George D. Wise (politician)

George Douglas Wise (June 4, 1831 – February 4, 1908) was an American slave owner,[1] white supremacist, and U.S. Representative from Virginia. He was nephew of Henry Alexander Wise, and cousin of John Sergeant Wise and Richard Alsop Wise.

For the American Union general, see George D. Wise (Union).
George Douglas Wise
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 3rd district
In office
March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1895
Preceded byEdmund Waddill, Jr.
Succeeded byTazewell Ellett
In office
March 4, 1881 – April 10, 1890
Preceded byJoseph E. Johnston
Succeeded byEdmund Waddill, Jr.
Chairman of the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce
In office
March 28, 1892 – March 3, 1895
Preceded byRoger Quarles Mills
Succeeded byWilliam Peters Hepburn
Chairman of the House Committee on Manufactures
In office
March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1889
Preceded byJohn Holroyd Bagley, Jr.
Succeeded byHenry Bacon
Personal details
BornJune 4, 1831
Deep Creek, Accomack County, Virginia, U.S.
DiedFebruary 4, 1908(1908-02-04) (aged 76)
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Resting placeHollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materIndiana University
College of William and Mary
Professionlawyer
Military service
Allegiance Confederate States of America
Branch/service Confederate States Army
Rank Captain
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Biography

Wise was the son of Tully Robinson and Margaret Douglas Pettitt (Wise) Wise, who were double second cousins.[2] He was born at "Deep Creek," the Wise estate in Accomack County, near Onancock, Virginia, Wise was graduated from Indiana University at Bloomington. He studied law in the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Richmond, Virginia. He served as captain in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. He was Commonwealth's attorney of the city of Richmond from 1870 to 1889, when he resigned.

Wise was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-seventh and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1889). He served as chairman of the Committee on Manufactures (Forty-ninth Congress). Presented credentials as a Member-elect to the Fifty-first Congress and served from March 4, 1889, to April 10, 1890, when he was succeeded by Edmund Waddill, Jr., who contested his election.

Wise embraced ideas of a master race, once telling the House of Representatives that "if I could I would not have the mingling of Caucasian blood with that of any inferior race."[3] He referred to Chinese immigrants as "this indigestible mass . . . inferior in mental and moral qualities . . . a continual menace to the existence of republican institutions.”[4]

Wise was elected to the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses (March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1895). He served as chairman of the committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce (Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses). Wise was a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1901-1902. He died in Richmond, Virginia, February 4, 1908. He was interred in Hollywood Cemetery.

Electoral history
  • 1880; Wise was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 55.94% of the vote, defeating Readjuster John Sergeant Wise and Republican H.L. Pelonze.
  • 1882; Wise was re-elected with 57.12% of the vote, defeating Readjuster John Ambler Smith.
  • 1884; Wise was re-elected with 52.4% of the vote, defeating Republican Robert T. Hubbard.
  • 1886; Wise was re-elected with 52.73% of the vote, defeating Republican Edmund Waddill, Jr.
  • 1888; Wise was re-elected with 50.42% of the vote, however the results were contested and Republican Waddill, Jr. was seated.
  • 1890; Wise was re-elected unopposed.
  • 1892; Wise was re-elected with 63.94% of the vote, defeating Republican Walter E. Grant.

References
  1. Weil, Julie Zauzmer; Blanco, Adrian; Dominguez, Leo. "More than 1,800 congressmen once enslaved Black people. This is who they were, and how they shaped the nation". Washington Post. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  2. Wise, Jennings C. (Jennings Cropper) (1918). Col. John Wise of England and Virginia (1617-1695) ; his ancestors and descendants. University of California Libraries. [Richmond : The Bell book and stationery co.
  3. 13 Cong. Rec Appendix 64
  4. 13 Cong. Rec Appendix 64

Sources
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