Background
William Steele Holman was born on September 6, 1822 in Aurora, Indiana, United States. He was the son of Jesse Lynch Holman and Elizabeth (Masterson) Holman, whose families were among the pioneers of Kentucky.
(Originally published in 1861. 16 pages. This volume is pr...)
Originally published in 1861. 16 pages. This volume is produced from digital images from the Cornell University Library Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection
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(Originally published in 1864. 16 pages. This volume is pr...)
Originally published in 1864. 16 pages. This volume is produced from digital images from the Cornell University Library Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection
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William Steele Holman was born on September 6, 1822 in Aurora, Indiana, United States. He was the son of Jesse Lynch Holman and Elizabeth (Masterson) Holman, whose families were among the pioneers of Kentucky.
Holman was educated in local schools and attended Franklin College for two years, giving up his course because of the death of his father. Later he studied law.
Holman was admitted to the bar, served as probate judge, 1843-1846, and as prosecuting attorney 1847-1849, was a member of the constitutional convention of 1850, and of the legislature in 1851-1852, and completed his service under the state government by a four-year term as judge of the court of common pleas, 1852-1856. For the next forty years he was the candidate of the Democratic party in the 4th congressional district of Indiana, being elected sixteen times. His terms of service in the House covered the periods 1859-1865, 1867-1877, 1881-1895, 1897. He first gained prominence as a War Democrat and throughout his later career was known as a friend of the old soldier.
It was in the matter of appropriation bills that he made his reputation and earned the titles "The Watch Dog of the Treasury" and "The Great Objector, " the latter by the frequency with which he blocked consideration of measures--usually carrying an appropriation--which required unanimous consent. His attitude was sometimes shortsighted, and the "Holman amendment, " carried for years in the rules of the House, by which an appropriation bill was permitted to embody a change in existing law "provided it be germane to the subject matter and retrenches expenses, " aggravated the pernicious practice of "riders" and in part defeated the intention of its author. As an offset, however, his opposition in 1885 to the "scatter policy" by which various committees were authorized to bring in appropriation bills disclosed a thorough understanding of budgetary procedure, and his predictions as to the evils involved in the change were fully justified by subsequent developments.
Aside from such matters as his attempts to starve the Library of Congress and his hostility to expenditures for the improvement of the national capital, his speeches in general disclose a high order of ability and in many instances a profound insight into the injustice and hardship involved in many of the economic policies of the day. James G. Blaine, whose ideals were very different, paid tribute to his character and ability.
Holmes went down to history as a notable politician and lawyer. An effective debater, a master of parliamentary tactics, and, thanks to long experience on committees, an expert on Indian affairs, public lands, and government expenditures, Holman became one of the outstanding members of the lower house.
(Originally published in 1861. 16 pages. This volume is pr...)
(Originally published in 1864. 16 pages. This volume is pr...)
While constantly denounced as a demagogue and an exponent of "hay-seed statesmanship, " Holman had a well-defined philosophy of government, and his legislative conduct was quite in accordance therewith. He was in many respects a Jeffersonian, carrying the ideas of a simple agricultural era over into the age of railroads, industrialism, and high finance. According to his view, most of the people were poor and over-taxed; governmental outlays usually benefited those who least needed help; one outlay bred others; and in the long run democratic institutions could hardly survive the strain. A typical expression of his views may be found in one of his speeches against naval expansion, a program due, he charged, to the uneasiness of capitalistic interests, "the unexampled accumulation of great fortunes the outgrowth in a large degree of partial and vicious legislation, " which desired a government based on physical power, and whose designs were facilitated by the existence of "the vast and dishonoring surplus in the Treasury"--collected by unnecessary taxation.
Holmes was meticulously honest and applied his own principles of economy to expense accounts when on public service. Numerous anecdotes were the natural and perhaps the chief result, of this habit, among them a story of his forcing a congressional committee of inspection to take a laborious trip in an army ambulance in order to reduce transportation costs. His nickname and the hostility of many contemporaries whose measures he defeated, combined with his lanky frame, simplicity of manner, careless dress, somewhat uncouth appearance, and fondness for chewing tobacco, caused his real ability to be frequently underrated.
Testimony is unanimous that, personally, Holman was a delightful character, with many qualities reminiscent of Lincoln, the same ability as a raconteur, and somewhat the same whimsical appreciation of the virtues and weaknesses of the common man. He was a remarkably effective stump speaker.
When Holman was about twenty, he married Abigail Knapp. they had seven children.
