a member of the United States House of Representatives and two-time candidate for President of the United States
1833 CE
to 1912 CE
James Baird Weaver (June 12, 1833 – February 6, 1912) is a member of the United States House of Representatives and two-time candidate for President of the United States.
Born in Ohio, he moves to Iowa as a boy when his family claims a homestead on the frontier
He becomes politically active as a young man and is an advocate for farmers and laborers.
He joins and quits several political parties in the furtherance of the progressive causes in which he believes.
After serving in the Union Army in the American Civil War, Weaver returns to Iowa and works for the election of Republican candidates.
After several unsuccessful attempts at Republican nominations to various offices, and growing dissatisfied with the conservative wing of the party, in 1877 Weaver switches to the Greenback Party, which supports increasing the money supply and regulating big business.
As a Greenbacker with Democratic support, Weaver wins election to the House in 1878.
The Greenbackers nominate Weaver for president in 1880, but he receives only 3.3 percent of the popular vote.
After several more attempts at elected office, he is again elected to the House in 1884 and 1886.
In Congress, he workesfor expansion of the money supply and for the opening of Indian Territory to white settlement.
As the Greenback Party falls apart, a new anti-big business third party, the People's Party ("Populists"), arises.
Weaver helps to organize the party and is their nominee for president in 1892.
This time he is more successful and gains 8.5 percent of the popular vote and wins five states, but still falls far short of victory.
The Populists merged with the Democrats by the end of the nineteenth century, and Weaver goes with them, promoting the candidacy of William Jennings Bryan for president in 1896, 1900, and 1908.
After serving as mayor of his home town, Colfax, Iowa, Weaver retires from his pursuit of elective office.
He dies in Iowa in 1912.
Most of Weaver's political goals remain unfulfilled at his death, but many come to pass in the following decades.
