Harlan, James

Born: 1820-08-26 Clark County, Illinois

Died: 1899-10-05 Mount Pleasant, Iowa

James Harlan was a lawyer, educator, state government official, U.S. senator, secretary of the interior, and father-in-law of Robert T. Lincoln. Harlan lived in Clark County, Illinois, until the age of four, when he moved with his family to Parke County, Indiana. He attended rural schools, helped his father on the family farm, and taught school until 1841, when he entered college. In 1845, he graduated from Asbury (DePauw) University, and that same year he married Ann Eliza Peck, with whom he would have four children. James and Ann moved to Iowa City, Iowa Territory, where he became the leader of Iowa City College. Harlan became interested in local and state politics, and in 1847, he won election, as a Whig, as state superintendent of public instruction. State authorities denied him the office, however, after determining that the election was of dubious legality. Harlan lost in a second election in 1848. Turning to the law, Harlan earned admission to the Iowa bar in 1850 and commenced practicing law in Iowa City. In 1852, he served as deputy surveyor of Wisconsin and Iowa, and the next year, he returned to education, becoming president of Mount Pleasant Collegiate Institute (Iowa Wesleyan University). He remained president of the institute until 1855, when he won election, as a Free Soiler, to the U.S. Senate. Harlan presented his credentials and took his seat in December 1855, but the Iowa Senate declared the seat vacant in January 1857 over election irregularities. Harlan won the special election to fill the vacancy, and in 1860, won reelection, serving in the Senate from January 1857 to May 1865. Harlan gravitated to the Republican Party, and upon commencement of the Civil War, he became a strong proponent of a vigorous prosecution of the war. He supported the confiscation of rebel-owned property and the enlistment of African-Americans in the U.S. Army. He worked to secure passage of the Homestead Act and the Pacific Railroad Act. Harlan also supported President Abraham Lincoln's policy of censoring Democratic newspapers. President Lincoln and Harlan grew closer when Robert T. Lincoln began courting Harlan's daughter Mary, and in March 1865, Lincoln nominated Harlan to become secretary of the interior. The Senate confirmed Harlan's nomination, and he formally took office in May 1865. He remained in the cabinet until June 1866, when he resigned, and returned to the Senate in March 1867, serving until March 1873.

Brooks D. Simpson, "Harlan, James," American National Biography, ed. by John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 10:94-95; Biographical Directory of the American Congress 1774-1996 (Alexandria, VA: CQ Staff Directories, 1997), 1162-63.