Arthur C. Mellette

Arthur C. Mellette

Arthur Calvin Mellette (born June 23, 1842 in Henry County , Indiana , † May 25, 1896 in Pittsburg , Kansas ) was an American politician and from 1889 to 1893 the first governor of South Dakota . He was also the last governor of the Dakota Territory in 1889 .

Early years

Mellette attended Indiana University . He served in an Indiana infantry unit during the Civil War . In the following years he was, among other things, a lawyer, businessman, newspaper publisher and landowner. In Muncie , he published the Muncie Times newspaper. There he also acted as a public prosecutor between 1868 and 1870. Between 1871 and 1875, Mellette was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives . Then he moved to the Dakota Territory. In Springfield he was employed by the Land Office . In the following years he played an important role in the creation of the new state of South Dakota. In 1883 he was a member of the constituent assembly; two years later he was elected provisional governor of the new state. However, since his admission to the Union was delayed, he could not exercise this office. In 1889, President Benjamin Harrison made Mellette the last Territory Governor of the Dakota Territory.

South Dakota Governor

Arthur Mellette's job as the last territorial governor was, among other things, to prepare the two future states to join the United States. The first gubernatorial elections were held in South Dakota in October 1889 and Mellette was elected as the Republican Party candidate for the new state's first governor. He took office on November 2, 1889 and, after being re-elected in 1890, held it until January 3, 1893. His first task as governor was to establish a functioning administration. In 1890, Pierre was designated the capital. Then he had to grapple with the problems of a severe drought that troubled farmers in the early 1890s. Another problem was the low tax revenue, which led to constant financial constraints in the budget. There were also problems with the Indians living on reservations . The reserves were constantly being reduced in size and living conditions were poor. That was primarily a problem that federal politics had to deal with; the resulting unrest also affected South Dakota and thus its governor. The sad climax of these events was the Wounded Knee massacre in southwestern South Dakota in 1890 ,

Another résumé

After his second term, Mellette began practicing law. After his Treasury Secretary W. W. Taylor was found to have embezzled state funds, Mellette lost a large portion of his land holdings to South Dakota, which took the land in compensation for Taylor's fraud. The ex-governor later moved to Pittsburg, Kansas, where he died in 1896. He was married to Margaret Wylie, with whom he had four children.

Web links

• Arthur Mellette in the NGA
• Arthur C. Mellette in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Mellette at the State Historical Society of North Dakota