Jeremiah McLain Rusk

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Jeremiah McLain Rusk

Jeremiah McLain Rusk (born June 17, 1830 in Malta , Morgan County , Ohio , † November 21, 1893 in Viroqua , Wisconsin ) was an American politician and from 1882 to 1889 the 15th Governor of Wisconsin and between 1889 and 1893 Secretary of Agriculture of the USA .

Early years

Jeremiah Rusk attended local schools in his homeland and after the untimely death of his father ran his parents' farm in Ohio. He then moved to Viroqua, Wisconsin, where he ran an inn and stagecoach line. In 1855 he was elected sheriff in what is now Vernon County . In 1861 he became a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly . When the civil war broke out , he put together a volunteer regiment for the Union Army . With this unit he was involved in the siege of Vicksburg in 1863 and the capture of Atlanta in 1864. By the end of the war, Rusk had made it to the position of brigadier general .

Congressman

After his return to civil life, he was auditor for the State Bank of Wisconsin until 1870. He then represented his state in the US House of Representatives between 1871 and 1877 . There he was chairman of the committee that dealt with pensions for the disabled. In 1881 he turned down some job offers from the new President James A. Garfield ; instead he was elected as the new governor of Wisconsin as a candidate for the Republican Party in the same year .

Governor of wisconsin

Jeremiah Rusk took up his new office on January 2, 1882. His first term was extended by a year because the country's constitution was revised to allow gubernatorial elections to take place in even years in the future. After being re-elected twice, he was allowed to remain in office until January 7, 1889. He too had to deal with labor disputes during his time. Although he was more sympathetic to workers' concerns than his predecessor, William E. Smith , he was forced to put down a strike in Milwaukee with the help of the National Guard. Five people were killed in the action and some were seriously injured.

minister

After the end of his tenure as governor, Rusk was appointed by President Benjamin Harrison as the first long-term US Secretary of Agriculture in his cabinet ; his predecessor Norman Jay Colman had resigned before his Senate confirmation with the end of the previous government. In this capacity he served throughout Harrison's tenure until March 1893. He succeeded in persuading several foreign states to lift import restrictions on American cattle and meat. After the Republicans were defeated in the presidential election and Grover Cleveland took office again as US president, Rusk had to resign. He retired to his farm near Viroqua, where he died in November 1893. Jeremiah Rusk was married twice and had a total of seven children.

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personal data
SURNAME Rusk, Jeremiah McLain
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH June 17, 1830
PLACE OF BIRTH Malta , Ohio
DATE OF DEATH November 21, 1893
Place of death Viroqua , Wisconsin