John Franklin Swift
Encyclopedia
John Franklin Swift. He was an American politician and author. Swift was a Republican member of the California State Assembly
. He represented the 8th district (County of San Francisco) in 1863 and 1873-75. In 1875 he ran as an independent for congress, but lost to William A. Piper. He later represented the 13th District from 1877 to 1880. In 1886, he ran for Governor of California
, but lost to Democrat Washington Montgomery Bartlett
.
Along with Newton Booth
, Swift formed an Independent Republican party whose platform was dominated by an anti-monopoly plank.
Swift served as the United States
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Japan
from 1889 to 1891.
In 1867 Swift travelled on the USS Quaker City to the Holy City, the trip that Mark Twain
made famous in his book Innocents Abroad
. Swift's version of this journey is captured in his book Going to Jericho; or, Sketches of Travel in Spain and the East.
As a legislator, Swift wrote provisions in the California State Constitution which gave the county board of supervisors the authority to control water rates. In June, 1880, as a member of the treaty commission to China headed by James Burrill Angell
, U.S. Chief Chinese Negotiator, Swift traveled with fellow commission member William Henry Trescot
and Angell to Peking (now Beijing), China. The result was the Angell Treaty of 1880 which limited the Burlingame Treaty
of 1868. The Angell Treaty regulated and limited the immigration of Chinese laborers to the United States but did not prohibit it outright. It separated U.S. trade interests from the immigration issue, and made a legal opening for an exclusion law.
In Chae Chan Ping v. the United States, Swift and LA District Attorney Stephen M. White
on behalf of California succeeded in moving the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the constitutionality of the Chinese Exclusion Act, 1888.
Bret Hart
commented that "of the three humorous writers: Twain, Miller, and Swift, the last was the greatest genius.
Swift was married to Mary A. Wood (1841–1927), daughter of Emily Morrell and William Wood.
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
. He represented the 8th district (County of San Francisco) in 1863 and 1873-75. In 1875 he ran as an independent for congress, but lost to William A. Piper. He later represented the 13th District from 1877 to 1880. In 1886, he ran for Governor of California
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
, but lost to Democrat Washington Montgomery Bartlett
Washington Bartlett
Washington Montgomery Bartlett was the 20th Mayor of San Francisco, California from 1883–1887 and was California's first and to date only Jewish Governor of California.- Life and career :...
.
Along with Newton Booth
Newton Booth
Newton Booth was an American politician.Born in Salem, Indiana, he attended the common schools. In 1841, his parents Beebe and Hannah Booth moved from Salem to Terre Haute, Indiana. Newton graduated from Asbury University, later renamed DePauw University, in nearby Greencastle, Indiana. He studied...
, Swift formed an Independent Republican party whose platform was dominated by an anti-monopoly plank.
Swift served as the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
from 1889 to 1891.
Background
Swift was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and died in Tokyo, Japan, but spent most of his career in San Francisco, California. Swift was admitted to the California bar in 1857. He worked for the U.S. Land Office from 1865-1866. He was appointed to serve as a regent for the University of California from 1872-88. In 1888, Swift was the delegate-at-large to the Republican National Convention.In 1867 Swift travelled on the USS Quaker City to the Holy City, the trip that Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
made famous in his book Innocents Abroad
Innocents Abroad
The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims' Progress is a travel book by American author Mark Twain published in 1869 which humorously chronicles what Twain called his "Great Pleasure Excursion" on board the chartered vessel Quaker City through Europe and the Holy Land with a group of American...
. Swift's version of this journey is captured in his book Going to Jericho; or, Sketches of Travel in Spain and the East.
As a legislator, Swift wrote provisions in the California State Constitution which gave the county board of supervisors the authority to control water rates. In June, 1880, as a member of the treaty commission to China headed by James Burrill Angell
James Burrill Angell
James Burrill Angell was an American educator, academic administrator, and diplomat. He is best known for being the longest-serving president of the University of Michigan . Under his leadership Michigan gained prominence as an elite public university...
, U.S. Chief Chinese Negotiator, Swift traveled with fellow commission member William Henry Trescot
William Henry Trescot
William Henry Trescot was an American diplomatist born in Charleston, South Carolina, on the November 10, 1822. He graduated at College of Charleston in 1840, studied law at Harvard University, and was admitted to the bar in 1843.From 1852 to 1854 he was secretary of the U.S. legation in London...
and Angell to Peking (now Beijing), China. The result was the Angell Treaty of 1880 which limited the Burlingame Treaty
Burlingame Treaty
The Burlingame Treaty, also known as the Burlingame-Seward Treaty of 1868, between the United States and China, amended the Treaty of Tientsin of 1858 and established formal friendly relations between the two countries, with the United States granting China most favored nation status...
of 1868. The Angell Treaty regulated and limited the immigration of Chinese laborers to the United States but did not prohibit it outright. It separated U.S. trade interests from the immigration issue, and made a legal opening for an exclusion law.
In Chae Chan Ping v. the United States, Swift and LA District Attorney Stephen M. White
Stephen M. White
Stephen Mallory White was an American politician and an U.S. Senator from California.-Life:Born in San Francisco, Stephen White attended Santa Clara College and read law in the office of Charles Bruce Younger Sr. in Santa Cruz, California and was admitted to the bar in 1874...
on behalf of California succeeded in moving the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the constitutionality of the Chinese Exclusion Act, 1888.
Publications
He is considered one of the writers of the Sagebush School with Joseph T. Goodman, Mark Twain, Fred H. Hart, Henry E. Mighels, Dan de Quille (William Wright) Sam Davis, C. C. Goodwin, Joseph Wasson, Rollin M. Daggett and others.Bret Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
commented that "of the three humorous writers: Twain, Miller, and Swift, the last was the greatest genius.
- Going to Jericho; or, Sketches of Travel in Spain and the East (1868)
- Grant And Wilson: Speech Of The Hon. John F. Swift,Delivered At Platt's Hall, July 9, 1872
- Robert Greathouse: An American Novel (1870)
- Robert Greathouse: A Story Of The Nevada Silver Mines (1878)
- The Present and Future of the University (1887)
- California a Republican state: Address to the Republicans of California (1888)
Personal
Swift's father was Nathan Williamson Swift and his mother was Sarah "Sallie" Campbell.Swift was married to Mary A. Wood (1841–1927), daughter of Emily Morrell and William Wood.