Sylvester Pennoyer

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Sylvester Pennoyer

Sylvester Pennoyer (born July 6, 1831 in Groton , Tompkins County , New York , † May 30, 1902 in Portland , Oregon ) was an American politician and from 1887 to 1895 the eighth governor of the state of Oregon.

Early years and political advancement

After attending Homer Academy, Sylvester Pennoyer studied law at Harvard University . There he graduated in 1854. A year later he moved to Oregon where he worked as a teacher. He soon became a school superintendent in Multnomah County . But he also had other business interests. So he was in the wood business as well as editor and later owner of the newspaper "Oregon Herold", which was close to the Democratic Party .

Pennoyer was a member of the Democratic Party. During the civil war he sympathized with the south . That still hurt him in 1885 when he ran unsuccessfully for the office of mayor of Portland . Two years later he was nevertheless elected the new governor of his country.

Governor of Oregon

Pennoyer took office on January 12, 1887 and, after being re-elected in 1890, could remain in office until January 14, 1895. These years were marked by severe social contrasts not just in Oregon but throughout the United States. The gap between the poor and the rich grew wider and wider. During this time, the Populist Party , which represented the interests of the common people and farmers, came into being. The governor joined this new party and with its help was re-elected in 1890. The party later merged with the Democrats. During Pennoyer's tenure the office of Attorney General of Oregon was created. Domestically, he quarreled with the Oregon Supreme Court , denying its right to reject laws passed in the legislature as unconstitutional. He was also in conflict with the US presidents . When Republican President Benjamin Harrison visited Oregon in 1891, Pennoyer apparently cut him off. He even waged a kind of private war with President Grover Cleveland . The federal government asked him to protect the Chinese workers in Oregon, which the governor refused.

After the outbreak of an economic crisis in 1893, discontent in the country increased with the rising unemployment rate, and Governor Pennoyer supported a protest rally called "Coxey's Army" on the way to Washington to voice their protest. When protesters in Oregon occupied a train that was to take them to Washington to demonstrate, President Cleveland ordered the governor to intervene. This ignored the order from Washington. The President then resolved the problem in his favor with the help of the US Army. Another point of contention was the timing of the American Thanksgiving festival . President Cleveland had set the date nationwide. In protest, Governor Pennoyer decided to celebrate the Oregon holiday a week in advance.

Further life

At the end of his second term, Pennoyer was elected mayor of Portland. He held this office between 1896 and 1898. In 1896, Pennoyer supported William Jennings Bryan's presidential campaign . After serving as Mayor of Portland, he retired from politics. Sylvester Pennoyer died in May 1902. He was married to Mary A. Allen, with whom he had five children.

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