Background
James was born on July 27, 1871, in Marion, Kentucky, the son of L. H. and Elizabeth J. James.
James was born on July 27, 1871, in Marion, Kentucky, the son of L. H. and Elizabeth J. James.
James attended the public schools and read law in his father's office. In 1891 he was admitted to the bar. He had begun his political education when he became a page in the Kentucky legislature at the age of sixteen.
When James was twenty-five he served as chairman of the Kentucky delegation to the Democratic National Convention at Chicago, where he enthusiastically supported Bryan and free silver. Although originally an opponent of William Goebel in the Kentucky gubernatorial campaign of 1899 he accepted the decision of the regular party convention, became one of the attorneys to contest the election before the legislature, and fought skilfully until the assassination of Goebel ended that phase of political conflict. In 1900 he was chosen chairman of the state convention to select delegates for the national convention at Kansas City. In 1903 he was elected to the national House of Representatives. During his five terms in the lower house of Congress he established himself in state and national politics. He was one of the most popular campaign orators of the day and, whenever he spoke, drew large audiences in spite of the fact that his eloquence belonged to the rather florid fashion of an older generation. In 1904 and, again, in 1908 James served as chairman of the state delegation to the Democratic National Convention. In 1908 he made a speech seconding the nomination of Bryan. He was one of the leaders of the opposition in Congress that drove Ballinger from the cabinet, but he supported the administration in advocating the constitutional amendments for an income tax and for the direct election of senators. In July 1911 he was nominated for the Senate in a state-wide primary and elected by the legislature on January 9, 1912. At the Democratic National Convention in Baltimore that year he was chosen permanent chairman. Although he had preferred the nomination of Champ Clark, he presided over the long contest to the satisfaction of all contestants, and, later, delivered the speech of notification to Wilson. In the Senate he became an ardent supporter of the administration and its policies. In 1916 James was again chosen permanent chairman of the nominating convention, where he delivered a brilliant speech on the achievements of Wilson's first administration. Also it fell to him once more formally to notify the candidate of his nomination. On February 14, 1918, he made his last great speech, denying the charge that the executive machinery had broken down under the stress of war and urging the Senate to give its whole hearted support to the administration in the prosecution of the war. He was renominated to the Senate by his party primary, but he was already fatally ill and did not live out the month. James died on August 28, 1918.
With his huge frame surmounted by a glistening bald head, and his boyish charm James was one of the most picturesque as well as one of the most popular figures in Congress and was known to every one as "Ollie. "
On December 2, 1903 James married Ruth Thomas of Marion, Crittenden County, Kentucky, which he had already made his home.