John Shafroth

18th Governor

Biography

The man who earned the title "Honest John" in Colorado politics served in the United States House of Representatives from 1895 to 1903, as Governor of Colorado from 1909 to 1913, and in the United States Senate from 1913 to 1919.

He was born at Fayette, Missouri, on June 9, 1854. He attended the public schools of Fayette and then went to the University of Michigan where he graduated in 1875, having earned a law degree. He returned to Fayette and became a law partner there until 1879, when he decided to move to Denver. He married Virginia Morrison in 1881 and they raised a family of five children.

In 1882, he became involved in the political arena as an assistant to one of the prosecuting attornies in Denver. Shafroth was later elected Denver City Attorney for two terms from 1887 to 1891. For the next three years, he practiced law in partnership with a former Denver judge, Platt Rogers.

A considerable amount of personal prestige must be assumed to account for the next major event in Shafroth's life. In spite of comparatively little experience in public office, and none whatsoever at the federal level, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives on the Republican ticket in 1894, 1896, and 1898. In 1900 he ran and won as a Democrat and remained in this party for the rest of his life. In Congress, he was one of the leading advocates for women's suffrage and also fought for the economic development of the West through support for reclamation and irrigation projects as well as for good roads. He favored campaign reform through changing campaign donation procedures and stemming the corporate influence on elections.

Ironically, his opponent for the House seat in the 1902 election claimed fraud and Shafroth, rather than hold a seat tainted by fraud, resigned. While fraud was proven on the part of Democrats and Republicans alike, Shafroth's reputation remained unscathe d. Although he lost the election of 1904, this action which caused people to call him "Honest John," helped to elect him Governor of Colorado and later, U.S. Senator.

Shafroth did not return to politics until 1908 when he was elected Governor and served two terms. He has been called the "reform governor" due to a list of reform measures enacted during his administration. Shafroth used his personal influence to push t hrough many of these proposals against the wishes of a reluctant legislature. Direct primary law, direct election of senators, the Australian (headless) ballot, a registration and corrupt practices act, as well as various initiative, referendum and recall laws were cited as accomplishments of his administration in his last address to the legislature.

Immediately after his term as Governor ended in 1913, Shafroth was elected to the U.S. Senate. Senator Shafroth, as Representative Shafroth before him, proved to be a very effective legislator. He was instrumental in the framing and passage of the extr emely important Federal Reserve Act of 1913. His efforts on behalf of women's suffrage, public land laws which would benefit the western states, and matters relating to banking and currency continued to be very influential.

Senator Shafroth's many interests kept him so busy, however, that he forewent the usual custom of taking time out during an election year to "mend his fences". Apparently as a result of his failure to make a vigorous campaign effort, he was unseated in 1918 by Lawrence C. Phipps. Although he was not re-elected to the Senate, he received another important opportunity to serve the people of Colorado and the western states as the chairman of the War Minerals Relief Commission.

The last few years of Shafroth's life were spent in supporting the political and legal ambitions of others, in private practice in Denver, and in travel in Europe with his wife. He died in Denver, on February 20, 1922, and is buried at Fairmount Cemeter y. Several members of Governor Shafroth's family have since been prominent in Colorado and national affairs.

For more information

http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/govs/shafroth.html