James "Tama Jim" Wilson (August 16, 1835 – August 26, 1920) was a Scottish-American politician who served as

United States Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments. The department includes several organi ...

for sixteen years during three presidencies, from 1897 to 1913. He holds the record as the longest-serving

United States Cabinet The Cabinet of the United States is a body consisting of the vice president of the United States and the heads of the executive branch's departments in the federal government of the United States. It is the principal official advisory body to ...

member.

Personal background and family

Wilson was born in Ayrshire,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, on August 16, 1835. One of 14 children, he grew up in a farming community near the birthplace of

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

. His family emigrated to America in 1852, settling in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

before moving to

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

in 1855, establishing a farm near Traer in

Tama County Tama County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,135. Its county seat is Toledo. The county was formed on February 17, 1843 and named for Taimah, a leader of the Meskwaki Indians. Geog ...

. He attended the public schools and Iowa College (now

Grinnell College Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College. Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to-stu ...

) in

Grinnell, Iowa Grinnell is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,564 at the time of the 2020 census. It is best known for being the home of Grinnell College. History Grinnell was founded by settlers from New England who we ...

. He married Esther Wilbur in May 1863. Together they had six children: Esther May, Peter McCosh, Flora Hanna, John Ward, George Wright and Jasper Abijah. Esther died on August 3, 1892; Wilson remained a widower for the remainder of his life.

Elective office

James Wilson, congressman from Iowa and Secretary of Agriculture

Wilson was elected to the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

in 1867, and served as speaker from 1870 to 1871 before becoming a professor of agriculture at what is now

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

, where he encouraged the work of George Washington Carver. Wilson was also appointed to the Board of Trustees (now Regents) of Iowa's public higher educational institutions, serving from 1870 to 1874. In 1872, he was elected to represent

Iowa's 5th congressional district Iowa's 5th congressional district is an obsolete congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa. It was last represented by Republican Steve King in 2013, who continued to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives after the district's obsole ...

as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of 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 ...

. It was during this time that he became known as ''Tama Jim'' to distinguish him from the Iowa member of the senate, James F. Wilson. In 1874, Wilson was re-elected, serving a second term, but returned to Iowa in 1877. That year he was appointed to the Iowa State Railway Commission, where he served for six years. Embassy of Moldova (Washington, D

In 1882, he ran for Congress for the third time, this time against Democrat Benjamin T. Frederick. Wilson seemingly defeated Frederick in a very close race, but Frederick soon contested the election in the U.S. House. Wilson had been issued an election certificate by the State of Iowa, enabling him to be seated during the contest. The 1882 elections gave Frederick's Democratic Party control of the House. Through a prolonged evidentiary proceeding in 1883, followed by filibusters that delayed resolution of the contest until the final hours of the Forty-eighth Congress, Wilson's Republican Party colleagues enabled him to retain in office until the final minutes before the end of the final session. Then, Wilson consented to end the filibuster against a vote on the contest, because it was also blocking action on a popular bill to enable former 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 ...

to enjoy the financial benefits of a military retirement. On March 4, 1885, with

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

's inauguration festivities already starting, the House declared Frederick the winner of the 1882 race, unseated Wilson, seated Frederick, passed the Grant retirement bill, then adjourned. Returning to Iowa from Washington for the second time, Wilson rejoined the faculty at Iowa State, where he would serve as Professor (now Dean) of Agriculture and director of the agricultural experiment station from 1890 to 1897.

Secretary of Agriculture

Agriculture South Building - Wilson plaque

Wilson rose to national prominence in early 1897 when newly elected

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

nominated him as his Secretary for Agriculture. During sixteen consecutive years of Republican administrations, Presidents McKinley,

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

and

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

retained him in that position. It was not until March 1913, following the election of a Democratic president (

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

) that Wilson left that office. In all, Wilson served as Secretary of Agriculture from March 6, 1897 to March 5, 1913—the longest duration served by any American cabinet official. The length of Wilson's tenure is attributed to not only the same political party occupying the White House in three consecutive administrations, but also the similarity in political philosophy among the three Presidents under which Wilson served. His tenure as Secretary of Agriculture is known as a period of modernization of agricultural methods. He also organized greater food inspection methods, as well as great improvement of many roads across the country. On the other hand, Wilson spent most of his long tenure attempting to limit the regulatory impact of the pure food movement, which had led to Congress's adoption of the Food and Drugs Act of 1906. Frequently siding with incumbent business interests, Wilson consistently worked against issues pursued by his striving chief chemist,

Harvey Wiley Harvey Washington Wiley (October 18, 1844 – June 30, 1930) was an American chemist who fought for the passage of the landmark Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 and subsequently worked at the Good Housekeeping Institute laboratories. He was ...

, who enjoyed a powerful grassroots following. These matters typically concerned the safety of food additives, their testing, and enforcement of the legislation.

Later life, death and legacy

After leaving office at age 78, Wilson retired in Iowa. He died in

Traer, Iowa Traer is a city in Tama County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,583 at the time of the 2020 census. Traer is known for the iron spiral staircase that originally led to the office of the local newspaper. The staircase is freestanding ...

on August 26, 1920, ten days after celebrating his eighty-fifth birthday. He was interred next to his wife in Buckingham Cemetery,

. Wilson Hall, a

residence hall A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

, was named in his honor, as was

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

's Wilson Hall (renamed Wilson-Short Hall in 2009), originally built as the college's agriculture building. His home, The Farm House (Knapp–Wilson House), now on the Iowa State University campus grounds, has been a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

since 1964 and opened as The Farm Museum in 1976. Wilson has also been commemorated in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

by a bridge linking the

U.S. Department of Agriculture Administration Building The U.S. Department of Agriculture Administration Building, also known as the Jamie L. Whitten Building, houses the administrative offices of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. The Administration Building projects into the ...

to the

U.S. Department of Agriculture South Building The U.S. Department of Agriculture South Building is an office building located at 14th Street Northwest and Southwest (Washington, D.C.), 14th Street and Independence Avenue (Washington, D.C.), Independence Avenue, Southwest, Washington, D.C. Hi ...

across Independence Avenue. In 1943, retired USDA artist Royal Charles Steadman painted a portrait of Wilson and gave the portrait to the department to hang in the Wilson arch between the Administration and South buildings."Department People"
''USDA'', June 25, 1943, p.3.

References

External links

*
James Wilson
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...