[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 143 (Wednesday, September 10, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1754]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING JAMES DANIEL RICHARDSON'S LIFETIME OF SERVICE TO TENNESSEE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART GORDON

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 10, 2008

  Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember 
Congressman James D. Richardson, upon the occasion of the raising of a 
Tennessee Historical Marker on the site of Richardson's family home in 
Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
  During the Civil War, Richardson served Tennessee with honor and 
distinction, volunteering at the age of 18 as a private in the 
Tennessee Infantry and rising to the rank of major by war's end. After 
the war, Richardson studied the law and was admitted to the bar in 
1866. He practiced in Murfreesboro for over 12 years and served as 
director of both the Stones River National Bank and the Safe Deposit, 
Trust, and Banking Company of Nashville. Known simply as ``Major'' to 
his friends and associates, Richardson also led the Rutherford County 
Fair Association, served as commissioner of the Evergreen Cemetery, was 
an active Freemason, and raised five children with his wife, Alabama.
  He was elected to the Tennessee State Legislature in 1870, where his 
colleagues named him speaker of the House at the age of 28. Richardson 
quickly came to prominence within the Democratic Party, serving as a 
delegate to the National Convention of 1876 and earning a reputation as 
a captivating orator.
  In 1884, Richardson was elected to the United States Congress. This 
was only the beginning of a 20-year career in which he led the 
Tennessee Congressional Delegation, served as interim Democratic Whip 
in 1894, and was called upon by his colleagues to compile The Messages 
and Papers of the Presidents, a vital history of American governance. 
He also oversaw the compilation of The Messages and Papers of the 
Confederacy, which documents the public and private communications of 
Confederate leaders.
  James Daniel Richardson was a true son of Tennessee and an exemplary 
American leader. I congratulate the Tennessee Historical Society for 
its decision to raise this Historical Marker to the man known as the 
``Tall Cedar of Rutherford.''

                          ____________________