Simon Bamberger (politician)

Simon Bamberger

Simon Bamberger (born February 27, 1846 in Eberstadt , Hessen-Darmstadt , † October 6, 1926 in Salt Lake City , Utah , USA ) was a German-American entrepreneur and politician . He was the fourth governor of Utah after it was converted from a territory to a state in 1896. The Jew Bamberger was the first non- Mormon and the first Democratic Party politician to become governor of Utah.

Early years

Simon Bamberger was a son of German Jews, Helen (née Fleisch) and Emanuel Bamberger. At the age of 14 he emigrated to America, shortly before the start of the civil war . Bamberger arrived in New York and decided to take the train to Cincinnati , Ohio . A large community of immigrants of German origin had existed there for over 80 years. Bamberger missed his connection in Columbus when changing trains and instead arrived in Indianapolis , Indiana . He stayed there until the end of the civil war. In 1865 he moved to St. Louis , Missouri , another “German city” in America. (The third was Milwaukee , Wisconsin .) Bamberger and his brother Hermann founded a factory that made textiles and clothing. The company surprisingly went bankrupt a few years later. Bamberger found out about this by telegram during a business trip. He had nothing more to lose and drove to Utah. At that time, Utah was not a state, just a white-populated territory .

Entrepreneur in Utah

Bamberger ran a small hotel in Ogden , not far from Salt Lake City. A smallpox epidemic broke out shortly afterwards . Bamberger himself did not become ill, but a quarantine was imposed on the small town , with the result that the Union Pacific Railroad had to bypass Ogden. Bamberger went to Salt Lake City and ran the Delmonico Hotel there with a business partner . 1872 was the turning point for him. He bought a stake in a silver mine, the Centennial Eureka Mine in Juab County . Two years later a huge silver vein was found. Bamberger became a millionaire. He thought for a moment if he should just retire, but he didn't like the idea. Instead, he began building railroads between the mines and Salt Lake. Despite his best efforts, this business failed and Bamberger lost a lot of money. Nevertheless, he was not discouraged, especially since he had other business such as B. had an amusement park in Farmington . Around 1912 he was also interested in founding a Jewish agricultural community in Clarion .

Political rise

During these years Bamberger developed first contacts with politics. He got into local politics when he was elected a member of the Salt Lake City School Council (1898-1903). He remained true to his German civic principles because he strictly believed in the educational principle: every citizen had an inalienable right to public, free and general education. At that time this idea was still radical: for most of them, education ended at the age of ten. When the public school system in Salt Lake City nearly went bankrupt, Bamberger donated his own money to keep the schools open. In 1902 he successfully ran for the Utah Senate . He positioned himself as a progressive democrat and was re-elected after the end of the first legislative period. During his tenure, he became known as a smart, astute, and witty MP.

However, Bamberger lost his re-election in 1912. Four years later, he considered running for the US Senate . The 17th Amendment to the Constitution was passed in 1913, so that citizens could now elect the senators directly. Previously, the state parliaments had appointed the senators. His party preferred a different candidate, however, and Bamberger did not want to stir up an argument. Instead, he decided to run for governorship.

The gubernatorial election

Bamberger's Jewish origins were initially mentioned by his opponents, but in the end it was not an obstacle. First, an anonymous hate speech with an anti-Semitic caricature was circulated. She portrayed Bamberg with a disfiguring, big nose. The majority of the citizens soon condemned this tactic. Ultimately, Bamberger's humor was his great trump card. During a brief campaign stay in a village populated by Norwegian Mormons, he was initially met with open hostility. The city leader proclaimed that he and his community did not "accept damned pagans." Since Mormons viewed all non-Mormons as "Gentiles", this statement was not without a certain irony. Without delay, Bamberger replied: “Many people have used swearwords against me as a Jew, but this is the first time I've been called a 'damn Gentile'!” The Norwegian Mormons hugged Bamberger and declared that he was an “Israelite ". As a result, there was no longer any talk of anti-Semitism in the entire election campaign. (The original Mormon settlers believed they were the direct descendants of the ancient Hebrews . According to Mormon doctrine, North America will restore the Twelve Tribes of Israel and rebuild Zion. The Great Salt Lake will be the new Dead Sea Utah is the only place in the world where Jews are "Gentiles.")

Bamberg then favored other events in the election campaign. A leading Apostle of the Mormon Church, Brigham H. Roberts , announced his support for Bamberg. Roberts stated that a person's denomination should not be a prerequisite for office. In the primary , Bamberg defeated Alfred W. McCune, a Mormon mine owner. In the autumn general election, Bamberger's Republican opponent, Nephi L. Morris, tried to make prohibition the main theme. Bamberger won without difficulty. He was a teetotaler himself and promised to ban alcohol by law.

A governor of the progressives

Although Bamberger only served a four-year term, he made a number of impressive legal achievements. He succeeded in reducing an existing large budget deficit by reviewing all the authorities and redistributing one million dollars. Since his party controlled the entire legislature of the state - both the House of Representatives and the Senate - Bamberger was able to push through far-reaching reforms. His program was similar to that of former President Theodore Roosevelt . In 1912 Roosevelt had left the Republicans and formed his new Progressive Party . A cornerstone of the progressive philosophy was the elimination of the increasing economic, ecological and social problems of the early 20th century. The Progressives campaigned for women's suffrage, the regulation of large industries and utilities for the common good, the restriction of child labor, the introduction of an eight-hour working day, and public education. Prohibition was also advocated as it was viewed as part of women's rights.

As a result, Bamberger's Utah government passed numerous new laws: a statute against corruption and a law recognizing the right of workers and unions to organize. (It was not until 1935 that Congress passed a corresponding law, the Wagner Act .) In other areas, too, Bamberger's administration was decidedly reform and progress-oriented for the conditions at the time. First, he kept his promise to introduce prohibition. Second, under his leadership, Utah was one of the first states to regulate the buying and selling of bonds and stocks . Bamberger's new laws anticipated some of the most important and far-reaching reforms in America throughout the 20th century. He set up a commission to register and regulate Utah stocks and shares. It wasn't until fifteen years later, in the wake of the turmoil of the Great Depression , that the U.S. government passed such measures: the Glass-Steagall Act of 1932 , the Banking Act of 1933 , the Securities Act of 1933, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 . For Bamberger, the need for such regulations was a fundamental principle. He signed laws establishing workers' compensation insurance and the corresponding commission. He imposed a mining tax against his private interests. Compulsory schooling up to the age of 16 was introduced. Bamberger borrowed to promote road construction and convened a special session of the legislature to approve the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution. This gave 1920 American women the right to vote .

Further reforms were the establishment of a health department and a control committee for public utilities with the task of regulating gas and electricity prices, as well as a line item veto d. In other words, a veto that gives the governor the right to remove individual points from proposed legislation and thus save money. He introduced direct election of judges, extended the school year and set up a water rights commission to monitor water use in new residential areas, an important measure in the western states particularly affected by water shortages.

Last years

Bamberger completed these numerous achievements within four years. In 1921 he did not stand for re-election. He was already 75 years old and only wanted to take care of his business interests. He died on October 6, 1926 and was buried at Congregation B'nai Israel , the first synagogue in Salt Lake City.

Simon Bamberger married Ida Haas in 1881. There were four children from this marriage.

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• Miram B. Murphy: Simon Bamberger . In: Allan Kent Powell (Ed.): Utah Historical Encyclopedia . University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City 1994
• Utah State Archives. Records of Governor Simon Bamberger, (agency 446).
• Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States 1989–1978 . Volume IV, Meckler Books, Westport, Conn

Web links

Commons : Simon Bamberger  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Simon Bamberger in the NGA
• Simon Bamberger in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• The governors of Utah
• Jewish Virtual Library (English)