James William Collier (September 28, 1872 – September 28, 1933) was a politician from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. Born on the Glenwood

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near

Vicksburg Vicksburg most commonly refers to: * Vicksburg, Mississippi, a city in western Mississippi, United States * The Vicksburg Campaign, an American Civil War campaign * The Siege of Vicksburg, an American Civil War battle Vicksburg is also the name of ...

in 1872, he graduated from the

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in 1894 with a degree in law. Later that year, he was admitted to the

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and commenced practice in Vicksburg. Collier's political career began in 1896, when he was elected to the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

. He remained in that position until 1899. From 1900 to 1909, he served as

Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War: * Warren County, Georgia * Warren County, Illinois * Warren County ...

's circuit clerk. Running successfully as the

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candidate in the state's eighth congressional district, he took office on March 4, 1909 and went on to serve in eleven

congresses A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...

( 61st- 72nd). Collier chaired the

United States House Committee on Ways and Means The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other program ...

during the 72nd Congress (1930–1932). He decided not to run for a twelfth term due to controversy over whether candidates should run

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

or by districts.

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Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

appointed him to the

United States Tariff Commission The United States International Trade Commission (USITC or I.T.C.) is an agency of the United States federal government that advises the legislative and executive branches on matters of trade. It is an independent, bipartisan entity that analyze ...

. He served in that position from March 28, 1933 until his death on September 28, 1933, his 61st birthday. He is buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Vicksburg.

References

* - Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
James William Collier
- The Political Graveyard {{DEFAULTSORT:Collier, James 1872 births 1933 deaths People from Warren County, Mississippi Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Mississippi University of Mississippi School of Law alumni