John J. Beckley
| John J. Beckley | |
|---|---|
| 1st Librarian of Congress | |
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In office January 29, 1802 – April 8, 1807 |
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| Succeeded by | Patrick Magruder |
| 1st and 4th Clerk of the United States House of Representatives | |
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In office March 4, 1801 – April 8, 1807 |
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| Preceded by | John H. Oswald (1799-1801) |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Magruder |
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In office April 1, 1789 – May 14, 1797 |
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| Succeeded by | Jonathan W. Condy (1797-1799) |
| 2nd and 7th Mayor of Richmond, Virginia | |
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In office February 22, 1788 – March 9, 1789 |
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| Preceded by | Richard Adams, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Alexander McRoberts |
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In office July 1, 1783 – July 6, 1784 |
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| Preceded by | William Foushee, Sr. |
| Succeeded by | Robert Mitchell |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John James Beckley August 4, 1757 London, England |
| Died | April 8, 1807 (aged 49) Washington, D.C. |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican |
| Alma mater | College of William & Mary |
John James Beckley (August 4, 1757 – April 8, 1807) was an American political campaign manager and the first Librarian of the United States Congress, from 1802 to 1807. He is credited with being the first political campaign manager in the United States and for setting the standards for the First Party System.
Born in London, at age fourteen, his parents sent him to the Colony of Virginia as an indentured servant, working as a scribe for a mercantile firm. As a literate and ambitious young man, he used politics to move upward in society. He graduated from the College of William and Mary and was an early member of Phi Beta Kappa. By 1783, he had amassed 49,000 acres (20,000 ha) of rich, unoccupied land in the west, but it was tied up in litigation. Twice, he served as mayor of Richmond, Virginia, from 1783 to 1784 and again from 1788 to 1789.
James Madison sponsored him as Clerk of the House in 1789. He associated with the radicals (especially fellow immigrants) and became an enthusiastic supporter of the French Revolution. He wrote frequently for Philip Freneau's National Gazette and Benjamin Bache's General Advertiser, becoming known as an articulate exponent of American republicanism. He used the press energetically to denounce Hamilton and the Federalists as crypto-monarchists whose corruption was subversive of American values.
By 1792, he had started a propaganda machine for the new Republican party that Jefferson and Madison were forming. Thus, he told Madison in May 1795, "I enclose eight copies of the 'Political Observations.' I brought two dozen from New York and have distributed them all. I expect 50 more in a day or two, and shall scatter them also—they were bought and dispersed in great numbers there, and are eagerly enquired after by numbers here—it will be republished in Boston, Portsmouth, Vermont, and at Richmond." Also in 1792, he brought to light Alexander Hamilton's relationship with James Reynolds and his wife Maria. This led to James Monroe, Congressmen Muhlenberg (PA) and Venable (VA) confronting the Treasury Secretary on December 15, 1792. Hamilton denied any financial wrongdoing but admitted to an affair with the wife Maria and paying hush money to her husband. The Republicans agreed to keep the matter confidential and it did not become public until 1797.
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