Joseph Weldon Bailey

For his son, see Joseph Weldon Bailey, Jr.

Joseph Weldon Bailey, Sr.
File:Joseph Weldon Bailey.jpg Joseph Bailey c. 1910 to 1915
United States Senator from Texas
In office March 4, 1901 – January 3, 1913
Preceded by	Horace Chilton
Succeeded by	Rienzi M. Johnston
House Minority Leader
In office 1897–1899
Preceded by	Office Created
Succeeded by	James D. Richardson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 4th district
In office March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1901
Preceded by	Silas Hare
Succeeded by	Choice B. Randell
Personal details
Born	(1862-10-06)October 6, 1862 Crystal Springs, Copiah County, Mississippi, USA
Died	Sherman, Texas
Resting place	Fairview Cemetery in Gainesville, Texas
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	University of Mississippi
Occupation	Lawyer and politician

Joseph Weldon Bailey, Sr. (October 6, 1862 – April 13, 1929), was a United States Senator, United States Representative, lawyer, and a Bourbon Democrat who was famous for his speeches extolling conservative causes, such as opposition to woman suffrage or restrictions on child labor. He served as a Congressional Representative between 1891 and 1901, and as the House minority leader from 1897 until 1899. In 1901, he was elected to the Senate, serving until 1913. Historian Elna C. Green says that Bailey:

was known in Texas as a rigorous defender of states' rights, constitutional conservatism, and governmental economy. His opponents considered him the symbol of privilege and corruption in government.

Biography

Born in Crystal Springs in Copiah County outside Jackson, Mississippi, Bailey attended the University of Mississippi at Oxford, where in 1879 he joined the prestigious Delta Psi fraternity (AKA St. Anthony Hall). Bailey was admitted to the bar in Mississippi in 1883. He moved to Gainesville in north Texas in 1885, where he continued to practice law.

He had been politically active as a Democrat in both Mississippi and his new home and had a reputation as an excellent public speaker who promoted Jeffersonian democracy. He was elected to the House in 1891, and to the U.S. Senate in 1901. As the Minority leader of the United States House of Representatives in the 1890s, he exerted great influence on his colleagues.

His political career was tarnished by an assault against Senator Albert J. Beveridge, an Indiana Republican. Subsequent investigations brought to light suspicious income and financial ties that Bailey had to the burgeoning oil industry. He was regarded as a great orator. Nevertheless, financial allegations against Bailey in 1906 threatened his reelection to the Senate, a task then the prerogative of the Texas legislature, rather than party voters. His tenure ended on January 3, 1913 when he resigned his Senate seat.

After his defeat by Pat M. Neff in the Democratic gubernatorial primary in 1920, Bailey moved to Dallas to practice law. In 1929, he died in a courtroom in Sherman, Texas.

Further reading

• Acheson, Sam Hanna. Joe Bailey, The Last Democrat (New York, 1932)
• Gould, Lewis. Progressives and Prohibitionists: Texas Democrats in the Wilson Era (U of Texas Press, 1973),

External links

• BAILEY, Joseph Weldon at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Joseph Weldon Bailey from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Joseph Weldon Bailey at Find-A-Grave
• early photo

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by New Title	House Minority Leader 1897–1899	Succeeded by James D. Richardson Tennessee
Preceded by Silas Hare	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 5th congressional district 1891–1901	Succeeded by Choice B. Randell
United States Senate
Preceded by Horace Chilton	U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Texas 1901–1911	Succeeded by Rienzi M. Johnston