James Earl Major (January 5, 1887 – January 4, 1972) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician. He served as a

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

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. Cou ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts: * Central District of Illinois * Northern District of Il ...

and a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois (in case citations, S.D. Ill.) is a federal district court covering approximately the southern third of the state of Illinois. Appeals from the Southern District of Illinois ...

Education and career

Born in Donnellson,

, Major attended the common and high schools of his native city. He graduated from

Brown's Business College Brown's Business College was a chain of business colleges located in the midwestern United States, started in Illinois in the 1870s by George W. Brown (1845-1918) of Jacksonville, Illinois.Kemp, Bill (29 November 2008)Brown's delivered white-collar ...

in 1907 and from the

Illinois College of Law Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

(now

DePaul University College of Law The DePaul University College of Law is the professional graduate law school of DePaul University in Chicago. The College of Law’s facilities encompass nine floors across two buildings, with features such as the Vincent G. Rinn Law Library and ...

) at

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1909. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1910 and commenced the practice of law in Hillsboro, Illinois in 1912. He served as prosecuting attorney of Montgomery County, Illinois from 1912 to 1920.

Congressional service

Major was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the 68th

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

, serving from March 4, 1923, to March 3, 1925. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1924 to the 69th Congress. He resumed the practice law in Hillsboro until he was elected to the 70th Congress, serving from March 4, 1927, to March 3, 1929. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1928 to the 71st Congress, but was elected to the 72nd and 73rd Congresses and served from March 4, 1931, until his resignation on October 6, 1933, having been appointed to the bench. During his final term, he was one of the managers appointed by the

United States House of Representatives 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in 1933 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against

Harold Louderback Harold Louderback (January 30, 1881 – December 11, 1941) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. He was the eleventh federal official to be served with articles of impeachm ...

, Judge of the

United States District Court for the Northern District of California The United States District Court for the Northern District of California (in case citations, N.D. Cal.) is the federal United States district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of California: Alameda, Contra Costa, Del ...

Federal judicial service

Major received a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the advi ...

from President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

on June 12, 1933, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Louis FitzHenry Louis FitzHenry (June 13, 1870 – November 18, 1935) was a United States representative from Illinois, a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and a United States district judge of the United S ...

. He was nominated to the same position by President Roosevelt on January 8, 1934. He was confirmed by 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 ...

on January 23, 1934, and received his commission on January 26, 1934. His service terminated on April 5, 1937, due to his elevation to the Seventh Circuit. Major was nominated by President Roosevelt on March 9, 1937, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

. He was confirmed by the Senate on March 17, 1937, and received his commission on March 23, 1937. He served as Chief Judge from 1948 to 1954 and served as a member of the

Judicial Conference of the United States The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial cour ...

from 1949 to 1954. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on March 23, 1956.

Death

Major died on January 4, 1972, in Hillsboro, where he had resided. He was interred in Oak Grove Cemetery.

References

Sources

* *

External links

James Earl Major
Historical Society of Montgomery County Illinois {{DEFAULTSORT:Major, James Earl 1887 births 1972 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois United States district court judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt 20th-century American judges Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois People from Hillsboro, Illinois