Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn (October 1, 1838September 12, 1918) 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 ...

Representative and Senator from Kentucky. Blackburn, a skilled and spirited orator, was also a prominent trial lawyer known for his skill at swaying juries.

Biography

Blackburn was born on October 1, 1838 near

Spring Station, Kentucky Spring Station, Kentucky is an unincorporated community in the northern part of Woodford County, Kentucky located approximately three miles west of Midway. The area is believed to have been settled during the early part of the 19th century and i ...

. He was the younger brother of Kentucky governor

Luke P. Blackburn Luke Pryor Blackburn (June 16, 1816September 14, 1887) was an American physician, philanthropist, and politician from Kentucky. He was elected the 28th governor of Kentucky, serving from 1879 to 1883. Until the election of Ernie Fletcher in 200 ...

. He attended Sayres Institute in Frankfort and graduated from Centre College in Danville in 1857. He studied law in Lexington and was admitted to the bar in 1858. He practiced in Chicago until 1860 when he returned to Woodford County, Kentucky and entered the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

as a private in 1861. A staff officer, by the end of the Civil War Blackburn had attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. After the war he settled in Arkansas where he was engaged as a lawyer and a planter in

Desha County Desha County ( ) is a county located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of Arkansas, with its eastern border the Mississippi River. At the 2010 census, the population was 13,008. It ranks 56th of Arkansas's 75 counties in terms of populati ...

until 1868 when he returned to Kentucky and opened law offices in Versailles. He was a member of the State house of representatives from 1871 to 1875. He was then elected as a Democrat to the Forty-fourth and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1875 - March 3, 1885). He was the chairman of the Committee on the District of Columbia (Forty-fifth Congress) and the

Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in the ...

(Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Congresses). In 1885, Lt. Henry T. Allen of the U.S. army named a mountain after Joseph Blackburn. Mount Blackburn is the highest peak in the Wrangell Mountains of the state of Alaska and the fifth highest peak in the United States. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1884, was reelected in 1890, and served from March 4, 1885, to March 3, 1897. He failed to be reelected in 1896. He was the chairman of the Committee on Rules (Fifty-third Congress). He was once again elected to the United States Senate in 1900 and served from March 4, 1901 to March 3, 1907, but failed in his next election bid in 1906. Loosely associated with the free-silver wing of the Democratic party, he was well-known nationally and his name was placed in nomination for the presidency in 1896. He was appointed Governor of the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

by President Theodore Roosevelt on April 1, 1907. He resigned and returned to his estate in Woodford County. He died on September 12, 1918 in Washington, D.C. He was interred in the State Cemetery in Frankfort.

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* , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackburn, JCS 1838 births 1918 deaths Arkansas lawyers Illinois lawyers Kentucky lawyers Centre College alumni American planters Democratic Party United States senators from Kentucky Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky People from Woodford County, Kentucky 19th-century American politicians People of Kentucky in the American Civil War Confederate States Army officers Farmers from Illinois Farmers from Arkansas 19th-century American lawyers

Biography

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Further reading

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