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Aaron Augustus Sargent
United States Senator from California
In office March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1879
Preceded by	Cornelius Cole
Succeeded by	James T. Farley
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California
In office March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1873
Preceded by	William Higby
Succeeded by	Horace F. Page
Constituency	2nd district
In office March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1863
Preceded by	Charles L. Scott
Succeeded by	William Higby
Constituency	At-large district
Member of the California Senate
In office 1856
Personal details
Born	(1827-09-28)September 28, 1827 Newburyport, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	August 14, 1887(1887-08-14) (aged 59) San Francisco, California, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Profession	Politician, Lawyer

Aaron Augustus Sargent (September 28, 1827 – August 14, 1887) was an American journalist, lawyer, politician and diplomat. In 1878, Sargent historically introduced what would later become the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving women the right to vote. He was sometimes called the "Senator for the Southern Pacific Railroad".

Early life and education

Born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, he attended the common schools and then was apprenticed to a cabinetmaker. In his youth, he worked as a printer in Philadelphia and then, in 1847, moved to Washington, D.C., where he was a secretary to a Congressman.

Career

He moved to California in 1849 and settled in Nevada City in 1850. There he was on the staff of the Nevada Daily Journal, eventually becoming that newspaper's owner. He was admitted to the California bar in 1854 and began practicing in Nevada City, becoming district attorney for Nevada County in 1856. He served in the California State Senate in 1856, and was an unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senate in 1857.

Congress

Sargent was elected as a Republican to the 37th Congress; skipped several terms and was reelected to the 41st and 42nd Congresses. In 1861 he was the author of the first Pacific Railroad Act that was passed in Congress.

He was elected to the United States Senate in 1871 and served from 1873 to 1879. During his time in the Senate, he was chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Mines and Mining during the 44th Congress and chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Naval Affairs during the 45th Congress.

Women's rights

In January 1878, Senator Sargent introduced the 29 words that would later become the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, allowing women the right to vote. Sargent's wife, Ellen Clark Sargent, was a leading voting rights advocate and a friend of such suffrage leaders as Susan B. Anthony. The bill calling for the amendment would be introduced unsuccessfully each year for the next forty years.

Ambassador to Germany

Sargent returned to California in 1880. After leaving the Senate he practiced law in San Francisco for three years, leaving to become United States Ambassador to Germany for two years, and held office until German authorities excluded American pork from the German Empire which made his position personally distasteful. He turned down the appointment of Ambassador to Russia after William H. Hunt's death and made an unsuccessful attempt for the Republican nomination for the Senate in 1885.

Death and legacy

He died in San Francisco in 1887. His original interment at Laurel Hill Cemetery in San Francisco, which closed by 1941. According to Sargent's descendants, A.A. Sargent's ashes were spread over the placer mine he had in Nevada City and a monument to him may be found in the old Pioneer Cemetery in Nevada City.

Sargent was a noted proponent of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, arguing in Overland Monthly in support of exclusion and for the renewal of the 1882 Exclusion Act after its expiration in 1892. The Chinese Exclusion Act was eventually renewed in 1892, and again—indefinitely—in 1902, staying in effect until 1943.

References

1. "Sargent, Aaron Augustus". Biographical Dictionary of the United States Congress. United States Congress. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
2. "Ex-Senator Sargent". The New York Times. August 15, 1887. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2010. Aaron A. Sargent, ex-United States Senator for California, died here this morning. He had been ... for some time, but was ... to his house only for the last two weeks. His disease was enlargement of the spleen, resulting in blood-poisoning. After his last return here he engaged in law practice, establishing...
3. "Index to Politicians: Sargent". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved October 21, 2022.

Further reading

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (September 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• Sargent, A A (November 1885). "The Wyoming anti-Chinese riot". Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine. Vol. 6, no. 35. San Francisco. pp. 507–512. ProQuest 137560189.
• Sargent, A A (January 1886). "'The Wyoming Anti-Chinese Riot.'—Again". Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine. Vol. 7, no. 37. San Francisco. pp. 54–60. ProQuest 137565135.
• Shepard, Christopher (Winter 2013). "No Chinese Wanted: Aaron Sargent and Chinese Immigration, 1862-1886". Journal of the West. 51 (1): 50–57. EBSCOhost 87334901.

External links

• United States Congress. "Aaron A. Sargent (id: S000065)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

v t e United States senators from California
Class 1	Frémont Weller Broderick Haun Latham Conness Casserly Hager Booth Miller Hearst Williams Hearst Felton White Bard Flint Works Johnson Knowland Engle Salinger Murphy Tunney Hayakawa Wilson Seymour Feinstein Butler Schiff
Class 3	Gwin McDougall Cole Sargent Farley Stanford Perkins Phelan Shortridge McAdoo Storke Downey Nixon Kuchel Cranston Boxer Harris Padilla

v t e Chairs of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
Military Affairs Committee (1816–1947)	J. Williams Troup J. Williams Jackson Harrison Benton Preston Crittenden Benton Cass Benton Davis Shields Weller Davis Johnson Wilson Logan Spencer Randolph Logan Sewell Hawley Walthall Hawley Proctor Warren du Pont Johnston Chamberlain Wadsworth Reed Sheppard Reynolds Thomas
Naval Affairs Committee (1816–1947)	Tait Sanford Pleasants Lloyd Hayne Dallas Southard Rives R. Williams Mangum Bayard Fairfield Yulee Gwin Mallory J. Hale Grimes Cragin Sargent McPherson Cameron McPherson Cameron E. Hale Perkins Tillman Swanson Page F. Hale Trammell Walsh
Armed Services Committee (1947–present)	Gurney Tydings Russell Saltonstall Russell Stennis Tower Goldwater Nunn Thurmond Warner Levin Warner Levin Warner Levin McCain Inhofe Reed Wicker (designate)

v t e United States ambassadors to Germany
Germany–United States relations Embassy of the United States, Berlin
Minister Plenipotentiary	Adams
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary	Wheaton Donelson Hannegan Barnard Vroom Wright Judd Wright Bancroft Davis Taylor White Sargent Kasson Pendleton Phelps Runyon
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	Runyon Uhl White Tower Hill Leishman Gerard Dresel Houghton Schurman Sackett Dodd Wilson Kirk Morris Conant Bruce Dowling McGhee Lodge Rush Hillenbrand Stoessel Burns Burt Walters Kimmitt Holbrooke Redman Bindenagel Kornblum Coats Timken Koenig Murphy Emerson Logsdon Grenell Quinville Price Gutmann Price

v t e United States ambassadors to Russia
Russian Empire (1780–1917)	Dana Adams Pinkney Campbell Middleton Randolph Buchanan Wilkins J. Clay Dallas Cambreleng Todd Ingersoll Bagby Brown Seymour Pickens Appleton C. Clay Cameron C. Clay Curtin Orr Jewell Boker Stoughton Foster Hunt Taft Lothrop Tree C. Smith White Breckinridge Hitchcock Tower McCormick Meyer Riddle Rockhill Guild Marye Francis
Soviet Union (1933–1991)	Bullitt Davies Steinhardt Standley Harriman W. Smith Kirk Kennan Bohlen Thompson Kohler Thompson Beam Dubs Stoessel Toon Watson Hartman Matlock Strauss
Russian Federation (1991–present)	Strauss Pickering Collins Vershbow Burns Beyrle McFaul Tefft Huntsman Sullivan Tracy

• 1827 births
• 1887 deaths
• Republican Party California state senators
• Ambassadors of the United States to Germany
• District attorneys in California
• Lawyers from San Francisco
• 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
• American people in rail transportation
• Politicians from San Francisco
• People of California in the American Civil War
• People from Nevada City, California
• Politicians from Newburyport, Massachusetts
• Republican Party United States senators from California
• Ambassadors of the United States to Russia
• 19th-century American diplomats
• Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California
• Suffragists from California
• 19th-century American journalists
• American male journalists
• 19th-century American male writers
• Journalists from California
• 19th-century American lawyers
• Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (San Francisco)
• 19th-century members of the California State Legislature
• 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
• 19th-century United States senators