Joseph Wright (Governor)

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Joseph Wright

Joseph Albert Wright (born April 17, 1810 in Washington , Pennsylvania , †  May 11, 1867 in Berlin ) was an American politician and between 1849 and 1857 the 10th  governor of Indiana . He also represented this state in both chambers of Congress and was the United States Ambassador to Prussia .

Early years

Joseph Wright and his family came to Bloomington , Indiana as early as 1820 . After the death of his father he had to earn his living and his studies as an unskilled worker in various fields. Finally he was able to study successfully at Indiana University until 1825 . He then studied law. After his successful exams and admission to the bar in 1829, he began practicing in Rockville . Wright was an MP in the Indiana House of Representatives from 1833 to 1838, and from 1839 to 1842 he was State Senator . This was followed by a two-year term as a member of the US House of Representatives in Washington . There he was between 1843 and 1845. On August 6, 1849, he was elected as the Democratic Party candidate for the new governor of Indiana, with 52 percent of the vote against the Whig John A. Matson.

Indiana Governor

Wright took up his new office on December 5, 1849. During his tenure, the constitution was amended and the governor's term was extended to four years. Wright was already elected to a second term under the terms of the new constitution, with 54.6 percent over his Whig rival Nicholas McCarty this time with an even clearer majority, and was thus able to officiate until January 12, 1857. That was the longest term in office of an Indiana governor to date. During his reign, the first Indian State Exhibition took place in 1851. At that time, an agriculture commission was set up ( Board of Agriculture ). The education system was reorganized and, similar to agriculture, a School Board of Education was established. The schools were subordinate to the municipalities and curators. Taxes were raised to finance these reforms.

Another résumé

After the end of his tenure, Wright was sent by President James Buchanan as a special envoy to the Prussian court in Berlin. He was there between 1857 and 1861. Between 1862 and 1863 he was briefly in the US Senate . In 1865 he was sent again as ambassador to Berlin, where he died in 1867. Joseph Wright was married twice and had four children in total.

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personal data
SURNAME Wright, Joseph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wright, Joseph Albert (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH April 17, 1810
PLACE OF BIRTH Washington , Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH May 11, 1867
Place of death Berlin , Prussia