James Bingham (March 16, 1861 – August 19, 1940) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served as the nineteenth

Indiana Attorney General The Indiana Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Indiana in the United States. Attorneys General are chosen by a statewide general election to serve for a four-year term. The forty-fourth and Attorney General is Todd Roki ...

from January 1, 1907, to January 1, 1911.

Biography

Early life and education

Bingham was born in Fountain County,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. His father was Alexander Bingham, a farmer. Growing up, Bingham worked on the family farm and on the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

. After his time at the local district schools, Bingham attended Valparaiso

Normal School A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

for six months before becoming a schoolteacher at age fifteen. At age twenty-one, after six years of teaching, Bingham was elected

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

of Fountain County schools. As superintendent, he held one of Indiana's first

grade school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

graduation Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...

s and organized a course of study for the county's

common school A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary o ...

s (he would later serve on a committee that prepared a statewide course of study for all Indiana grade schools). In 1885, Bingham helped open law offices in Covington. In 1887, he was admitted to the Fountain County bar, but during the course of his "tireless study of law", he had severely damaged his eyesight. Bingham's wife, Elizabeth, had to assist him in his legal work before his vision eventually recovered.

Political career

Bingham, 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 ...

, served as

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

of Fountain and

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

counties.

Ele Stansbury Ele Stansbury (February 8, 1861 - August 23, 1929) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the twenty-third Indiana Attorney General from January 1, 1917 to January 1, 1921. Biography Early life and education Stansbury was born in ...

, who would later become the twenty-third Indiana Attorney General, served under Bingham at this time as deputy prosecuting attorney. In 1888, Bingham served as chairman of the Fountain County Republican Party and campaigned in the county for Republican presidential candidate

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

. In 1892, Bingham moved to

Muncie Muncie ( ) is an incorporated city and the seat of Delaware County, Indiana. Previously known as Buckongahelas Town, named after the legendary Delaware Chief.http://www.delawarecountyhistory.org/history/docs/lenape-villages.pdf It is located in ...

. Opening a law office, he practiced in the city until he was elected Attorney General. Bingham was elected

in 1906, succeeding Charles W. Miller. Bingham served in the administrations of

Governors A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

Frank Hanly James Franklin Hanly (April 4, 1863August 1, 1920) was an American politician who served as a congressman from Indiana from 1895 until 1897, and was the 26th governor of Indiana from 1905 to 1909. He was the founder of Hanly's Flying Squadron ...

(a Republican) and

Thomas R. Marshall Thomas Riley Marshall (March 14, 1854 – June 1, 1925) was an American politician who served as the 28th vice president of the United States from 1913 to 1921 under President Woodrow Wilson. A prominent lawyer in Indiana, he became an acti ...

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 ...

). During his time as Attorney General, Bingham enforced state alcohol laws amid the nationwide debate over laws curbing alcohol consumption that would lead to Indiana becoming a

dry state A dry state was a state in the United States in which the manufacture, distribution, importation, and sale of alcoholic beverages was prohibited or tightly restricted. Some states, such as North Dakota, entered the United States as dry states, and ...

in 1918. Bingham is also remembered for his fight for the passage of state legislation on food purity, responding again to another topical cause of the

Progressive Era The Progressive Era (late 1890s – late 1910s) was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States focused on defeating corruption, monopoly, waste and inefficiency. The main themes ended during Am ...

, with the

Pure Food and Drug Act The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, also known as Dr. Wiley's Law, was the first of a series of significant consumer protection laws which was enacted by Congress in the 20th century and led to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration. ...

having been passed by

Congress 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 a ...

months before Bingham took office. Bingham also helped to break up an

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

within the state by obtaining an

injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...

against the activities of the rating bureaus of various insurance companies. Bingham also voiced his concerns about a 1907 state sterilization law (the first of its kind in the nation, inspired by the growing popularity of

eugenics Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...

), questioning the

constitutionality Constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applicable constitution. When l ...

of the law. Edward M. White, a judge from Muncie, served as Assistant Attorney General under Bingham (the two would later practice law together). Bingham left office after four years, succeeded by

Thomas M. Honan Thomas Michael Honan (August 8, 1867 - September 21, 1932) was an United States of America, American lawyer and politician who served as the sixty-fifth List of speakers of the Indiana House of Representatives, Speaker of the Indiana House of Re ...

. After leaving office, Bingham remained in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

and opened a private law practice with his son, Remster A. Bingham. Bingham was involved as an attorney in two test cases originating from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

that led the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

to affirm the constitutionality of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Amendments, enacting nationwide

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

and granting women the right to vote respectively. In 1908, Bingham wrote a letter to

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

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 ...

encouraging him to seek a third term instead of allowing

William 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 pre ...

to be the Republican nominee in the upcoming election.

Personal life and death

In 1887, Bingham married Elizabeth Remster, a high school principal from

Veedersburg Veedersburg is a town in Van Buren Township, Fountain County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,180 at the 2010 census. History Veedersburg is a newer name for the old town of Chambersburg, which was first settled by early inhabitants ...

. Elizabeth was the sister of an Indianapolis judge. She died in 1925. One of their sons, Remster A. Bingham, was a national

judge advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that provi ...

of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

and a member of the state board of law examiners. Another son, Charles Bingham, served in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and died young of an illness caused by his service. Bingham was a member of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

, the

Indiana State Bar Association The Indiana State Bar Association (ISBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of Indiana. Unlike some state bar associations, in which membership is mandatory, ISBA membership is not required of lawyers licensed to practice in Indiana. Th ...

, and the Indianapolis Bar Association. He was also a member of the

Indiana Historical Society The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is one of the United States' oldest and largest historical societies and describes itself as "Indiana's Storyteller". It is housed in the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center at 450 West Ohio Street ...

and the

Columbia Club The Columbia Club is a private club located on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. The current structure was built in 1925 as the club's third home on the same site. Club history The Columbia Club was originally formed on February ...

. He attended the Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis. Bingham died in 1940. He was buried in

Crown Hill Cemetery Crown Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located at 700 West 38th Street in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. The privately owned cemetery was established in 1863 at Strawberry Hill, whose summit was renamed "The Crown", a high poi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bingham, James 1861 births 1940 deaths People from Fountain County, Indiana Indiana Attorneys General Indiana lawyers Indiana Republicans Burials at Crown Hill Cemetery