{{Short description|American politician (1853–1924)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = James Luther Slayden | image = SLAYDEN, JAMES L. HONORABLE LCCN2016856350 (resized) (cropped).jpg | caption = Photo by Harris & Ewing, circa 1918. Library of Congress | birth_date = June 1, 1853 | death_date = {{death date and age| 1924|2|24|1853|6|1}} | death_place = San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | birth_place = Mayfield, Kentucky, U.S. | education = Washington and Lee University | state1 = Texas | constituency1 = {{ushr|TX|12|C}} (1897–1903)<br>{{ushr|TX|14|C}} (1903–1919) | term_start1 = March 4, 1897 | term_end1 = March 3, 1919 | predecessor1 = George H. Noonan | successor1 = Carlos Bee | office3 = Texas State House of Representatives | term_start3 = January 10, 1893 | term_end3 = January 18, 1895 | predecessor3 = | successor3 = | occupation = cotton merchant, rancher | party = Democrat }} '''James Luther Slayden''' (June 1, 1853 – February 24, 1924) was an American politician, cotton merchant, and rancher.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=August 26, 2019 |title=James Luther Slayden |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/slayden-james-luther |access-date=2022-06-01 |website=Texas State Historical Association}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=James Luther Slayden |url=https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/S000482 |access-date=2022-06-01 |website=Biographical Dictionary of the United States Congress}}</ref> He was elected from San Antonio to United States House of Representatives, serving eleven consecutive terms.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
==Early life and education== James Luther Slayden was born in Mayfield, Kentucky.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> His parents were Letitia E. (née Beadles) and Thomas A. Slayden.<ref name=":0" /> After his father died in 1869, he moved with his mother and siblings to New Orleans, Louisiana.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> There, he attended common schools and worked for two years.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> From 1872 and 1873, he attended Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.<ref name=":0" /> There, he was a member of the Fraternity of Delta Psi (St. Anthony Hall).<ref>Meyer, H. L. G. [https://archive.org/details/catalogofmembers00fratrich/page/20/mode/2up?q=aldrich Catalog of the Members of the Fraternity of Delta Psi Revised and Corrected to July 1906]. New York: Fraternity of Delta Psi, 1906 ''via'' Google Books</ref> He returned to New Orleans in 1873, where he worked until he moved to Texas in November 1876.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" />
==Career== Slayden moved to San Antonio, Texas, in 1879 and became a rancher cotton merchant.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
He became active in Democratic Party and was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1892.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> There, he served on the Finance Committee; Insurance, Statistics and History Committee; the Judicial Districts Committee; the Public Buildings and Grounds Committee; the State Affairs Committee; and the Town and City Corporations Committee.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=James Luther Slayden |url=https://lrl.texas.gov/mobile/memberDisplay.cfm?memberID=3679 |access-date=2022-06-01 |website=Texas Legislators Past and Present}}</ref> He worked to develop trade between Texas and other areas, and the construction railroads in Texas. After serving in the state legislature from January 10, to January 8, 1893, he declined renomination and returned to ranching.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
In 1896, Slayden was elected to the United States Congress representing Texas' 12th district as a Democrat.<ref name=":0" /> He was re-elected in 1898 and 1900, serving in total from 1897 to 1903.<ref name=":1" /> In 1903, he was redistricted to Texas's 14th congressional district and was elected to serve from 1903 to 1919.<ref name=":1" /> He served a total of eleven terms in Congress.<ref name=":1" />
In Congress Slayden promoted the growth of the railroad system in Texas.<ref name=":0" /> He served on the Committee on Military Affairs and was key in making San Antonio a military center and in enlarging Fort Sam Houston.<ref name=":0" />
After losing his bid for appointment as President Woodrow Wilson's Secretary of War, Slayden declined renomination to run for Congress in 1918.<ref>Pohl, James W. "Slayden's Defeat: A Texas Congressman Loses Bid as Wilson's Secretary of War," ''Military History of Texas and the Southwest'', Vol. 10 (1972): 43-56</ref>
When he left Congress in 1919, Slayden kept busy with mines in Mexico, a ranch in Texas, and an orchard in Virginia.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
== Honors == *Phi Beta Kappa Key, Washington and Lee University<ref name=":0" /> *Slayden, Texas in Gonzales County was named in his honor in the late 1880s.<ref>Harden, [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hns52 Stephen., "Slayden, TX"], ''Handbook of Texas Online'', July 1, 1995. Texas State Historical Association, accessed 6 November 2012</ref>
==Personal life== In 1883, he married Ellen Maury who was from Charlottesville, Virginia.<ref name="Pearson">[http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fsl04 Mary S. Pearson, "Slayden, Ellen Maury"], ''Handbook of Texas History Online'', accessed 6 November 2012</ref> They had no children.<ref name="Pearson" /> In 1889, Ellen worked for the San Antonio ''Express'' as the society editor.''<ref name="Pearson" />'' After Slayden's election to Congress, they moved to Washington, D.C. in 1896.<ref name="Pearson" />
In October 1910, Slayden became one of the first trustees of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> He was also president of the American Peace Society.<ref name=":0" /> He was active in various fraternal organizations, including the Elks, the Masons, and the Odd Fellows.<ref name=":0" /> In addition, he was an Episcopalian.<ref name=":0" />
In 1927, he died in San Antonio at the age of 70.<ref name=":0" /> He was buried in Mission Park Cemetery.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further information== *Sondra Wyatt Gray, ''The Political Career of James Luther Slayden'', University of Texas at Austin, 1962
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state = Texas | district = 12 | before = George H. Noonan | after = Oscar W. Gillespie | years = March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1903 }} {{US House succession box | state = Texas | district = 14 | new = ''District created'' | after = Carlos Bee | years = March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1919 }} {{s-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Slayden, James Luther}} Category:1853 births Category:1924 deaths Category:People from Mayfield, Kentucky Category:Politicians from New Orleans Category:Washington and Lee University alumni Category:St. Anthony Hall Category:Politicians from San Antonio Category:19th-century American merchants Category:Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Texas Category:American Freemasons Category:19th-century American Episcopalians Category:20th-century American Episcopalians Category:19th-century members of the Texas Legislature Category:19th-century United States representatives Category:People from San Antonio Category:Texas Democrats Category:Ranchers from Texas Category:Cotton merchants Category:Businesspeople from Texas Category:American ranchers Category:American orchardists Category:Burials in Texas