James Hay (January 9, 1856 – June 12, 1931) served in both houses of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

, was 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

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 ...

and a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

of the Court of Claims.

Education and career

Born on January 9, 1856, in Millwood,

Clarke County Clarke County may refer to: ;Places *One of five counties in the United States: **Clarke County, Alabama **Clarke County, Georgia **Clarke County, Iowa **Clarke County, Mississippi **Clarke County, Virginia Clarke County is a county in the Com ...

, Hay attended private schools, then the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

and received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1877 from the

Washington and Lee University School of Law The Washington and Lee University School of Law (W&L Law) is the professional graduate law school of Washington and Lee University. It is a private American Bar Association-accredited law school located in Lexington in the Shenandoah Valley reg ...

. He was a teacher in Harrisonburg, Virginia from 1877 to 1879. He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in Harrisonburg from 1877 to 1879. He continued private practice in

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, Virginia from 1879 to 1897. He was a commonwealth attorney for Madison County, Virginia from 1883 to 1896. He was a member of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

from 1885 to 1891, representing Greene County and Madison County. He was a member of the

Senate of Virginia The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

from 1893 to 1897, representing

Culpeper County Culpeper County is a county located along the borderlands of the northern and central region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 52,552. Its county seat and only incorporated community is Culp ...

Rappahannock County Rappahannock County is a county located in the northern Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, US, adjacent to Shenandoah National Park. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 7,348. Its county seat is Washington. The name "Rappaha ...

, Madison County and

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. He was a member of the Democratic State committee in 1888. He was delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

in 1888.

Congressional service

Hay 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

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 ...

of the

55th United States Congress The 55th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1897, to M ...

and to the nine succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1897, until his resignation on October 1, 1916. He was Chairman of the

United States House Committee on Military Affairs United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

for the 62nd through

64th United States Congress The 64th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1915, to M ...

es.

Military preparedness

Hay was involved in the "

Preparedness Movement The Preparedness Movement was a campaign led by former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, Leonard Wood, and former President Theodore Roosevelt to strengthen the U.S. military after the outbreak of World War I. Wood advocated a summer training sc ...

" of 1915 to 1916, and in response to which he drafted and pushed through the

National Defense Act of 1916 The National Defense Act of 1916, , was a United States federal law that updated the Militia Act of 1903, which related to the organization of the military, particularly the National Guard. The principal change of the act was to supersede provi ...

Federal judicial service

Hay was nominated by 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 ...

on July 15, 1916, to a seat on the Court of Claims (later the

United States Court of Claims The Court of Claims was a federal court that heard claims against the United States government. It was established in 1855, renamed in 1948 to the United States Court of Claims (), and abolished in 1982. Then, its jurisdiction was assumed by the n ...

) vacated by Judge

George W. Atkinson George Wesley Atkinson (June 29, 1845 – April 4, 1925), a cavalryman, lawyer, politician, judge and scholar, became the 10th Governor of West Virginia after running as the candidate of the Republican Party. He also served in the West Virgini ...

. 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 July 17, 1916, and received his commission the same day. 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 November 30, 1927. His service terminated on June 12, 1931, due to his death in Madison. He was interred in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Madison.

Electoral history

*1896; Hay was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 55.81% of the vote, defeating Republican Robert J. Walker, NtD (?) J. Samuel Harrisberger, and Independent John F. Forsyth. *1898; Hay was re-elected with 77.05% of the vote, defeating SilD (?) D.C. O'Flaherty. *1900; Hay was re-elected with 63.35% of the vote, defeating Republican C.M. Gibbens. *1902; Hay was re-elected with 64.68% of the vote, defeating Republican Samuel J. Hoffman. *1904; Hay was re-elected with 64.65% of the vote, defeating Republican Charles M. Kelzel. *1906; Hay was re-elected unopposed. *1908; Hay was re-elected with 62.85% of the vote, defeating Republican L. Pritchard. *1910; Hay was re-elected with 57.96% of the vote, defeating Republican John Paul and Independent Hugh S. Lupton. *1912; Hay was re-elected with 71.54% of the vote, defeating Republican George N. Earman and Independent E.C. Garrison. *1914; Hay was re-elected with 86.96% of the vote, defeating Republican E.C. Garrison.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hay, James 1856 births 1931 deaths Democratic Party Virginia state senators Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Washington and Lee University School of Law alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Judges of the United States Court of Claims Virginia lawyers People from Millwood, Virginia People from Madison, Virginia United States Article I federal judges appointed by Woodrow Wilson 20th-century American judges Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia