Archives West Finding Aid

James Pinckney Pope, the eldest of the thirteen children of Jesse T. and Lou (McBride) Pope, was born on a farm near Jonesboro, Jackson Parish, Louisiana on March 31, 1884. He was raised on his father's cotton plantation and later claimed he was the champion cotton picker of Jackson Parish. He received his early education in the public schools of his native parish. He then attended Louisiana Polytechnic Institute in Ruston where he distinguished himself in both scholarship and athletics. He was tackle on the football team for three years, and also served as captain of the team his last year. In 1906, after four years of study, he graduated with a Bachelor of Industry degree. He continued his education at the law school of the University of Chicago where he was prominent in inter-collegiate oratorical contests, and was a member of the university's debating team during the 1907-1908 school year. In 1909 he was graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree.

Following his graduation from law school he took what little money he had been able to save, boarded a cattle boat bound for Europe, and bicycled through England, Scotland, and Wales. He returned to the U.S. without any money, worked at odd jobs until he had saved enough to finance a trip west, and in October 1909 was forced to stop in Boise, Idaho when his money again ran out. He joined the law firm of Morrison and Pence as a clerk, passed his bar exam in November, and remained with the firm until January 1910 when he entered into a partnership with E.P. Barnes. The partnership was dissolved after three years, and from that time James Pope practiced alone.

While studying at the University of Chicago he met Pauline Horn, also a student, whom he married on June 26, 1913. They had two sons, Ross and George. Mrs. Pope died in 1957.

A Democrat in his political allegiance, he took an active part in political affairs. In 1910 he was an unsuccessful candidate for county attorney of Ada County. In 1912 he served as Secretary of the State Democratic Committee, and as its chairman from 1920 to 1924. In 1916 he was appointed deputy collector of Internal Revenue, served as city attorney from 1916 to 1917, and as Assistant Attorney General of Idaho in 1917 and 1918, after which he re-entered private practice. He was a delegate to every Idaho Democratic State convention from 1914 to 1930, and was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions of 1924, 1928, 1932, and 1936, serving as chairman of the Idaho delegation in 1936. He was Chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee from 1920 to 1922. He was elected a member of the school board in 1924 and served as its president until 1929 when he was elected mayor of Boise. He was re-elected to that position in 1931 without opposition. He resigned as mayor when, in 1932, he was elected to the U.S. Senate where he served until 1938; he was unsuccessful in his campaign for renomination.

Upon entering the Senate he requested that he be placed on the Agriculture and Forestry Committee where he soon became recognized as the farm leader for the administration. He was co-author and sponsor of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, originator and sponsor of the Federal Crop Insurance Act, and was one of the leaders in securing enactment of the Sugar Act of 1937, which raised the income of sugar beet growers to parity. He fought for and received great reclamation development for Idaho. As a member of the Joint Congressional Committee on Forestry he was responsible for a large share of the C.C.C. program and the blister rust control program which was so important to the preservation of the pine forests of Idaho. He was also recognized as one of the foremost advocates of peace and served on the Munitions Committee which investigated the world wide munitions manufacturing ring. He also served on the Foreign Relations Committee, the Mines and Mining Committee, and the Irrigation and Reclamation Committee. Besides the Joint Committee on Forestry, he was chairman of the Joint Committee Investigating the Adequacy and Use of Phosphate Resources and promoted the mining of Idaho's phosphate deposits.

On January 12, 1939, President Roosevelt appointed Pope a director of the Tennessee Valley Authority. He moved to Knoxville and served on the board until his resignation on May 18, 1951. In 1963, because of ill health, he moved to the Hermitage Methodist nursing home in Alexandria, Virginia, where he died at the age of 81 on January 23, 1966.