John Knight Shields (August 15, 1858September 30, 1934) was a

Democratic 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 ...

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 p ...

from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

from 1913 to 1925. He also served as an associate justice on the

Tennessee Supreme Court The Tennessee Supreme Court is the ultimate judicial tribunal of the state of Tennessee. Roger A. Page is the Chief Justice. Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general is directly elected or appointed by the governor or state leg ...

Biography

Shields was born at his family's estate "Clinchdale", near the early pioneer settlement of Bean's Station, Tennessee in

Grainger County Grainger County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,527. Its county seat is Rutledge. Grainger County is a part of both the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area and Morristown ...

. His education as a

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was by private

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s, a sign of the family's affluence. He studied law and was admitted to the Tennessee

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in 1879. He practiced in the counties surrounding his home until 1893, when he was named Chancellor of the former 12th Chancery Division. The next year, he resumed private practice in nearby

Morristown Morristown may refer to: Places Canada *Morristown, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States * Morristown, Arizona *Morristown, Indiana ** Morristown station (Indiana) *Morristown, Minnesota ** Morristown Township, Rice County, Minnesota *Morris ...

, in Hamblen County. In 1902, Shields was nominated in the Democratic primary to succeed retiring incumbent David L. Snodgrass to become an associate justice of the

,"No Deadlock", ''Knoxville Sentinel'' (January 20, 1902), p. 4. an office which he held until 1910 when he was named chief justice. He resigned that post in 1913, becoming the last Tennessean elected to the U.S. Senate by the

Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title ...

prior to the 17th Amendment coming into effect. Shields was popularly reelected in 1918 but in 1924 lost the Democratic nomination to

Lawrence Tyson Lawrence Davis Tyson (July 4, 1861August 24, 1929) was an American general, politician and textile manufacturer, operating primarily out of Knoxville, Tennessee, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As s btigadier general, he commanded ...

, and returned to the private practice of law, this time in

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state ...

. While in the Senate, Shields served as the chairman of several committees. He chaired the Committee on Canadian Relations in the 63rd and 64th Congresses, the Committee on Interoceanic Canals in the 65th Congress, and the Committee on the Sale of Meat Products in the

66th Congress The 66th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, comprising the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1919, to Ma ...

. Shields died at his estate "Clinchdale" and is buried in Knoxville's Memorial Cemetery.

References

External links

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John K. Shields Papers
University of Tennessee Knoxville Libraries {{DEFAULTSORT:Shields, John K. 1858 births 1934 deaths Chief Justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court Democratic Party United States senators from Tennessee Tennessee Democrats People from Bean Station, Tennessee People from Morristown, Tennessee Politicians from Knoxville, Tennessee