James Edmund Bailey
United States Senator from Tennessee
In office January 19, 1877 – March 3, 1881
Preceded by	David M. Key
Succeeded by	Howell E. Jackson
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
In office 1853
Personal details
Born	(1822-08-15)August 15, 1822 Montgomery County, Tennessee
Died	December 29, 1885(1885-12-29) (aged 63) Clarksville, Tennessee
Political party	Democratic

James Edmund Bailey (August 15, 1822 – December 29, 1885) was an American Democratic United States Senator from Tennessee from 1877 to 1881.

Bailey was born in Montgomery County, Tennessee.^[1] He attended the Clarksville Academy and the former University of Nashville.^[1]

He then studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1843, starting a practice in Clarksville, Tennessee. In 1853, he was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives as a Whig.^[1]

During the Civil War, he served in the 49th Tennessee Regiment, Confederate States Army as a colonel.^[1]

He was appointed by governor of Tennessee John C. Brown to the Court of Arbitration in 1874.^[1]

Bailey was elected by the Tennessee General Assembly as a Democrat to the balance of the unexpired term of the late Andrew Johnson, serving from January 19, 1877, to March 4, 1881. In the 46th Congress, he was chairman of the Senate Committee on Education and Labor. His efforts to effect his reelection were unsuccessful, and upon the expiry of his term he returned to the practice of law in Clarksville.

Bailey's son was Judge Jennings Bailey.^[2]

He died in Clarksville and is buried in that city's Greenwood Cemetery.

• United States Congress. "James E. Bailey (id: B000039)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2008-02-13
•  Johnson, Rossiter, ed. (1906). "Bailey, James E.". The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. Boston: American Biographical Society. p. 183.
• "James E. Bailey". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2008-02-13.