Miles Benjamin McSweeney

Miles Benjamin McSweeney

Miles Benjamin McSweeney (born April 18, 1855 in Charleston , South Carolina , † July 4, 1921 ) was an American politician and from 1899 to 1903 governor of the state of South Carolina.

Early years and political advancement

Miles McSweeney grew up in a poor family during the Civil War . He served an apprenticeship in the printing industry and was awarded a scholarship to study at the Washington and Lee University in Lexington ( Virginia ). He was unable to finish his studies for financial reasons. McSweeney tried his luck in the press and initially published smaller newspapers. These were successful and McSweeney rose socially. He even managed to become president of the South Carolina Press Association . He was also the curator of the University of South Carolina , which was then called South Carolina College . He was also on the "Board of Visitors" at The Citadel Military Academy . McSweeney supported the Democratic Party . In 1894 he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives. From 1897 he was vice governor of his state. After the death of the incumbent governor William Haselden Ellerbe on June 2, 1899, McSweeney took over his office. After the term of office that Ellerbe had started, he was re-elected on November 6, 1900 without a candidate.

Governor of south carolina

As governor, McSweeney worked to improve school education. During his time in Charleston, the Interstate and West Indian Exhibition took place, which underlined the importance of the city as an important seaport. In early October 1900 there were violent riots in Georgetown , which were ended with a compromise. The last days of his term of office, which ended on January 20, 1903, were again turbulent. His lieutenant governor James Tillman , the nephew of the former governor Benjamin Ryan Tillman , shot dead NG Gonzales, the editor of the newspaper "The State". As early as January 5, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt had named William Crum, an African-American customs inspector in the port of Charleston, which was not welcomed in the segregationist South Carolina of those days.

Another résumé

Due to a constitutional clause, McSweeney could not run again in 1903. He then published the Hampton County Guardian newspaper. He died in his hometown on July 4, 1921, other sources give Baltimore .

literature

• Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978. Volume 4. Meckler Books, Westport, CT, 1978. 4 volumes.
• The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. 12. James T. White & Company, New York

Web links

• Miles McSweeney at the National Governors Association (English)
• South Carolina Information Highway (English)
• Miles Benjamin McSweeney in the database of Find a Grave (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ see National Governor Association and South Carolina Information Highway
2. ↑ The Political Graveyard Brief of Miles Benjamin McSweeney (English)