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Wesley L. Jones photograph collection, 1910-1927

Overview of the Collection

Collector
Jones, Wesley Livsey, 1863-1932
Title
Wesley L. Jones photograph collection
Dates
1910-1927 (inclusive)
1927 (bulk)
Quantity
3 boxes, 1 folder
309 photographic prints (2 boxes) ; various sizes
47 lantern slides (1 box)
1 pen & ink drawing on paper
Collection Number
PH0715
Summary
Portraits of Wesley Jones, lantern slides of Alaska, images of the flooding of the White and Cache Rivers, in Clarendon, Arkansas, and an album with images of the Mississippi River Flood of 1927
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Request at UW

Additional Reference Guides

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Wesley Livsey Jones was born on an Illinois farm in 1863, just days after his father died while serving in the Union army. Jones became a lawyer, and at the age of 26 he moved his practice to North Yakima (now Yakima). He quickly became involved with the Republican Party and was nominated to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1898. The Republican slate in Washington swept the elections, whisking Jones into office. He served in the House for ten years before running successfully for the U.S. Senate in 1908. He described himself a “conservative progressive”; a desire for compromise and an aversion to controversy characterized his political style. When many Republicans bolted to form the Progressive Party in 1912, Jones remained a “regular” Republican but moderated the dispute and helped pave the way for the re-integration of Washington’s Progressives in 1916.

Jones rose to become the Republican whip and served as chairman of the powerful Appropriations and Commerce Committees. Jones unflaggingly promoted federal investment in the Pacific Northwest; he led the development of the Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, successfully championed several federal irrigation projects in the region, and drafted the Jones Merchant Marine Act of 1920, which stipulated that only American ships could carry cargo between American ports (which made Alaska dependent on Seattle-owned shipping firms). Jones also helped craft the compromise which became the Federal Water Power Act of 1920. Jones staunchly advocated Prohibition throughout his career and sponsored several failed bills to tighten enforcement of the Volstead Act in the 1920s. While this “dry” stance initially increased his popularity, Jones seemed out of touch and puritanical in the late-1920s as Washingtonians increasingly viewed Prohibition as a failure. Jones ran for a fifth term in 1932, but was hampered both by deteriorating health and by association with an unpopular party headed by the unpopular President Hoover. Just as a Republican landslide had swept him into Congress thirty-four years earlier, a Democratic landslide swept him out in 1932 and replaced him with the liberal Homer Bone. Jones died less than three weeks after his defeat.

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Historical Background

In the spring of 1927, after weeks of unusually heavy rains, the Mississippi River and its tributaries breached levees causing massive and widespread flooding throughout the Mississippi River Valley. At the time, it was the worst flood in the history of the valley. An area of 27,000 miles was affected and it is estimated that as many as a thousand people lost their lives and one million were left homeless.

Prior to the flood, in Greenville, Mississippi and other areas tens of thousands of African Americans were relocated to camps on levees and the men were forced to work for little or no pay. On April 16th, when the flooding began, many African Americans were killed when Greenville levee collapsed. One week later, thirteen thousand African Americans were still stranded on the Greenville levee.

As the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, Jones was involved in legislation related to the development of levees in the Mississippi River Valley prior to, and after the 1927 flood. Jones collaborated with Senator Frank R. Reid from Illinois, Republican chair of the House Flood Control Committee, to write the Reid-Jones Bill that provided for improvements to the Mississippi River for flood control and navigation. The album photographs may have been used as visual aids for Senate hearings held by Senators Jones and Reid in support of this bill. In late May 1927, Jones and nine members of the House Flood Control Committee took part in a fact-finding tour of the flooded Mississippi Valley area. The 1928 Flood Control Act was signed into law by President Coolidge and provided that the Federal government help to bear the costs associated with improvements to the Mississippi River.

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Content Description

Collection includes portraits of Wesley Jones, lantern slides of Alaska, images of the flooding of the White and Cache Rivers, in Clarendon, Arkansas, and an album with images of the Mississippi River Flood of 1927. Glass lantern slides in this collection may have been used as visual aids by Senator Jones for related presentations.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

View selections from the collection in digital format.

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions might exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact the repository for details.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Photographs are arranged in four series:

  • Wesley L. Jones portraits
  • Lantern slides of Alaska
  • Flooding of the White and Cache Rivers, Clarendon, Arkansas
  • Mississippi River Flood of 1927 Album

Processing Note

Processed by Carolyn E. Dunford, 2005.

The Mississippi River Flood of 1927 Album was relocated from the Wesley L. Jones Papers, Accession No. 0157-001 in the repository. It was originally given PH Collection 264, but has been subsequently merged into this collection.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • African Americans--Mississippi--Photographs
  • Floods--Arkansas--Clarendon--Photographs
  • Floods--Mississippi River Valley--Photographs
  • Floods--Southern States--Photographs
  • Homeless camps--Mississippi--Photographs
  • Homeless camps--Photographs
  • Legislators--United States--Photographs
  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Personal Names

  • Jones, Wesley Livsey, 1896-1932--Photographs

Geographical Names

  • Alaska--Photographs
  • Mississippi River Valley--Photographs


2009 (Last modified: 1/31/2020)

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