Harlan, James (1820-1899) was a United States senator from Iowa from 1855 to 1865. He first ran as a member of the Free Soil Party and later as a Republican. Harlan became secretary of the interior in 1865 but resigned in 1866 because he opposed President Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction policies. He reentered the Senate in 1867 and voted to convict Johnson in an impeachment trial. Harlan served in the Senate until 1873. Born in Clark County, Illinois, on Aug. 26, 1820, he graduated from Indiana Asbury University (now DePauw University) in 1845. Harlan was president of Iowa Wesleyan College from 1853 to 1855 and from 1869 to 1870. He died on Oct. 5, 1899.
From 1910 to 2014, a statue of Harlan represented Iowa in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. In 2014, Harlan’s statue was replaced by one of agricultural scientist Norman Borlaug, and the Harlan statue was relocated to the campus of Iowa Wesleyan College.
