Reagan, John Henninger

▪ United States political leader

born Oct. 8, 1818, Sevier County, Tenn., U.S.

died March 6, 1905, Palestine, Texas

      American congressman who was postmaster general of the Confederate States of America and later co-author of the bill creating the U.S. Interstate Commerce Commission.

      Reagan went to Texas in 1839 and fought against the Cherokees. He worked as a surveyor and studied law, and by the time he was admitted to the bar in 1848, he had already served as a justice of the peace and a county judge. He quickly became one of the leading lawyers in Texas. In 1847 he won a seat in the state legislature, and in 1852 he was elected to a six-year term as district judge. In 1856 Reagan won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was reelected two years later, despite his denunciation of the position of proslavery extremists.

      In 1861, however, Reagan became deeply involved in the secession movement. He was first elected to the Texas secession convention and then sent by that convention to the provisional Congress of the Confederacy. By March 1861 he was postmaster general of the Confederacy, a position he held until the Confederacy collapsed. A capable administrator, he kept the post office running efficiently and, during the last few weeks of the Civil War, also served as treasury secretary.

      After the war, Reagan returned to his home in Palestine, Texas. During the following decade he became active in the railroad business and successfully sought a rail line to serve Palestine. In 1875 he returned to the U.S. House of Representatives, and he was reelected continuously thereafter. In 1887 he took a seat in the Senate. While in Congress he served on both the House and Senate commerce committees, and he was co-author of the bill establishing the Interstate Commerce Commission.

      In 1891 Reagan accepted appointment to the Texas Railroad Commission and served as its chairman from 1897 to 1903, when he retired from public life.

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