served as ...
and a close friend of Henry Brooks Adams. Their daughter, Martha Cameron (born 1886), married Sir Ronald Charles Lindsay in 1909.
Second wife and two daughters
File:Elizabeth Cameron.jpg, Elizabeth Cameron, second wife of Senator Donald Cameron, Pa, ca. 1890 and ca. 1910
File:Miss Rachel Cameron.jpg, Rachel Cameron, daughter of Senator Donald Cameron, Pa, ca. 1896
File:Martha Cameron, daughter of Senator Donald Cameron, Pa.jpg, Martha Cameron, daughter of Senator Donald Cameron, Pa, ca. 1896
Donegal
When Cameron died in 1918, his estate, which had been put in trust, was worth $4 million (equivalent to $ million in ).[New York Times (August 31, 1918), ''Don Cameron Dies; 20 Years A Senator''] Cameron had purchased his father Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron (March 8, 1799June 26, 1889) was an American businessman and politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate and served as United States Secretary of War under President Abraham Lincoln at the start of the Americ ...
's affectionately known farm estate, " Donegal", on the Susquehanna River in Lancaster County.[ Cameron lived at "Donegal" during the summer while during the winter he lived on his ]house boat
A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a home. Most houseboats are not motorized as they are usually moored or kept stationary at a fixed point, and often tethered to land to provide utilities. Ho ...
off the South Carolina
)'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
coast.[
The Cameron Estate (''Donegal'') was originally granted by ]William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
to James Stephenson, who was the great-great-great-great-grandfather of William McKinley
William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...
. Cameron's father, Simon Cameron, had purchased the property from Nathanial Watson. ''Donegal'' was the home of Cameron's daughter Mary Cameron. In 1961, Cameron's granddaughter, Mary Hale Chase, sold the estate to Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown College (informally E-town) is a private college in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.
History
Founding and early years
Founded in 1899, Elizabethtown College is one of many higher learning institutions founded in the 19th century by ...
. Charles Baugher, president of the college, designated the property for faculty and student housing, while hosting a satellite campus for special education in collaboration with the Downingtown Special School. In 1979, the college sold the Cameron Estate to a private party. ''Donegal'' is currently the ''Cameron Estate Inn & Restaurant''.Cameron Estate Inn & Restaurant
(2013)
See also
* Bibliography of Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States (1869–1877) following his success as military commander in the American Civil War. Under Grant, the Union Army defeate ...
References
Sources
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External links
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J. Donald Cameron Biography
in ''Secretaries of War and Secretaries of the Army'' a publication of the United States Army Center of Military History
The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Ar ...
Bird's eye view of Cameron's ''Donegal'' Estate
''Bing maps''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, James Donald
1833 births
1918 deaths
19th-century American politicians
19th-century American railroad executives
American political bosses from Pennsylvania
Burials at Harrisburg Cemetery
Grant administration cabinet members
People from Middletown, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Republicans
Princeton University alumni
Politicians from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Republican National Committee chairs
Republican Party United States senators from Pennsylvania
United States Secretaries of War
Stalwarts (Republican Party)