Riley Joseph Wilson (November 12, 1871 – February 23, 1946) was a

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

educator, attorney and

legislator A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...

in the first half of the late 19th century and the first

decade A decade () is a period of ten years. Decades may describe any ten-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement that "du ...

s of the 20th century. 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 ...

, Wilson served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from 1915 until 1937. He was defeated for renomination in 1936 by Newt V. Mills.

Biography

Wilson was born near Goldonna in

Natchitoches Parish Natchitoches Parish (french: Paroisse des Natchitoches or ) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 39,566. The parish seat is Natchitoches. The parish was formed in 1805. The Natchito ...

. In 1894, he graduated from Iuka Normal Institute in Iuka in

Tishomingo County Tishomingo County is a county located in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 19,593. Its county seat is Iuka. History Tishomingo County was organized February 9, 1836, from Ch ...

in the far northeastern corner of

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. From 1895 to 1897, he was the principal of Harrisonburg High School in Harrisonburg, the seat of Catahoula Parish. Wilson studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

privately, was admitted to the bar in 1898, and thereafter opened his practice in Harrisonburg.

Political career

Prior to his service in the U.S. Congress, Wilson was a district attorney, state district court judge, and, from 1900 to 1904, a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. He succeeded a

Populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

state legislator, Henry Breithaupt. Wilson and

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Oramel H. Simpson were the two unsuccessful gubernatorial candidates in the 1928 Democratic primary. They lost to the legendary Huey Pierce Long, Jr., at the time a member of the

Louisiana Public Service Commission The Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) is an independent regulatory agency which manages public utilities and motor carriers in Louisiana. The commission has five elected members chosen in single-member districts for staggered six-year te ...

. Long claimed that Wilson carried the support of "a bunch of stuffed shirts calling themselves Square Dealers" whereas Simpson was backed by "a gang of cutthroats and liars from

Bourbon Street Bourbon Street (french: Rue Bourbon, es, Calle de Borbón) is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Extending thirteen blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its many bars an ...

brothels and those moth-eaten aristocrats sipping their booze and branch water on rich plantations."

Bill Dodd William Joseph Dodd (November 25, 1909 – November 16, 1991) was an American politician who held five positions in the Louisiana state government in the mid-20th century, including state representative, lieutenant governor, state auditor, pre ...

, ''Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics'' (Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Claitor's Publishers, 1991), p. 166. Long claimed that Wilson and Simpson reminded him of "the old medicine man who used to come to Winnfield when I was a boy. That old faker, with his worthless cure-alls, would skin a widow woman out of her last dollar and make her think his medicine would cure anything from toe itch to whooping cough. ilson and Simpsonare just alike and are being supported by the same smelly medicine men." One of Wilson's congressional aides was State Representative Rupert Peyton, who served from 1932 to 1936. Peyton was also a Shreveport

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

Later career and death

Wilson spent his later years in Ruston, the seat of Lincoln Parish in north Louisiana, where he died at the age of seventy-four. He is interred there at Greenwood Cemetery.

References

* . Retrieved on November 21, 2006

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Riley Politicians from Ruston, Louisiana People from Catahoula Parish, Louisiana People from Goldonna, Louisiana 1946 deaths 1871 births Educators from Louisiana Louisiana lawyers Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Louisiana state court judges Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana Huey Long