James Paul "Buck" Buchanan (April 30, 1867 – February 22, 1937) served as
U.S. Representative from the
10th district of Texas from 1913 until his death on February 22, 1937.
Biography
Buchanan was born in Midway,
Orangeburg County, South Carolina, on April 30, 1867; later that year, his family moved to Texas and settled near
Chappell Hill
Chappell Hill is a small rural unincorporated community in the eastern portion of Washington County, Texas, United States. It is located along U.S. Highway 290 roughly halfway between Brenham and Hempstead. Chappell Hill is located inside Ste ...
in
Washington County. He attended the local schools of Chappell Hill, and in 1889 he received his law degree from the
University of Texas at Austin
Later in 1889, Buchanan began a law practice in Washington County, and almost immediately became involved in politics as a
Democrat. He served as a county justice of the peace from 1889 to 1892, and as the county's prosecuting attorney from 1892 to 1899. From 1899 to 1906, Buchanan was the district attorney for the twenty-first judicial district.
Buchanan was a member of the
Texas House of Representatives from 1906 to 1913. In 1913, he was elected to the Sixty-third Congress, filling the vacancy left by the resignation of
Albert Sidney Burleson
Albert Sidney Burleson (June 7, 1863 – November 24, 1937) was a progressive Democrat who served as United States Postmaster General and Representative in Congress. He was a strong supporter of William Jennings Bryan and Woodrow Wilson, so Wil ...
. Buchanan was elected to a full term in the Sixty-fourth Congress, and won reelection eleven times. He served in the US House from April 15, 1913 to February 22, 1937, and was the chairman of the
House Committee on Appropriations from 1933 until his death.
During the 1930s, Buchanan was recognized as a member of the Miller Group, conservative Democrats who were opposed to
Franklin D. Roosevelt and the
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
, and led by lobbyist
Henry Pomeroy Miller.
Death and burial
Buchanan died in
Washington, D.C., on February 22, 1937. He was buried at Prairie Lea Cemetery in
Brenham, Texas
Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, United States, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the county seat of Washington County.
Washington County is known as the "Birthplace of Texas, ...
.
He was succeeded in Congress by
Lyndon B. Johnson, then the head of the
National Youth Administration in Texas and an ardent New Dealer, who later became the 36th President of the United States.
Legacy
Buchanan Dam and the lake it forms,
Lake Buchanan, are named in his honor. Both are located about 12 miles (19 km) west of
Burnet, Texas.
See also
*
References
External links
*
*
A Guide to the James Paul Buchanan Papers, 1896-1954
*
1867 births
1937 deaths
People from Orangeburg County, South Carolina
People from Chappell Hill, Texas
University of Texas School of Law alumni
Texas lawyers
Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives
Death in Washington, D.C.
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas
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