James Harlan (senator)
| James Harlan | |
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| 8th United States Secretary of the Interior | |
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In office May 16, 1865 – August 31, 1866 |
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| President | Andrew Johnson |
| Preceded by | John Palmer Usher |
| Succeeded by | Orville Hickman Browning |
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United States Senator from Iowa |
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In office March 4, 1867 – March 4, 1873 |
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| Preceded by | Samuel J. Kirkwood |
| Succeeded by | William B. Allison |
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In office January 29, 1857 – May 15, 1865 |
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| Preceded by | Himself (Election invalidated, as the Iowa Senate had not participated in it) |
| Succeeded by | Samuel J. Kirkwood |
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In office March 4, 1855 – January 5, 1857 |
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| Preceded by | Augustus C. Dodge |
| Succeeded by | Himself (Election invalidated, as the Iowa Senate had not participated in it) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 26, 1820 Clark County, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | October 5, 1899 (aged 79) Mount Pleasant, Iowa, U.S. |
| Political party | Whig, Free Soil, Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Ann Eliza Peck (1824–1884) |
| Alma mater | Indiana Asbury University |
| Profession | Politician |
| Religion | Methodist |
James Harlan (August 26, 1820 – October 5, 1899) was an attorney and politician, a member of the United States Senate (1855–1865), (1867–1873) and a U.S. Cabinet Secretary at the United States Department of Interior (1865–1866) under President Andrew Johnson.
Harlan was the son of Silas and Mary (Connolly) Harlan. Born on August 26, 1820 in Clark County, Illinois and raised in Indiana, Harlan attended local schools as a boy. He graduated from Indiana Asbury University (now DePauw University) in 1845.
He moved to Iowa City, Iowa, where he served as Superintendent of Schools. He also studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1850. He joined the Whig Party and became active in politics. In 1850 Harlan declined the Whig nomination for Governor of Iowa. From 1853 to 1855 Harlan was president of Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.
In 1855 Harlan was elected by the Iowa legislature to the United States Senate as a Free Soil Party candidate. In 1857 the US Senate declared the seat vacant because of irregularities in that legislative election. He was re-elected by the legislature and seated as a Republican, serving until 1865. In 1861 Harlan was a Delegate to the Peace Conference that tried to arrange a compromise to prevent the American Civil War.
In 1865 he resigned from the Senate when he was appointed as Secretary of the Interior under President Andrew Johnson, an appointment he held until 1866. As secretary he announced that he intended to "clean house" and fired "a considerable number of incumbents who were seldom at their respective desks". He had done so after requesting, in late May 1865, a report listing all employees who (1.) uttered disloyal statements since the bombardment of Fort Sumter, (2.) all those not known to entertain loyal sentiments or who had associated with those known to be disloyal, (3.) those who were inefficient or not necessary to transact public business, (4.) all such persons "as disregard in their conduct, habits, and associations, the rules of decorum, [and] propriety proscribed by a christian civilization."
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