Editing James B. Weaver (section)

==Republican politics==
[[File:James B. Weaver house from SW 1.jpg|thumb|left|Weaver's home, built in 1867 in Bloomfield]]

Soon after returning from the war Weaver became editor of a pro-Republican Bloomfield newspaper, the ''Weekly Union Guard''.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=49}} At the 1865 Iowa Republican State Convention, he placed second for the nomination for [[Lieutenant Governor of Iowa|lieutenant governor]].{{sfn|Lause|2001|p=15}} The following year, Weaver was elected district attorney for the second judicial district, covering six counties in southern Iowa.{{sfn|Haynes|1919|p=68}} In 1867, President [[Andrew Johnson]] appointed him assessor of internal revenue in the first Congressional district, which extended across southeastern Iowa.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=50}} The job came with a $1500 salary, plus a percentage of taxes collected over $100,000.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=50}} Weaver held that lucrative position until 1872, when Congress abolished it.{{sfn|Haynes|1919|p=68}} He also became involved in the [[Methodist Episcopal Church]], serving as a delegate to a church convention in [[Baltimore]] in 1876.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=51}} Membership in the Methodist church coincided with Weaver's interest in the growing movement for [[Prohibition in the United States|prohibition of the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages]].{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=51}} His income and prestige grew along with his family, which included seven children by 1877.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=51}} Weaver's success allowed him to build [[James B. Weaver House|a large new home]] for his family, which still stands.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=51}}

Weaver's work for the party led many to support his nomination to represent [[Iowa's 6th congressional district]] in the federal [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] in 1874.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=55}} Many party insiders, however, were wary of Weaver's association with the [[Prohibition]] movement and preferred to remain uncommitted on the divisive issue.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=55}} At the convention, Weaver led on the first ballot, but ultimately lost the nomination by one vote to [[Ezekiel S. Sampson]], a local judge.{{sfn|Haynes|1919|pp=70–71}} Weaver's allies attributed his loss to "the meanest kind of wire pulling",{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=57}} but Weaver shrugged off the defeat and aimed instead at the gubernatorial nomination in 1875.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=57}} He launched a vigorous effort, courted delegates around the state, and explicitly endorsed Prohibition and greater state control of railroad rates.{{sfn|Haynes|1919|p=74}} Weaver attracted many delegates' support, but alienated those who were friendly to the railroads and wished to avoid the liquor issue.{{sfn|Haynes|1919|p=74}} Opposition was scattered among several lesser-known candidates, mostly members of Senator [[William B. Allison]]'s conservative wing of the party.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|pp=58–59}} They united at the convention when a delegate unexpectedly nominated former governor Kirkwood.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|pp=58–59}} The nomination carried easily and, after Allison's associates persuaded him to accept it, Kirkwood was nominated, and went on to win the election.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|pp=58–59}} In a further defeat, the delegates refused to endorse Prohibition in the party platform.{{sfn|Haynes|1919|pp=80–81}} Weaver had small consolation in a nomination to the state Senate, but he lost to his Democratic opponent in the election that fall.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=61}}