James Alexander Reed
| James A. Reed | |
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United States Senator from Missouri |
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In office March 4, 1911 – March 4, 1929 |
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| Preceded by | William Warner |
| Succeeded by | Roscoe C. Patterson |
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James Alexander Reed November 9, 1861 Mansfield, Ohio |
| Died | September 8, 1944 (aged 82) Fairview, Michigan |
| Political party | Democratic |
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James Alexander Reed (November 9, 1861 – September 8, 1944) was an American Democratic Party politician from Missouri.
Reed was born on November 9, 1861 on a farm in Richland County, Ohio. He was a descendant of David Reed. He moved with his family to Cedar Rapids, Iowa at the age of 3. He went to public schools and attended Coe College. He became a lawyer and moved to Kansas City, Missouri in 1887.
Reed served as a city councilor of Kansas City from 1897 to 1898, and as prosecutor of Jackson County from 1898 to 1900. He unsuccessfully prosecuted Jesse E. James, son of the bandit Jesse James, for train robbery in 1899. He was elected Kansas City mayor from 1900 to 1904.
As mayor, Reed oversaw the "Kansas City Spirit" construction of Convention Hall in 90 days in order to host the 1900 Democratic National Convention. The original Convention Hall had opened in 1899. It burned down on April 4, 1900. The Convention was scheduled to be held on July 4. Reed marshaled resources and it opened in time for the convention.
In 1910, he was elected to the United States Senate from Missouri as a Democrat. He served in the Senate for three terms, from 1911 until 1929, when he decided to retire. Unlike many members of his party, he the League of Nations. He sought and failed to receive the Democratic nomination for President. He served as chairman of the Committee on Weights and Measures from 1917 to 1921.
One of his biggest contributions to the State of Missouri came in 1913 when as a member of the Senate Banking Committee he changed his vote to break a deadlock to pass the Federal Reserve Act which resulted in Missouri getting 2 of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks (in St. Louis and Kansas City). Missouri is the only state with multiple headquarters of the Federal Reserve.
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