William D. Kelley

​William Darrah Kelley (1814-1890) was born in the Northern Liberties of Philadelphia on April 12, 1814. His grandfather, John Kelley, was a Major for the Continental Army during the War of Independence, and his father, David Kelley, was a jeweler and watchmaker. During the financial crisis which  followed the cessation of the War of 1812, however, David Kelley’s business would fail. Financially destitute, David Kelley was found dead in a street of Philadelphia, when young William Kelley was only two years old. William’s mother, Hannah Darrah Kelley, was left to raise William and his three siblings herself. William Kelley attended school until he was the age of eleven. He would then work as an errand boy in a local bookstore, before becoming a proofreader for the Pennsylvania Inquirer. Having saved money from these roles, Kelley would then follow in his father’s footsteps and would undertake an apprenticeship in a jewelry store. He would finish his apprenticeship at the age of twenty. He then decided to move to Boston in 1835, where he worked as a journeyman jeweler. He would return to Philadelphia in 1840 and then decided to undertake the study of the law. The following year he was admitted to the bar. His reputation as a lawyer quickly garnered attention, so much so that the Pennsylvania Governor appointed him Prosecuting Attorney of Philadelphia. In 1846, he would then be made a Judge on the Court of Common Pleas, a position he held until 1856.

Kelley originally began as a member of the Democratic Party, though he never ran for office as a Democrat. In 1854, however, he switched his allegiance to the newly established Republican Party and would run unsuccessfully as a candidate in 1856. In 1860, he would be selected as a delegate to the Republican National Convention and would be elected to the House of Representatives in the same year. In Congress, Kelley developed a reputation as a staunch tariff man, and eventually earned the nickname “Pig-Iron Kelley” for his support of protective tariffs on iron and steel. Between 1867 and 1873, Kelley would serve as chairman of the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures. He would then be chairman of the Ways and Means Committee between 1881 and 1883, and between 1889 and 1890, he was chairman of the Committee on Manufactures. The latter two positions gave Kelley considerable influence over tariff policy.

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Kelley’s contribution to American Protectionist thought mainly comes via his congressional speeches and his other addresses. Two of the more important of these are his 1866 congressional speech Protection to American Labor, and his 1871 address entitled Reasons for Abandoning the Theory of Free Trade and Adopting the Principle of Protection to American Industry. In 1872, his key speeches would be compiled into a volume entitled Speeches, Address, and Letters on Industrial and Financial Questions, which spanned almost 600 pages. Some of the speeches would also circulate separately as pamphlets. In addition to these, Kelley would also write various articles on political economy, including an important article in the International Review entitled “A Science Based Upon Assumptions.” In 1888, Kelley would also produce a book entitled The Old South and the New, which investigates social and economic questions concerning the Southern States. Kelley would remain a member of Congress until his death in Washington, DC, on January 9, 1890. At the time, Kelly was both the oldest member of Congress, as well as the longest continuously serving congressmen.
 

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