John N. Irwin

This article deals with the politician John N. Irwin (* 1847). On the politician and diplomat (* 1913) see John N. Irwin II .

John N. Irwin

John Nichol Irwin (born December 25, 1847 in Butler County , Ohio , †  December 22, 1905 in Hot Springs , Arkansas ) was an American politician ( Republican Party ). He was governor of the Idaho Territory from 1883 to 1884 and of the Arizona Territory from 1890 to 1892 .

Life

John Irwin, son of Stephen and Elizabeth Nicol Irwin, was born in Butler County, Ohio, in 1847. He attended schools in Ohio and Keokuk ( Iowa ), where his family in 1856 went. He also went briefly to Miami University . When the Civil War broke out in 1861, he volunteered. He was assigned the rank of sergeant in the Iowa Infantry at the age of 17 . After the war, in 1865 he enrolled at Dartmouth College , where he Jura studied and graduated in 1867. He then returned to Keokuk, where he began practicing as a lawyer. On June 6, 1871, he married Mary Love Rankin. He decided to embark on a political career in the 1880s by holding the office of Mayor of Keokuk. Inspired by his sense of duty, he ran for governor of the Idaho Territory and was appointed governor on March 1, 1883, which he remained until 1884. After Lewis Wolfley was fired, Irwin replaced him as governor of the Arizona Territory.

His immediate goal was to reduce the territorial debt, which at the time was $ 3,427,000 , largely attributed to tax evasion in the territory , which was rampant. He also created Coconino County and opposed some dubious bills such as funding denominational schools, creating the county auditor , and leasing convicted convicts to private companies. Irwin was a strong supporter of statehood , so for that goal he took steps to achieve it. He tried to influence the federal government in every possible way. He named the huge profits that would be made from mining , agriculture, and gambling revenues in Arizona . He also instructed the construction of a bridge over the Salt River and the end of the Mexican celebrations. He called for more mounted policemen to protect the settlers from the wild Indians , as well as more school reforms. During the 16th legislature, it also passed a measure to create secret ballots and a gambling tax.

In order to achieve statehood, Governor Irwin decided that a state constitution needed to be drawn up. A vote was held on March 24, 1891 to select delegates to the Constitutional Convention. The winners were to meet in September of that year to draft a constitution, which would then be ratified by the residents and sent to Congress for approval . On December 28, 1891, the governor approved the constitution and submitted it to a general vote. 5,440 voted for the constitution and 2,282 against it. The US Congress failed to pass the constitution, so statehood failed. Many at the time argued that supporting Free Silver by removing all taxes on silver or gold were the main reasons statehood was not achieved.

Irwin resigned on April 18, 1892 from his office. The reason for this was the death of his mother and the consequent need to take care of the family business. The long stay outside the Territory resulted in the Territory Secretary asking Irwin either to resign or to resume his duties as governor. Irwin chose to resign. He remained in Keokuk for the rest of his life with one exception, serving as US envoy to Portugal between 1899 and 1902 . Irwin died in Hot Springs on December 22, 1905 and was buried in Oakland Cemetery in Keokuk.

Web links

• John N. Irwin in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Newspaper article on the death of Irwin