Thomas Allen Jenckes I (November 2, 1818 – November 4, 1875) was a United States representative from
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
. Jenckes was best known for introducing a bill that created the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
. President
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
then signed the bill into law on June 22, 1870. Jenckes was also an avid supporter of civil service reform.
Biography
Thomas Jenckes was born in
Cumberland, Rhode Island
Cumberland is the northeasternmost town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, first settled in 1635 and incorporated in 1746. The population was 36,405 at the 2020 census, making it the seventh-largest municipality and the largest t ...
on November 2, 1818.
He graduated from
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
in 1838. Jenckes was admitted to the Rhode Island
state bar
A state bar association is a bar association that represents or seeks to represent the attorneys practicing law in a particular U.S. state. Their functions differ from state to state, but often include administration of the state bar examination fo ...
in 1840. He was clerk in the
Rhode Island state legislature from 1840 until 1844. From 1854 until 1857 he was a member of the State house of representatives. He was elected as Republican to the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
in 1863 and served until 1871 when he lost a bid for reelection. He then resumed the practice of law in Cumberland.
U.S. House of Representatives
Jenckes was first elected to the U.S. House in 1863, defeating
Democratic opponent Charles J. Bradley by seventeen percentage points. He was subsequently re-elected three times by landslide margins.
During his House tenure, Jenckes was mostly known for introducing legislation which created the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
.
[Shugerman, Jed H. (March 21, 2013)]
The Creation of the Department of Justice: Professionalization Without Civil Rights or Civil Service
''The University of Texas at Austin School of Law''. Retrieved February 12, 2022. Contrary to some narratives that suggest this was an effort to bolster
Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
policies during the presidency of
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
and safeguard the constitutional rights of blacks, it was primarily for the purpose of professionalizing legal practice. Indeed, Jenckes "paid little attention" to protecting Southern blacks.
[
Considered a "reformer," Jenckes was an early advocate of civil service reform][Thomas A. Jenckes Papers: A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress]
''Library of Congress''. Retrieved February 12, 2022. and known as "the father of civil service."[ When he introduced legislation pushing it, fierce opposition was met by ]Radical Republican
The Radical Republicans (later also known as " Stalwarts") were a faction within the Republican Party, originating from the party's founding in 1854, some 6 years before the Civil War, until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Reco ...
colleague John A. Logan
John Alexander Logan (February 9, 1826 – December 26, 1886) was an American soldier and politician. He served in the Mexican–American War and was a general in the Union Army in the American Civil War. He served the state of Illinois as a stat ...
of Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, who was concerned with the plight of Southern blacks and called the bill "probably unconstitutional." The enactment of a civil service system
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
to replace the traditional spoils system
In politics and government, a spoils system (also known as a patronage system) is a practice in which a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its supporters, friends (cronyism), and relatives (nepotism) as a reward ...
would prevent Republicans from utilizing patronage to benefit blacks, and it was later implemented via the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act
The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act is a United States federal law passed by the 47th United States Congress and signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur on January 16, 1883. The act mandates that most positions within the federal governm ...
years after Jenckes left office.
Having prosecuted fraud implicated in the Credit Mobilier scandal
Credit (from Latin verb ''credit'', meaning "one believes") is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt), ...
, Jenckes' tenure was also marked by his revisions of bankruptcy law and involvement in cases related to Goodyear rubber, the Corliss steam engine, in addition to patents pertaining to refrigeration and ventilation.[
In the ]1870 United States House of Representatives elections
Year 187 ( CLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Quintius and Aelianus (or, less frequently, year 940 ''Ab urbe c ...
, Jenckes was defeated by fellow Republican Benjamin T. Eames
Benjamin Tucker Eames (June 4, 1818 – October 6, 1901) was a U.S. Representative from Rhode Island.
Born in Dedham, Massachusetts, Eames attended the common schools of Providence, Rhode Island, and academies in Massachusetts and Connecticut. ...
.
Death
Jenckes died in Cumberland, Rhode Island on November 4, 1875, and is interred at Swan Point Cemetery
Swan Point Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Established in 1846 on a 60-acre (0.24 km2) plot of land, it has approximately 40,000 interments.
History
The cemetery was first organi ...
in Providence
Providence often refers to:
* Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion
* Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity
* Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
.
References
Further reading
* Ari Hoogenboom, "Thomas A. Jenckes and Civil Service Reform," ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review,'' vol. 47, no. 4 (March 1961), pp. 636–658
In JSTOR
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenckes, Thomas
1818 births
1875 deaths
Brown University alumni
People from Cumberland, Rhode Island
Civil service reform in the United States
*
Burials at Swan Point Cemetery
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Rhode Island
Republican Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
19th-century American politicians