Frank Steunenberg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Frank Steunenberg
4th Governor of Idaho
In office
January 4, 1897 – January 7, 1901
Lieutenant George F. Moore (1897)
J. H. Hutchinson (1899)
Preceded by William J. McConnell
Succeeded by Frank W. Hunt
Personal details
Born August 8, 1861(1861-08-08)
Keokuk, Iowa, United States
Died December 30, 1905(1905-12-30) (aged 44)
Caldwell, Idaho
Political party Democratic, Populist
Spouse(s) Belle Keppel Steunenberg
Residence Caldwell
Profession Newspaper Publisher, Politician
Religion Christian

Frank Steunenberg (August 8, 1861 – December 30, 1905) was the fourth Governor of the State of Idaho, serving from 1897 until 1901. He is perhaps best known for his 1905 assassination by one-time union member Harry Orchard, who was also a paid informant for the Cripple Creek Mine Owners' Association.[1] Orchard attempted to implicate leaders of the radical Western Federation of Miners in the assassination. The labor leaders were found not guilty[2] in two trials,[3] but Orchard spent the rest of his life in prison.

Contents

[edit] Early career

Born in Keokuk, Iowa, Steunenberg attended Iowa State College at Ames and then went on to become a printer's apprentice and publisher. In 1881 he was hired by the Des Moines Register in Des Moines. Steunenberg later published a newspaper in Knoxville until 1886, when he moved west and settled in Caldwell, Idaho, where he joined his brother in taking over the Caldwell Tribune for six years.[4]

In Caldwell Steunenberg became active in politics and was elected to the first Idaho Legislature in 1890 at age 29 as a fusion candidate, endorsed by both the Democratic and Populist Parties.

[edit] Governor

With labor union support, in 1896 Steunenberg was nominated as both the Democratic and Populist candidate for governor. He won the November election and became the first non-Republican elected to that office and was re-elected to second two-year term in 1898. Steunenberg served during a period of considerable labor unrest, particularly in the mining industry in northern Idaho. As a result, many corporations, fearing that Steunenberg's government would not support them if there was a strike, increased their wages for workers.

The Bunker Hill Mining Company, however, did not. In April 1899 striking members of the Western Federation of Miners destroyed the company's mill at Wardner. In response Steunenberg declared martial law and asked President William McKinley to send federal troops to quell the unrest. (See also: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor confrontation of 1899.) This action was seen as a betrayal by Steunenberg's union supporters. Martial law remained in place through the end of his term, and Steunenberg did not seek a third term in 1900.

[edit] Assassination

Statue of Governor Steunenberg, opposite of the front steps of the Idaho State Capitol

Four years after he left office, Steunenberg was killed outside his house in Caldwell by a bomb rigged to the front gate. Harry Orchard was arrested shortly after for the assassination, and the investigation was conducted by Pinkerton agent James McParland. With the promise of a lighter sentence, McParland compelled Orchard to write a confession in which he implicated "Big Bill" Haywood, general secretary of the Western Federation of Miners, Charles Moyer, president of the Western Federation of Miners, and George Pettibone, a labor activist who had a prior conviction related to an 1892 dispute in Coeur d'Alene, as co-conspirators. McParland arrested the three in Colorado in February 1906.

The nationally publicized trial took place in Boise in 1907 and included Senator William Borah for the prosecution and Clarence Darrow for the defense. There was a lack of evidence in a case that was supported only by Orchard's testimony. Darrow, a lawyer who specialized in defending trade union leaders, won an acquittal for Haywood. Pettibone was defended in a separate trial by Judge Hilton of Denver and was also acquitted, and charges were dropped against Moyer.[5] Orchard received a death sentence in a separate trial, but the sentence was commuted to life in prison.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Roughneck, The Life and Times of Big Bill Haywood, Peter Carlson, 1983, page 119.
  2. ^ Roughneck, The Life and Times of Big Bill Haywood, Peter Carlson, 1983, page 135.
  3. ^ The Autobiography of Big Bill Haywood, William Dudley Haywood, 1929, page 224 ppbk.
  4. ^ Idaho State Historical Society Public Archives Research Library. http://www.idahohistory.net/Reference%20Series/0402.pdf
  5. ^ The Autobiography of Big Bil Haywood, William Dudley Haywood, 1929, page 224 ppbk.


[edit] Additional references

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

Party political offices
Preceded by
Edward A. Stevenson
Democratic Party nominee, Governor of Idaho
1896 (won), 1898 (won)
Succeeded by
Frank W. Hunt
Political offices
Preceded by
William J. McConnell
Governor of Idaho
January 4, 1897 – January 7, 1901
Succeeded by
Frank W. Hunt
Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export
Languages