George Lawson Sheldon: A Political Life: One Foot in Nebraska; Knee-Deep in Mississippi Mud

By Mary Helen Griffin Halloran

In 1906 George Lawson Sheldon was elected the first native born governor of Nebraska. As a populist Republican governor he recognized special interests--especially the railroads--opposed his reformist agenda. During his first term he worked tirelessly within the capitol and the governor's mansion to convince Democratic and Republican legislators to pass the reforms the Nebraska celectorate endorsed in 1907. in 1909 special interests flexed their muscles. Sheldon narrowly lost his bid for a second term as governor. He turned his back on party politics and moved his family to a plantation in the Mississippi Delta he had acquired before 1900 as he was returning from serving in Cuba with the Rough Riders. Where cotton was king he advocated diversified farming and livestock breeding. Sheldon plunged into community service and gained the trust and confidence of his neighbors. In 1921, his Democratic neighbors sent him to represent them in the State Legislature as its only Republican. Two terms taught him, though Democratic lawmakers were cordial, they were unwilling to work with a Yankee outsider.He stepped down from the legislature and for thirty years struggled to build a viable inclusive Republican party in Mississippi. Sheldon never did convert his neighbors into populist Republicans. Sadly, the Republican party grew in power only after his death and after Mississippians had organized to oppose Civil Rights statutes. Then the national Republican party invited those who opposed desegregation into its tent.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1481286838
• ISBN13: 9781481286831
• Release Date: July 2013
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 132 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.3" x 6.0"