Samuel Jackson Randall (10 October 1828 – 13 April 1890) was a member of the US House of Representatives (D-PA 1) from 4 March 1863 to 3 March 1875 (succeeding William Eckart Lehman and preceding Chapman Freeman) and from PA-3 from 3 March 1875 to 13 April 1890 (succeeding Leonard Myers and preceding Richard Vaux). He served as Speaker of the House from 4 December 1876 to 4 March 1881 (succeeding Michael C. Kerr and preceding J. Warren Keifer).
Biography[]
Samuel Jackson Randall was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1828, and he came from a family of active Whigs. He joined the Know Nothings after the Whigs' demise, and he served on the Philadelphia Common Council from 1852 to 1856 and later joined the Democratic Party. Randall served in the State Senate from 1857 to 1859, and he served in the Union Army cavalry during the American Civil War. He went on to serve in the US House of Representatives from 1863 until his death in 1890, staunchly supporting protective tariffs to protect the interests of his industrialized district, and he resisted Reconstruction and the growth of federal power. He served as Speaker of the House from 1876 to 1881, and he was considered a possible nominee for President in 1880 and 1884. When his party regained control of the House in 1883, they chose not to reappoint him as Speaker, as he sided with the Republicans on protectionism. He lost influence as the Democrats came to firmly support free trade, and he died in office in 1890.