Edward L. Jackson

For the former American college football head coach, see Edward Jackson (American football).

Edward L. Jackson
32nd Governor of Indiana
In office January 12, 1925 – January 14, 1929
Lieutenant	F. Harold Van Orman
Preceded by	Emmett Forrest Branch
Succeeded by	Harry G. Leslie
36th Secretary of State of Indiana
In office January 22, 1920 – November 27, 1924
Governor	James P. Goodrich Warren T. McCray Emmett Forrest Branch
Preceded by	William A. Roach
Succeeded by	Fred Schortemeier
34th Secretary of State of Indiana
In office November 27, 1916 – November 21, 1917
Governor	Samuel M. Ralston James P. Goodrich
Preceded by	Homer L. Cook
Succeeded by	William A. Roach
Personal details
Born	December 27, 1873(1873-12-27) Howard County, Indiana
Died	November 18, 1954(1954-11-18) (aged 80) Orleans, Indiana
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Rosa Wilkinson, Lydia Beatty Pierce
Religion	Disciples of Christ
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1917–1919
Rank	Major
Battles/wars	World War I

Edward L. "Ed" Jackson (December 27, 1873 - November 18, 1954) was the 32nd Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from January 12, 1925, to January 14, 1929. A member of Indiana branch of the Ku Klux Klan, he became involved in several scandals that continued throughout his term in office. He was tried on bribery charges related to his Klan activities but not convicted because the statute of limitations had expired. He finished his term in office, but left in disgrace and never again ran for public office.

Early life

Family and background

Edward Jackson was born on December 27, 1873, in Howard County, Indiana, the son of Presley and Mary Howell Jackson. His family were members of the Disciples of Christ church, and his father was a mill worker. As a boy, he delivered newspapers and attended public schools. After completing school he took a job in a factory producing stakes and married to Rosa Wilkinson on February 20, 1897. The couple had two daughters, Helen and Edith, before Rosa died during October 1919. Jackson remarried on November 23, 1920, to Lydia Beaty Pierce, and the couple adopted an infant son who they named Edward Jackson Jr.

Jackson began studying law after he finished school and opened a law office in Kennard in 1893. His business was not very successful at first, and he had to work in a brickyard to provide income for himself. By 1898, his law office had become a full time position and he worked on many cases for the Henry County prosecutor's office. In 1901, he ran for the prosecutor's position and won, serving until 1906. He was elected as a county circuit court judge in 1907 and remained on the court until 1914, during which time he gained a strong political base of support.

His popularity in the Republican Party helped in winning the nomination to run for Indiana Secretary of State in 1916, and he won the election. His time in office was brief however, as he resigned shortly after World War I broke out and enlisted in the United States Army. He was commissioned as a captain in November 1917 and stationed in Toledo, Ohio. He was soon moved to Battle Creek, Michigan, and then Lafayette, Indiana, where he was promoted to major and made commandant of a training facility. He remained there preparing new recruits until he was discharged from the army in February 1919.

Ku Klux Klan

After leaving the military, he opened a new law office in Lafayette, and before returning to politics he joined the Ku Klux Klan. Governor of Indiana James P. Goodrich appointed him Secretary of State to fill the seat after incumbent William Roach died in January 1920. As the campaign neared, he ran for the office again, and was reelected in 1922. This time he served a full term. Jackson was interested in running for higher office, and began to seek out supporter for his coming bid for the governorship. He was approached by Grand Dragon of the Indiana Klan D. C. Stephenson, who felt him out on several issues of interest to the Klan, primarily in eliminating Roman Catholic influence in the state.

Although the full extent of the Klan's power was unknown at that time, it controlled over half the seats in the Indiana General Assembly, and a large percentage of the local office in Indiana. The public general, and Jackson, saw the Klan as defenders of justice, morality, and Americanism. Their reputation and influence persuaded Jackson to accept their support. Jackson, however, soon found the deal troublesome as the Klan began demanding certain actions from him. He granted the Klan a state charter, to the disgust of Governor Warren T. McCray. McCray was one of the only high officials to try to battle the Klan, and Jackson was used to persuade the governor to comply with the Klan's agenda. In 1923, Jackson offered McCray a US$10,000 bribe on behalf of Stephenson if he would fill several public offices with Klan members. McCray, a millionaire, declined the bribe and was offended. The dealing was behind the scenes and not made public.

Governor

Prohibition

The Klan's support of Jackson did not seem to make any significant impact at the polls, as he campaigned against Democrat candidate Carleton B. McCulloch. Republican party leaders did not want Jackson to take an open endorsement from the Klan for fear it would hurt some parts of the ticket. To remedy the situation, Jackson gave a speech guaranteeing "full civil and religious liberty for Jews, Catholics, and blacks." Although merely lip service, it prevented the leadership of the Klan from agreeing to openly endorse him. Jackson won the election by nearly 100,000 votes. He was inaugurated on January 12, 1925. He stressed the need to run the government economically. His administration oversaw the payoff of the state's US$3.5 million debt and a significant reduction in taxes. He also increased attention on the Department of Conservation. The Indiana Dunes State Park and the George Rogers Clark Memorial were established with his support.

One his first acts was to support new and stronger prohibition laws. The Wright Bone Dry Law was passed by the General Assembly to increase penalites and jail time for prohibition violators. It also closed some loopholes in the prohibition laws, like banning the sale of whiskey for medicinal purposes. Jackson was soon caught up in a small scandal when his wife became sick in 1925. Jackson personally procured some medicinal whiskey, and she soon recovered from her sickness. Word soon got out about his actions, but he asked the public for forgiveness and assured them it was in fact the prayers of the public and not the whiskey which had cured his wife.

Klan politics

See also: Indiana Klan

In the autumn of 1925, United States Senator Samuel M. Ralston died in office, and Jackson needed to appoint his replacement. He chose Arthur Raymond Robinson at the advice of Stephenson. Republican leaders were upset with Jackson over the choice, as they had favored the appointment of former senator Albert Beveridge. Opponents began to charge that the Klan was in control of the governorship.

The following year Indiana Attorney General Arthur Gulliom arrested Edward Shumaker, the leader of the Indiana Anti-Saloon League. He charged Shumaker with contempt of court because of newsletters he was circulating attacking the Indiana Supreme Court for what he viewed as lax enforcement of prohibition laws. He was convicted and sentenced to serve time on the Indiana work farm. Shumaker was a Klan member and leader of a key Republican support group, so Jackson pardoned him. Gulliom took the pardon to court and had the pardon overturned by the Supreme Court and Shumaker was required to serve his term.

High profile problems continued for Jackson. In 1925, Stephenson had been arrested for the rape and murder of Madge Oberholtzer, convicted, and sentenced to thirty years in prison. He demanded that Jackson pardon him, but after his debacle in the Shumaker pardon and Stephenson’s obvious guilt, he refused. Stephenson was angered and began to take out revenge on Klan members for not helping him out of prison. He started talking to reporters from the Indianapolis Star and giving names of people who had been bribed and taken part in other illegal activity. He had kept a "black box" of records which provided evidence many of his accusations. Among the numerous people people exposed was Jackson, in regards to the $10,000 bribe he offered to McCray years earlier.

Numerous religious and civic groups in the state demanded that Jackson resign. His case, like many other Klan bribery cases, was brought to court. His trial ended in a hung jury, but regardless the outcome, the statute of limitations precluded any possible conviction in his case. Despite the final result of the trial, he became the subject of attacks across the state and the Indiana Klan's power collapsed. He left office disgraced and ended his political career.

Later life

After his term as governor, Jackson resumed his law practice, opening an office in Indianapolis, where he remained until 1937. That year he moved to a large farm he purchased near Orleans, where he raised cattle and maintained an apple orchard and remained active in several local clubs. In 1948, he suffered a massive stroke that left him bedridden for the rest of his life. He died in his home on November 18, 1954, and was buried in the Green Hill Cemetery of Orleans.

See also

• Indiana Klan
• List of Governors of Indiana

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Gugin, Linda C. & St. Clair, James E, ed. (2006). The Governors of Indiana. Indianapolis, Indiana: Indiana Historical Society Press. ISBN 0871951967. 

Further reading

• Lutholtz, M. William (1991). Grand Dragon: D.C. Stephenson and the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana. West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University Press. ISBN 1557530106. 

• Moore, Leonard Joseph (1991). Citizen Klansmen: the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana, 1921-1928. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0807819816. 

• Tucker, Todd (2004). Notre Dame vs. the Klan: how the Fighting Irish defeated the Ku Klux Klan. Chicago, IL: Loyola Press. ISBN 0829417710. 

External links

• Ed Jackson biography
• Ed Jackson on Find-A-Grave
• Indiana County History - Jackson Biography
• Edward Jackson Papers
• National Association of Governors

Political offices
Preceded by Emmett Forrest Branch	Governor of Indiana January 12, 1925 - January 14, 1929	Succeeded by Harry G. Leslie