Elisha Baxter

Elisha Baxter (born September 1, 1827 in Rutherford County , North Carolina , † May 31, 1899 in Batesville , Arkansas ) was an American lawyer and politician and governor of the state of Arkansas from 1873 to 1874 .

Early years and political advancement

Elisha Baxter received only average education in his home country. He could not accept an offer to visit the US military academy in West Point due to his father's resistance. In 1852 he moved to Arkansas, where he opened a business that later went bankrupt. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar in 1856. From 1853 Baxter was politically active in Arkansas. That year he became mayor of his home parish in Batesville. Between 1854 and 1856 and again from 1858 to 1860 he sat in the Arkansas Senate .

When the Civil War broke out , Baxter was initially an advocate for Arkansas neutrality. He was against secession and refused to fight for the Confederation . As a result, he was persecuted and attacked in Arkansas by their staunch supporters. Baxter fled to Missouri but was caught, charged with treason, and imprisoned. After he managed to escape from custody, he fought his way through to the Union Army and joined it. There he rose to the rank of colonel. After the conquest of Arkansas in 1864, he was appointed chairman of the Arkansas Supreme Court . Between 1868 and 1872 he was a judge in the country's third judicial district. In 1872 there was then a controversial gubernatorial election that developed into the so-called Brooks-Baxter War .

Arkansas Governor and the Brooks-Baxter War

In 1872, the Republican Party in Arkansas was split into two hostile camps. On one side stood the group around Governor Powell Clayton , which mainly consisted of immigrants from the north. The other side was led by Joseph Brooks and tried to rely on the locals and ex-Confederates. The upcoming gubernatorial elections in 1872 were dominated by this conflict. Elisha Baxter was nominated as a candidate for the Clayton faction, while Brooks was nominated for the opposing side. The election campaign was tough and the outcome of the election was controversial. The legislature declared Baxter the election winner, but Brooks took legal action against it. Clayton now sided with Brooks because he thought he could no longer trust Baxter. Baxter, who was already in the governor's mansion, was forcibly evicted by the Brooks supporters with the help of some National Guardsmen. There was open fighting between supporters on both sides, in which up to 200 people were killed. Both sides turned to President Ulysses S. Grant for help. The latter returned the case to the Arkansas Legislature, which resolved the problem with a new constitution. This provided for new elections for all public offices and the shortening of Baxter's term of office from four to two years. Baxter accepted this solution, despite the fact that he voluntarily gave up two years of his tenure. In the remaining time as governor, he spoke out against the further sale of railway bonds.

Another résumé

After the end of his shortened and controversial term on November 12, 1874, Baxter left the Republican Party. He would remain the last Republican governor of Arkansas until 1967. In 1874, Baxter turned down an offer from the Democratic Party to run for gubernatorial elections. He returned to his hometown of Batesville and worked as a lawyer and farmer. He died there in May 1899. Elisha Baxter was married to Harriet Patton, with whom he had six children.

Web links

• Elisha Baxter in the National Governor Association (English)
• Online biography of the governors of Arkansas
• Biography in the Arkansas Encyclopedia (English)
• Elisha Baxter in the database of Find a Grave (English)