Joseph
Little Bristow
was a Kansas newspaper owner and politician who
served as Assistant Postmaster General of the
United States and in the U.S. Senate. His most
memorable action in the Senate was to introduce
the resolution that led to the Seventeenth
Amendment to the Constitution, providing for
direct election of U.S. Senators.
Blanche
Kelso Bruce
was the first black to serve a full term in the
United States Senate. He was elected by the
Mississippi Legislature in 1874, and served from
1875 until 1881. He was so respected by his
fellow politicians that, in 1880 and 1888, he
even received votes for Vice-President at the
Democratic National Conventions.
William
Jennings Bryan
was a passionate advocate for the free coinage of
silver, a cause he championed throughout two
terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and in
his 1896 campaign for President. As Secretary of
State, he worked hard to promote world peace and
keep the U.S. out of World War I. His last major
campaign was centered on outlawing the teaching
of evolution in public schools, a campaign that
ultimately cost him his life.
Hamilton Fish
served as Secretary of State from 1869 to 1877.
During his tenure he was responsible for settling
four major international disputes, three of which
directly involved the United States. He also
negotiated a treaty with the Kingdom of Hawaii
that virtually incorporated the islands into the
economic system of the United States.
Frederick
Funston
was a botanist who went on dangerous plant
collecting expeditions to Death Valley and
Alaska, a soldier who helped Cuba fight for its
independence from Spain and then served in the
Spanish-American War, and a U.S. Army General who
helped restore order in San Francisco after the
devastating earthquake of 1906.
Marcus
Alonzo Hanna
was a successful Ohio businessman who became a
powerful force in the Republican Party. After
getting a favored candidate elected to the U.S.
Senate, he then played a major part in getting
William McKinley elected Governor of Ohio, and
then saw to it that McKinley was elected
President of the United States.
John James
Ingalls
was a delegate to the constitutional convention
that led to Kansas being admitted to the Union,
and later served as a U.S. Senator from Kansas.
When not in public service, he was
a vocal advocate and spokesman for Kansas,
writing magazine and newspaper articles
extolling the virtues of the state.
Belva Ann
Lockwood
became the first woman to be admitted to practice
before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1879. Once
admitted she racked up a very impressive record
of victories, including the largest payment ever
awarded to a Native American tribe for land taken
by the U.S. government.
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Charles
Evans Hughes
earned his law degree at the age of 22. In
addition to a distinguished law career, he served
two terms as Governor of New York, as an
Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, as
Secretary of State, and as Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court.
Julius
Sterling Morton
was a successful farmer in Nebraska who advocated
the planting of trees to enrich
the soil and conserve moisture. He was
responsible for the creation of Arbor Day, and
served as Secretary of Agriculture under
President Grover Cleveland.
Richard
Olney
was serving as Attorney General of the U.S.
during the Pullman Strike, and in that capacity
issued orders that led to the arrest and
imprisonment of the strike leaders. As Secretary
of State, he played a prominent role in ending a
boundary dispute between the British and
Venezuelan governments.
Redfield
Proctor
served as Secretary of War under Benjamin
Harrison. As a U.S. Senator he made a trip to
Cuba that ultimately helped propel the United
States into the Spanish-American War.
Hiram
Rhodes Revels
was the first black to be elected to the U.S.
Senate, where he served from 1870 to 1871.
Edmund
Gibson Ross
was a U.S. Senator from Kansas who is
best known for casting the deciding vote against
the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson in
1868, an action which put him at odds with the
rest of the Republican Party.
Carl Schurz
was a German immigrant who served his adopted
country as a Union Army General, U.S. Senator,
and Secretary of the Interior.
Jeremiah
Simpson
acquired the nickname "Sockless Jerry"
while campaigning for a seat in the U.S. House of
Representatives, where he served from 1891 to
1899. Although he won the seat by playing the
"country bumpkin," he proved his
intelligence while serving in that seat.
Leland
Stanford
moved to California in 1852 and quickly became a
successful merchant. Elected Governor of
California in 1861, he used his position to
secure state financing for the eastbound leg of
the Transcontinental Railroad, of which he was an
investor. Stanford University, which opened its
doors in 1891, was founded by he and his wife as
a lasting memorial to their only child.
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