Labour government, 1974–1979
In March 1976, having just turned sixty years old, Wilson resigned as Prime Minister, ending his leadership of the Labour Party after thirteen years, and a total of nearly eight years as Prime Minister. He was replaced by James Callaghan, who had held senior government positions during both of Wilson's ministries, and had served as a Shadow Cabinet member in the early-1960s.
James F. Wilson
Wilson was aligned with the faction of his Party known at the time as the "Radical Republicans." He supported civil rights moves and objected to President Andrew Johnson's attempts to veto the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Reconstruction Acts. Despite his initial misgivings, he ultimately voted to impeach President Johnson and was one of the House managers in his impeachment trial in 1868. He supported the first bill in Congress to provide voting rights to black citizens of the District of Columbia. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1868, explaining prior to the district convention that with the election of an acceptable Republican president guaranteed and a change in administration inevitable, a change in representation of the First District was also timely. In all, Wilson served in the House from October 8, 1861, to March 4, 1869.