Honest John Shaforth: A Colorado Reformer (Colorado History) (Colorado History Series, 8) - Softcover

Leonard, Stephen; Noel, Thomas; Walker, Donald

9780942576436: Honest John Shaforth: A Colorado Reformer (Colorado History) (Colorado History Series, 8)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0942576438 ISBN 13: 9780942576436

Publisher: Colorado Historical Society,U.S., 2003

Unclean elections were as common as unclean streets in early twentieth-century America. Few politicians questioned the process that put them in power. But "Honest John" Shafroth did. On February 15, 1904, the five-term Colorado congressman stunned the U.S. House of Representatives by resigning his seat. The previous election, Shafroth declared, had been tained with fraud - and he had unwittingly benefited. "Only a brave and honest man would do as you did," a Supreme Court justice later told him. "Such actions make one proud of his country and sure of its future."
John Franklin Shafroth helped build that future. During two terms as Colorado's governor (1909-1913), Shafroth battled for progressive causes such as campaign finance reform, bank deposit insurance, mine safety, and direct election of U.S. senators. Political foes axed some of his proposals, but he pushed through many reforms, including Colorado's initiative and referendum laws. As a U.S. senator (1913-1919) Shafroth helped establish the Federal Reserve system, opposed federal leasing of Western lands, continued a lifelong crusade for women's suffrage, championed the rights of Puerto Ricans and Filipinos, and supported creation of the League of Nations. After a narrow defeat in his bid for a second Senate term, Shafroth served as chairman of the War Minerals Relief Commission. He died at his home in Denver in February 1922.

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Synopsis:

Unclean elections were as common as unclean streets in early twentieth-century America. Few politicians questioned the process that put them in power, but John Shafroth -- "Honest John" -- did. On 15 February 1904, the five-term Colorado congressman stunned the U.S. House of Representatives by resigning his seat. He declared that the November 1902 election had been tainted with fraud and he had unwittingly benefited. After his resignation, a Supreme Court justice told him: "Only a brave and honest man would do as you did. Such actions make one proud of his country and sure of its future." John Franklin Shafroth helped to build that future. In two terms as Colorado's governor (1909-1913) and one term as U.S. senator (1913-1919), he advocated a set of reforms, including women's suffrage, the federal reserve system, and the initiative and referendum -- that shaped twentieth-century policy and politics. More than anyone else in Colorado's history, Shafroth lifted politics out of the mire.

About the Author:

Thomas J. Noel is a professor of history at the University of Colorado at Denver.

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