Angus Cameron (American politician)

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Angus Cameron (July 4, 1824 – March 30, 1897) was an American lawyer, banker, and Republican politician who helped shape Wisconsin’s early politics and served in the U.S. Senate for ten years. Born in Caledonia, New York, to Scottish immigrants, he studied law and moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin, in 1857, where he practiced law and ran a bank with his brother.

In Wisconsin, Cameron served in the State Assembly (1866–1868) and was speaker in 1867. He also served in the State Senate representing La Crosse County (1863–1865 and 1871–1873) and was a Regent of the University of Wisconsin (1866–1875).

Cameron was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Republican, serving from 1875 to 1881. He chaired the Senate Select Committee that investigated election fraud in South Carolina during the 1876 presidential election, finding threats and intimidation of Black voters. He did not seek renomination in 1881 but was elected in a special election to finish the term, serving again from 1881 to 1885 and chairing the Committee on Claims.

After leaving the Senate, he returned to law and banking. He died in La Crosse in 1897. The village of Cameron, Wisconsin, is named after him. He was married to Mary Papillon Baker in 1856; they had no known children. His brother Dugald D. Cameron also became a notable figure in the region.