James H. Higgins
| James H. Higgins | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 50th Governor of Rhode Island | |
|
In office January 3, 1907 – January 5, 1909 |
|
| Lieutenant | Frederick H. Jackson |
| Preceded by | George H. Utter |
| Succeeded by | Aram J. Pothier |
| Member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives | |
|
In office 1901 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
January 22, 1876 Lincoln, Rhode Island |
| Died | September 16, 1927 (aged 51) Pawtucket, Rhode Island |
| Resting place | St. Mary's Cemetery, Pawtucket, Rhode Island |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Ellen F. Maguire |
| Alma mater |
Brown University, Georgetown University |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
James Henry Higgins (January 22, 1876 – September 16, 1927) was an American politician and the 50th Governor of Rhode Island from 1907 to 1909.
James Henry Higgins was born on January 22, 1876 in the village of Saylesville in Lincoln, Rhode Island. His parents, Thomas F. and Elizabeth Ann Mather died while he was young. James attended Pawtucket High School, and put himself through Brown University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1898. He studied law at Georgetown University Law Center and graduated in 1900, before returning to Rhode Island.
In 1901, Higgins was elected to the Rhode Island General Assembly, representing Pawtucket. The next year, at the age of 26, he was elected to the first of four consecutive terms as mayor of Pawtucket.
In 1906, Higgins was nominated as the Democratic candidate for Governor of Rhode Island, challenging incumbent Republican Governor George H. Utter. The New York Times attributed the popularity of the "boy Mayor of Pawtucket" to "his personality and private character. He does not drink or smoke." His acceptance speech echoed the Democratic convention platform, attacking corruption and the "boss system" of government, pledging an eight-hour workday for state and municipal workers, and endorsing the election of Rhode Island's United States Senators by direct vote. (Popular election of U.S. Senators eventually came to pass through the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1914.) Higgins' candidacy was endorsed by Colonel Robert Hale Ives Goddard and the short-lived Lincoln Party, which had been organized around Goddard's bid to succeed George P. Wetmore in the U.S. Senate and "smash the state machine".
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