George L. Sheldon

George L. Sheldon
14thGovernor of Nebraska
In office January 3, 1907 – January 7, 1909
Lieutenant	Melville R. Hopewell
Preceded by	John H. Mickey
Succeeded by	Ashton C. Shallenberger
Personal details
Born	(1870-05-31)May 31, 1870 Nehawka, Nebraska,U.S.
Died	April 4, 1960(1960-04-04)(aged 89) Greenville, Mississippi,U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Rose Higgins

George Lawson Sheldon(May 31, 1870 – April 4, 1960)was an American politician and14thgovernor of Nebraskawith service from 1907 until 1909. He was the first native of his state to become its governor. He was aRepublicanfrom theprogressivewing of that party, which was identified nationally withTheodore RooseveltofNew York.

Early life

Born inNehawkainCass Countyin southeastern Nebraska, Sheldon received abachelor's degreein 1892 from theUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln.As a cadet at Nebraska he commanded Company A of the university's Military Department headed by LieutenantJohn J. Pershing.He led Company A to win the Maiden Prize of $1,500 at the National Competitive Drills inOmahaon June 13, 1892. Sheldon was also a founding member of the Varsity Rifles, which becamePershing Rifles.He then attendedHarvard Universityfor one year, receiving a second bachelor's degreecum laudein 1893.He married Rose Higgins in 1895, and they had four children.

Career

During theSpanish–American War,Sheldon served as a captain in the 3rd Nebraska Volunteer Infantry, commanded by ColonelWilliam Jennings Bryanof Nebraska, who had just lost toWilliam McKinleyofOhioin the race for president two years before. En route toCuba,the regiment traveled throughMississippi,and Sheldon liked what he saw there.

After the war, Sheldon returned to Nebraska. In 1902, he purchased a plantation of 1,700 acres nearGreenville, Mississippi.That same year, at the age of 32, he successfully ran for state senate in Nebraska, and was re-elected in 1904.

The railroads had been central to the creation of Nebraska territory through theKansas-Nebraska Actof 1854, but public perception amongwhiteNebraskans had changed. When theUnion PacificandBurlingtonrailroads were "opening up" the land to settlement (and the dispossession of theNative Americaninhabitants), towns were eager to court the railroads. However, anger at apparent railroad domination of Nebraska politics had been growing for decades.

On June 16, 1906, Sheldon and fellow progressiveNorris Brown,who was thenattorney general,announced that they were seeking the Republican nominations for governor andU.S. Senator,respectively. Sheldon was on record as favoring regulation of therailroads,having said, "You can trust the representatives of the people to deal fairly with the railroads, but you cannot trust the railroads to deal fairly with the people."

Sheldon defeated the Democratic nominee,Ashton C. Shallenberger,who was viewed as "being under railroad influence," 97,858 (53.5 percent) to 84,885 (46.5 percent). Sheldon became the first Nebraska governor born in the state and one of its youngest ever.

With huge majorities in both chambers of the legislature (Nebraska's legislature would not becomeunicameralfor another twenty years), Sheldon moved quickly to redeem his campaign promises. Accordingly, the 1907 legislative session has been characterized by historians James C. Olson and Ronald C. Naugle as creating "more important and more permanent changes in the political structure of the state than those of any other." These included prohibitions on the free train passes that railroads had previously distributed generously to influence politicians, a restriction on train passenger fares to no more than two cents, and the establishment of a state railway commission. That year Sheldon also signed achild laborlaw, an anti-discrimination law, a law forbidding brewers from owning any part of asaloon,and legislation creating a state board of pardons and a bureau charged with investigating agricultural pests and plant diseases.

The 1907 legislature also enacted a statewide direct primary law, but that would continue to be a hot political issue for many years and be frequently revised.

Sheldon ran into two political hurdles to his re-election. First, bank deposits had seemed especially at risk during the financial panic of 1907, when many banks failed. However, although Sheldon personally favored a state law guaranteeing bank deposits similar to the one in Oklahoma territory, the Republican convention overwhelmingly voted it down. Second, he fought hard for an option for individual counties to prohibit liquor, losing many "wet" votes that he might otherwise have picked up.

Ashton Shallenberger secured the Democratic nomination and campaigned hard for a state bank guarantee law. He skillfully allowed "dries" to think he wasforprohibitionand "wets" to think he wasagainstit. Shallenberger decisively beat Sheldon, 132,960 to 125,976, and the Democrats gained majority control of both houses of the legislature.

Mississippi

After his defeat, Sheldon moved to his plantation in Mississippi, and became active in state politics there.

He was elected to theMississippi House of Representatives.While Sheldon was publicly a staunch Republican, he was elected in the 1918 Democratic primary. He registered as a Republican while in the Mississippi House of Representatives. He retired after a single term due to financial conditions on his plantation.In 1927, he organized the moribund state Republican Party. After the election,Herbert Hooverappointed Sheldon the Mississippi state head of theInternal Revenue Service.He ran unsuccessfully for governor in1947,having polled only 2.5 percent of the ballots cast.

Death

Sheldon died in Greenville, Mississippi, on April 4, 1960.He is interred at Greenville Cemetery.

External links

• George L. Sheldon^[usurped]papers at theNebraska State Historical Society.Retrieved on November 16, 2009.
• National Governors Association