James Walter Wall (May 26, 1820June 9, 1872) was an American politician who served as a
United States Senator
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 powe ...
from
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
in 1863, a leader of the Peace movement 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 ...
. A member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Flushing, Queens, and graduated from the College of New Jersey (now
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 ...
) in 1838. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1841 and commenced practice in Trenton. Served as commissioner in bankruptcy.
Wall moved to Burlington, New Jersey in 1847, and was elected Mayor of Burlington, New Jersey in 1850; he was nominated for the Democratic nomination for Congress in 1850, but declined. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1854 to the
Thirty-fourth United States Congress
The 34th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1855, ...
. Wall supported
John C. Breckinridge
John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...
in the presidential election of 1860, then was involved in the "editorial direction of the New York ''Daily News'', a peace organ that the government suppressed in August 1861."
The 12 September 1861 edition of ''The New York Times'' reported the arrest of Wall on charges of "secession proclivities". There was a rumor in Trenton that other arrests would be made. He was confined in
Fort Lafayette
Fort Lafayette was an island coastal fortification in the Narrows of New York Harbor, built offshore from Fort Hamilton at the southern tip of what is now Bay Ridge in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The fort was built on a natural island ...
for several weeks. Political prisoner Wall was released with George L. Bowne and
Pierce Butler Pierce or Piers Butler may refer to:
*Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond (c. 1467 – 26 August 1539), Anglo-Irish nobleman in the Peerage of Ireland
*Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye (1652–1740), Anglo-Irish nobleman in the Peerage of Ireland
* P ...
(married to Frances ("Fanny") Kemble).
Released after pledging allegiance to the Union, Wall wrote a letter to the editor stating: "There, if the great principles of constitutional liberty are not a delusion and a snare, and our boasted freedom a sham, may yet be found a place of refuge for liberty against despotism -- the oppressed from the oppressor." Wall, a newspaper editor, was alluding to the presence 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 ...
at the bar of the Continental Hotel in Philadelphia. Cameron had ordered his arrest. The New York Times published Wall's letter on the first anniversary of the Pratt Street Riot.
Wall was elected by the New Jersey legislature 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 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 ...
to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John Renshaw Thomson and served from January 14 to March 3, 1863. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection.
Wall was a shameless literary plagiarist: entire pages of description of Italy in his 1856 book ''Foreign Etchings'' were stolen without attribution from a 1849 book ''Notes of a two years' residence in Italy'' by the Irishman Hamilton Geale.
Wall resumed the practice of law in Burlington; also engaged in literary pursuits. He moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1869, where he died, aged 52. He was buried in Saint Mary's Episcopal Churchyard in Burlington, New Jersey.St. Mary's Churchyard at
The Political Graveyard
The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...
The Political Graveyard
The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...