James Overton Broadhead (May 29, 1819 – August 7, 1898) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

lawyer and

political figure 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, a ...

. He was a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

and of the

Missouri Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 174,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...

, he was also the first president of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

.Ross, Kirby ''James O. Broadhead: Ardent Unionist, Unrepentant Slaveholder'', 2002. Retrieved fro
here
on March 23, 2007

Biography

Broadhead was born in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

, and studied law at

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, after a one-year stay in the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. Having received his licence, Broadhead began a private practice in 1842 at

Bowling Green, Missouri Bowling Green is a city in Pike County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,334 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Pike County. History Bowling Green was settled in 1819, and designated county seat in 1824. Settled chiefly b ...

.''West's Encyclopedia of American Law'', 1998, retrieved fro
here
on March 23, 2007 Joining the Missouri Constitutional Convention in 1845, it a year later that he participated in the Missouri House of Representatives. From 1850 until 1853 he also served in the Missouri Senate before returning to private practice as a partner in a law firm back in St Louis. He formed the Committee of Safety to oppose the growing southern factions in the lead up to 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 th ...

and was a member of the Missouri Constitutional Convention that declared Missouri's loyalty to the Union in 1861. Broadhead was commissioned as a lieutenant-colonel in the 3rd Missouri cavalry and assigned to General Schofield, and was also served as an advisor for the preliminary constitution which dictated the government of Missouri during the Civil War. Attending the Missouri State Constitutional Convention in 1875, Broadhead worked closely on the Whisky Ring bribery cases in 1876. In 1878 he was chosen as the president of the new American Bar Association.Johnson, Rossiter, ''Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, - Vol. I-X (10)'' Boston, MA: The Biographical Society, 1904. Retrieved fro
here
on March 23, 2007 Between 1883 and 1885 Broadhead represented Missouri in the House of Representatives as a Democrat, as well as being a member of the Judiciary Committee, as special commissioner to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and later minister to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

in 1885 and 1893 until 1897. Resuming private practice, Broadhead returned to St Louis, where he died in 1898. During his campaign for Congress in 1882, the ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-Dem ...

'' began running articles critical of Broadhead at the direction of John Cockerill, the managing editor. Col.

Alonzo W. Slayback Alonzo William Slayback (1838–1882), a lawyer, was an officer in the Confederate Army and a founder of the Veiled Prophet Parade and Ball in St. Louis, Missouri. He was shot and killed in self-defense by the managing editor of the ''St. Louis Po ...

, a close friend and law partner of Broadhead, stormed into Cockerill's offices, demanding that Cockerill apologize. Cockerill shot and killed Slayback, claiming self-defense, and a grand jury refused to indict him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Broadhead, James 1819 births 1898 deaths Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Democratic Party Missouri state senators Presidents of the American Bar Association Ambassadors of the United States to Switzerland Politicians from Charlottesville, Virginia 19th-century American diplomats Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri 19th-century American politicians People from Bowling Green, Missouri Founding members of the American Bar Association 19th-century American lawyers