Alexander Robey Shepherd

Alexander Robey Shepherd

Alexander Robey Shepherd (born January 30, 1835 in Washington, DC , †  September 12, 1902 in Batopilas , Mexico ) was an American politician . In 1873 and 1874 he was governor of the District of Columbia and thus de facto mayor of Washington DC

Career

Alexander Shepherd left school at the age of 13 and completed an apprenticeship in plumbing. Later he started his own company in this field. He also got very successfully into the real estate business in Washington. In doing so, he became a wealthy and politically influential citizen of the federal capital. At the beginning of the civil war he served in the Union's army for three months . Politically, he joined the Republican Party . Within his party, he became the most powerful local man in Washington, practically leading the local party there. Between 1861 and 1871 he sat on the city council. He campaigned for the liberation of slaves and the right to vote for former slaves.

In 1870, when the city was facing the economic collapse attributed to former Mayor Sayles Jenks Bowen , Shepherd proposed sweeping administrative reform across the District of Columbia . This reform was then implemented by Congress in 1871 . The most important points were the unification of the previously independent cities of Washington and Georgetown , which went up in Washington, as well as the conversion of the district to a US territory. This should be administered by a territorial governor appointed by the US President , who then had the function of a mayor. President Ulysses S. Grant named his friend Henry D. Cooke , who was a political supporter of Shepherd, as the first governor . He became a member of the Board of Public Works . Since Governor Cooke paid little attention to his official business, Shepherd was able to influence the affairs of the city administration even then. After Cooke's resignation, President Grant Shepherd officially appointed Shepherd as the new federal territorial governor.

Shepherd only held office for a brief period in 1873 and 1874. He campaigned for racial integration and women's suffrage . He also started a huge program to improve the district's infrastructure. However, these reforms could not be financed and drove up debt. As a result, he had increased taxes, which led to dissatisfaction among the citizens who were barely able to pay the taxes. At the same time, financial machinations between Shepherd and his business friends were exposed. All of these factors together with the fact that the federal district was practically financially bankrupt led to another reform of the administration. The territory was dissolved again. Between 1874 and 1967, the District of Columbia was administered by a Board of Commissioners made up of three people and appointed by the respective US President . This committee consisted of one member from the Democratic Party and one member from the Republican Party . The third person was a construction professional, whose party affiliation was arbitrary. This committee elected a member to be its president, who then practically headed the administration of the federal district, even if he did not have the official title of mayor. Shepherd lost his post after this reform in 1874, despite President Grant's appointment to the new governing body. The US Senate rejected this appointment on the same day. William Dennison became the first President of the Board of Commissioners and thus practically Mayor .

Despite all the allegations against Shepherd, parts of his infrastructure improvement policy have been implemented. Thus he was a pioneer of modern Washington. Shepherd was still in Washington real estate until 1876, but that year he had to file for private bankruptcy. He went to Batopilas in the Mexican state of Chihuahua , where he managed to build up a new fortune in silver mining within about 20 years . He died there on September 12, 1902, as a result of an appendix operation.

Web links

Commons : Alexander Robey Shepherd  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Alexander Robey Shepherd in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Monument to Shepherds in Washington

Individual evidence

1. ^ The California Native: The Silver King of Batopilas

predecessor	Office	successor
Henry D. Cooke	Governor of the District of Columbia 1873–1874	William Dennison (President of the Board of Commissioners)