William Ellery Sweet

William Ellery Sweet

William Ellery Sweet (born January 27, 1869 in Chicago , Illinois , † May 9, 1942 in Denver , Colorado ) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ) and from 1923 to 1925 the 22nd governor of the state of Colorado.

Early years

As early as 1872, William Sweet moved with his family to Colorado Springs , where he attended public schools. In 1890 he graduated from Swarthmore College . After high school, he started an investment firm in Denver. Through this company he and his family quickly became rich, so that he was able to retire from business life as early as 1922. It was only from this time on that Sweet began to take up politics. As a member of the Democratic Party , he was elected the new governor of his state in 1922, with 50:48 percent of the vote against the Republican Benjamin Griffith. Above all, he had the support of farmers and workers.

Governor of colorado

Sweet took up his new office on January 9, 1923. During his two-year tenure, as in the rest of the United States, there was an economic boom that would last until 1929, from which Colorado also benefited. At the same time, the influence of the Ku Klux Klan also increased significantly in Colorado during this time. Governor Sweet was a staunch opponent of this racist association. That may have cost him his re-election in 1924.

Even after the end of his governorship, Sweet remained politically active. In 1926 and 1936, he applied unsuccessfully for a seat in the US Senate . In the 1930s he was a supporter of President Franklin D. Roosevelt . This gave him a position with the National Recovery Administration , where he was responsible for public relations. William Sweet always had an open ear for social issues. He donated much of his fortune to social institutions. He died in May 1942. He had four children with his wife, Joyeuse Fullerton.

Web links

• William Sweet at the National Governors Association (English)
• Biography at the Colorado State Archives (English, PDF; 99 kB)