Joseph Marshall Walker

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Joseph Marshall Walker

Joseph Marshall Walker (born July 1, 1784 in New Orleans , Louisiana , † January 20, 1856 ibid) was an American politician and governor of the state of Louisiana from 1850 to 1853 .

Early years

Marshall was the son of an English father and a Creole . At the time of his birth, what is now Louisiana was still a Spanish colony. The young Marshall had a rather average school education, but was very gifted with languages. He was fluent in Spanish, French and English. In 1807 he went to Mexico , where he enlisted in the Spanish army and then became the head of a military school in Chihuahua .

Political rise

During the War of 1812 , Walker served in the Louisiana Militia, now part of the United States . He took part in the Battle of New Orleans . In the following years he remained a member of the militia in addition to his political activities, in whose ranks he rose to become brigadier general. In 1822, 1832 and 1836 he was elected to the House of Representatives of Louisiana , of which he was temporarily speaker . In between, he served in the Louisiana Senate in 1824 . Walker was also a member of a conference that revised the state constitution in 1845. Between 1845 and 1849 he was Secretary of the Treasury of Louisiana.

Louisiana Governor

Joseph Marshall was a member of the Democratic Party and was elected as its candidate on November 5, 1849 as the new governor of his state. Walker took up his new office on January 28, 1850. He was the first governor of that state to take office in the new capital, Baton Rouge . The seat of government was only moved there in 1849. During Marshall's tenure, the waterways were expanded and dykes were built for flood protection. In addition, the expansion of the railway network was advanced. In the education sector, free public schools for white children were introduced across the state. The state constitution, which had only been revised a few years earlier, was very unpopular in Louisiana. Therefore it was revised again in 1852. Governor Walker could not come to terms with the result of the constitutional reform and for this reason resigned on January 18, 1853 from his office.

Another résumé

After his resignation, he retired to his plantation in Rapides Parish . His party offered him a candidacy for the US House of Representatives , but he turned it down. Joseph Marshall died in January 1856. He had twelve children with his wife, Catherine Carter.

literature

  • Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978. Volume 2, Meckler Books, Westport, 1978. 4 volumes.

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