Champ Clark
James Beauchamp Clark (March 7, 1850 – March 2, 1921) was an American politician and attorney who served as the 36th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1911 to 1919. He was the only Democrat to serve as speaker during the Progressive Era when Republicans dominated the House, Senate, and presidency. Clark represented Missouri's 9th district between 1893 and 1921. Born in Kentucky, Clark established a law practice in Bowling Green, Missouri. After serving in local, county, and state office, he won election to the U.S. House in 1892, lost his seat in 1894, and won the seat back in 1896. He became the House Minority Leader in 1908 and was elevated to Speaker after Democrats took control of the House in the 1910 elections. He inadvertently helped defeat the Canadian–American Reciprocity Treaty of 1911 by arguing that ratification of the treaty would lead to the incorporation of Canada into the United States. Entering the 1912 Democratic National Convention, Clark had won the backing of a majority of the delegates, but lacked the necessary two-thirds majority to win the presidential nomination. After dozens of ballots, Woodrow Wilson emerged as the Democratic presidential nominee, and went on to win the 1912 presidential election. Clark helped Wilson pass much of his progressive agenda but opposed U.S. entry into World War I. In the 1918 midterm elections, Democrats lost their control of the House of Representatives, ending Clark's tenure as Speaker. The 1920 House elections saw the defeat of numerous Democrats, including Clark. He died the following March, two days before he would have left office. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Lawrenceburg (city in Anderson County, Kentucky, United States), Died March 2, 1921 (Washington, D.C. (capital city of the United States of America) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1912 - 1920
Roles Represented in DAHR: speaker, author
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | C-11700 | 12-in. | 3/10/1912 | Payne-Aldritch bill a humbug | Hon. Champ Clark | Political address | speaker, author | |
| Victor | C-11701 | 12-in. | 3/10/1912 | President Taft's lost opportunity | Hon. Champ Clark | Political address | speaker, author | |
| Victor | C-11702 | 12-in. | 3/10/1912 | All public plunderers look alike to me | Hon. Champ Clark | Political address | speaker, author | |
| Victor | C-11703 | 12-in. | 3/10/1912 | Champ Clark at the Jackson Day banquet in Washington, D.C., January 12, 1912 | Hon. Champ Clark | Political address | speaker, author | |
| Victor | C-11704 | 12-in. | 3/10/1912 | Champ Clark at the Jackson Day banquet in Washington, D.C., January 12, 1912 | Hon. Champ Clark | Political address | speaker, author | |
| Victor | C-11705 | 12-in. | 3/10/1912 | Champ Clark at the Jackson Day banquet in Washington, D.C., January 12, 1912 | Hon. Champ Clark | Political address | speaker, author | |
| Victor | C-11706 | 12-in. | 3/10/1912 | Champ Clark at the Jackson Day Banquet in Washington, D.C., January 12, 1912 | Hon. Champ Clark | Political address | speaker, author | |
| Victor | C-11707 | 12-in. | 3/10/1912 | Speaker Clark on Russia | Hon. Champ Clark | Political address | speaker, author | |
| Victor | C-11708 | 12-in. | 3/10/1912 | Good roads and rivers and harbors | Hon. Champ Clark | Political address | speaker, author | |
| Victor | C-11709 | 12-in. | 3/10/1912 | American citizenship | Hon. Champ Clark | Political address | speaker, author | |
| Victor | C-11710 | 12-in. | 3/10/1912 | Speaker Champ Clark's speech of acceptance | Hon. Champ Clark | Political address | speaker, author | |
| Columbia | 77641 | 10-in. | 1/17/1918 | At Valley Forge | Hon. Champ Clark | Speech | speaker | |
| Columbia | 49799 | 12-in. | 4/23/1920 | Democratic achievement | Hon. Champ Clark | Speech | speaker |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Clark, Champ," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105152.
Clark, Champ. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105152.
"Clark, Champ." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Clark, Champ, 1850-1921 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85337433
Wikidata: Champ Clark - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q465651
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/38374088
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/175158 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/175158
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.
