Julius Caesar Burrows (1837-1915) was born January 9, 1837 in Pennsylvania. After earning his law degree in Ohio, Burrows moved to Kalamazoo in 1860, where he opened his first practice. From 1866-1870 Burrows served as the Prosecuting Attorney for Kalamazoo. Most notably, Burrows served as a Michigan representative from 1873-1911. Additionally, Burrows served as chairman of several committees, as well as the vice chairman of the National Monetary Commission.

Although he retired from politics, economics, and law in 1912, Burrows left a lasting impact on the state of Michigan. He was known to travel the state and give speeches on new policies and bills being passed. On October 17th, 1890, Burrows’ speech in Kalamazoo was made to address the concern over the newly-established bill by President McKinley. The bill would pose a high tariff on imported goods (almost 50% in some cases) in order to protect domestic industries.