George W. McCrary

Template:Short description Template:Infobox officeholder George Washington McCrary (August 29, 1835 – June 23, 1890) was a United States representative from Iowa, the 33rd United States Secretary of War and a United States circuit judge of the United States Circuit Courts for the Eighth Circuit.

Education and career

Born on August 29, 1835, near Evansville, Vanderburg County, Indiana,<ref name="fjc.gov">Template:Cite web</ref> McCrary moved with his parents in 1836 to the Wisconsin Territory (Iowa Territory from July 4, 1838, State of Iowa from December 28, 1846) who settled in Van Buren County.<ref name=obit>"Obituary of George McCrary," New York Times, 1890-06-24 at p. 3.</ref><ref name=army>Template:Cite book</ref> He attended the public schools, taught in the country schools at age 18,<ref name=army/> read law at the law firm of future United States Supreme Court Justice Samuel Freeman Miller.<ref name=army/>

He was admitted to the bar in 1856.<ref name="fjc.gov"/> He entered private practice in Keokuk, Iowa from 1856 to 1857.<ref name="fjc.gov"/> He was a member of the Iowa House of Representatives in 1857, resuming private practice in Keokuk from 1858 to 1861.<ref name="fjc.gov"/> He was a member of the Iowa Senate from 1861 to 1865,<ref name="iaga">Template:Cite news</ref> again resuming private practice in Keokuk from 1862 to 1869.<ref name="fjc.gov"/><ref name= "IAGAs">Template:Citeweb</ref>

Congressional service

In 1868, McCrary successfully sought a U.S. House seat from Iowa's 1st congressional district to succeed Radical Republican James F. Wilson. He was elected as a Republican from the district to the United States House of Representatives of the 41st United States Congress and to the three succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1869, to March 3, 1877.<ref name="auto">Template:CongBio</ref> He was Chairman of the Committee on Elections for the 42nd United States Congress and Chairman of the Committee on Railways and Canals for the 43rd United States Congress.<ref name="auto"/> He was not a candidate for renomination in 1876.<ref name="auto"/>

Congressional activity

In McCrary's first month in Congress, he received national attention for refusing to support an appropriation for a federal courthouse in Keokuk because the nation was in debt and he could not support such a courthouse in every district.<ref>"Needless Appropriations: Letter from George W. McCrary," New York Times, 1869-04-19 at p. 8.</ref> He published A Treatise on the American Law of Elections, in 1875.<ref name=army/><ref>George W. McCrary, "A Treatise on the American law of Elections," (Keokuk: R.B. Ogden 2nd ed. 1880).</ref> In the 44th United States Congress, as a member of the United States House Committee on the Judiciary, he was the author of a farsighted (but unsuccessful) bill to reorganize the federal courts to enable reasonable and prompt judicial review.<ref>Felix Frankfurter & John M. Landis,"The Business of the Supreme Court," pp. 78-79 (1st ed. 1927, reprinted Transaction Pub. 2007), Template:ISBN.</ref> He helped create the Electoral Commission to resolve the outcome of the 1876 Presidential Election, and served on the committee that investigated the Crédit Mobilier scandal.<ref name=army/>

Maintaining his passion for law, McCrary established an expertise in contested elections and laws pertaining to elections.<ref>Goedeken, Edward A. McCrary, George Washington. The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. Retrieved March 4, 2022.</ref> He published A Treatise on the American Law of Elections in 1875, which later underwent four editions.

During his House years, McCrary allied with the congressional "Half-Breeds,"<ref>Welch, Richard E., Jr. (1971). George Frisbie Hoar and the Half-Breed Republicans, p. 91. Harvard University Press.</ref> the loosely organized and more moderate wing of the Republican Party (in comparison to the pro-spoils system Stalwarts) which emphasized industrial interests and protective tariffs in addition to supporting civil service reform.

Secretary of War

File:George Washington McCrary.jpg

George W. McCrary as Secretary of War.

McCrary was the 33rd United States Secretary of War in the cabinet of President Rutherford B. Hayes from March 12, 1877, to December 11, 1879, when he resigned.<ref name=judge>"Nominations by the President,' New York Times, 1879-12-02 at p. 3.</ref> As Secretary, McCrary withdrew federal troops from the remaining reconstruction governments in South Carolina and Louisiana, and used federal troops in the 1877 railway strike and in Mexican border disturbances.<ref name=army/> The greatest military conflicts during his watch occurred in the American West, in battles with certain Native American tribes in Colorado, New Mexico, and elsewhere.<ref>"War Department Needs: Secretary M'Crary's Annual Report," New York Times, 1879-11-24 at p. 2.</ref>

Memberships

McCrary was elected as a 3rd Class (honorary) member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS).Template:Citation needed This was probably due to President Hayes' influence as a prominent member of MOLLUS.Template:Citation needed (Hayes would later serve as MOLLUS commander-in-chief.)Template:Citation neededTemplate:Clear

Federal judicial service

McCrary was nominated by President Rutherford B. Hayes on December 1, 1879, to a seat on the United States Circuit Courts for the Eighth Circuit vacated by Judge John Forrest Dillon.<ref name="fjc.gov"/> He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 9, 1879, and received his commission the same day.<ref name="fjc.gov"/> His service terminated on March 18, 1884, due to his resignation, which he attributed to his family's financial need after his many years of public service.<ref name="fjc.gov"/><ref name=army/><ref name="auto1">"Judge M'Crary Resigns," New York Times, 1884-01-02 at p. 1.</ref>

Later career and death

Following his resignation from the federal bench, McCrary resumed private practice in Kansas City, Missouri from 1884 to 1890.<ref name="fjc.gov"/> He served as general counsel for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Company in Kansas City, Missouri from 1884 to 1890.<ref name=army/><ref name="auto1"/> He died on June 23, 1890, in St. Joseph, Missouri,<ref name="fjc.gov"/> after suffering from a stomach tumor.<ref name=obit/> He was interred in Oakland Cemetery in Keokuk.<ref name="auto"/>

Sources

• Template:Cite web

External links

• Template:Find a Grave

Template:S-start Template:S-par Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft |- Template:S-ppo Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft |- Template:S-off Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft |- Template:S-legal Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft Template:S-end