John Peter Altgeld

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John Peter Altgeld

John Peter Altgeld (born December 30, 1847 in Selters (Westerwald) , Duchy of Nassau ; †  March 12, 1902 in Joliet , Illinois ) was an American politician of German origin and from 1893 to 1897 the 20th  governor of the state of Illinois.

Early years

Born in what is now Rhineland-Palatinate , John Altgeld came to Mansfield in Richland County in Ohio with his parents at an early age . There he attended the local schools. At the age of 16, he joined the Union Army to fight in the civil war on the side of the northern states . To even be accepted into the army, he had to hide his real age. During the war in Virginia, he fell ill with a fever from which he almost died. After the war he worked on his father's farm again, studied in a neighbor's library and a private school in Lexington, and worked as a teacher for two years. After a brief interlude at a school in Ohio, he moved to Missouri and studied law. During this time he worked at times in railway construction. In Missouri he was first a lawyer and from 1874 District Attorney in Andrew County .

Political rise in Illinois

Altgeld soon gave up his position in Missouri and moved to Chicago , where he opened a successful law firm, which soon also included rising stars in the industry such as Clarence Darrow . He became wealthy through a number of successful real estate deals and development projects, most notably the Unity Building , a 16-story office building that was Chicago's tallest building at the time. In 1884 Altgeld ran unsuccessfully for a seat in Congress . Between 1886 and 1891 he worked as a judge at the Superior Court . In 1892 he was nominated by the Democratic Party as a candidate for governor.

Illinois Governor

After he had succeeded in defeating the Republican incumbent Joseph Fifer , Altgeld could begin his four-year term on January 10, 1893. Before he took office, he suffered a nervous breakdown and almost died with an accompanying fever. Although he managed to attend the inauguration, he was only able to deliver a small part of his speech. The rest had to be read out. Recovered, Altgeld initiated the United States' most stringent child labor laws and workplace safety regulations , appointed women to important posts in the state administration, and increased spending on education significantly. Most famous, however, is his 1893 pardon of the three surviving suspects, Oscar Neebe , Samuel Fielden and Michael Schwab , who were convicted of the bomb attack that led to the riot in Haymarket Square ( Haymarket Riot ) on May 4, 1886 . He also contradicted President Grover Cleveland's decision to send federal troops to Chicago during the Pullman strike - a highly unusual point of view for a governor at the time. When the besieged Pullman workers rebelled on July 5, 1894, Altgeld sent the National Guard at the request of Mayor John Patrick Hopkins . Several workers were killed in the fighting that followed. This incident and the pardons were very unpopular and grist to the mill of his political opponents. Ultimately it cost Altgeld his governorship because he lost the 1896 elections to his challenger John Riley Tanner .

Further career

After leaving the office of governor, Altgeld remained politically active. He was against a renewed presidential candidacy from Grover Cleveland and stood up for William Jennings Bryan , who lost in Illinois and also nationwide to William McKinley .

Tombstone of John Peter Altgelds

In 1899 Altgeld ran unsuccessfully for the office of mayor of Chicago. Although he was initially a high favorite, he ended up in third place with 15.56% of the vote; victorious was incumbent Carter Harrison . Altgeld's last years were sad. Sickly since the almost fatal illness during the civil war, during his time as governor there was also a walking disability due to movement disorders. Financial setbacks resulted in the loss of all of his fortune with the exception of his heavily mortgaged home. Only the intervention of his friend and former protégé Clarence Darrow, in whose law firm he then worked, saved him from utter ruin. During a speech he gave as a supporter of the Boers during the ongoing Second Boer War , he died of a cerebral haemorrhage at the age of 54. John Altgeld was married to Emma Ford.

literature

  • Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978. Volume 1, Meckler Books, Westport, Conn. 1978, 4 volumes.
  • Howard Fast : The American. A legend from the Middle West (novel), Dietz-Verlag, Berlin 1950

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Altgeld, John Peter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH December 30, 1847
PLACE OF BIRTH Selters , Duchy of Nassau
DATE OF DEATH March 12, 1902
Place of death Joliet , Illinois