William J. Janklow: need for speed

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In 1979, as a way of showing solidarity with citizens coping with gas shortages, South Dakota Governor William John Janklow began riding a motorcycle. It soon got him in trouble, as police cited him for driving without a motorcycle license and speeding. It was one of the earlier cases of Janklow getting in trouble for speeding, but it would not be the last. At one point, he even put red lights on his car so he could go faster. He complained that lower speed limits were impractical in the larger states in the country. It all made for a bountiful record against him in the incident that would end his political career.

Born in Chicago in September of 1939, Janklow dropped out of high school due to a juvenile delinquency charge when he accepted a judge's offer to join the Marine Corps instead; he served there from 1956 to 1959. Despite the lack of a high school degree, he managed to talk his way into the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, earning a bachelor of science degree in 1964. Two years later, he received a law degree from the same institution.

Janklow became the chief legal officer of the South Dakota Legal Services division, a program offering free legal services to American Indians under a program of the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity, and practiced on the Rosebud Reservation from 1966 to 1973. He briefly started a private practice before he was elected as the state's attorney general, holding the post from 1974 to 1979.

He was in this office during a turbulent period of American Indian activism. In May of 1975, he directed the highway patrol and Bureau of Indian Affairs police to launch tear gas into the Yankton Sioux Industries Pork Plant to end a 16-hour standoff with seven armed activists. Janklow expressed annoyance at the lack of federal response in such incidents, commenting, "It's always the state that has to do the federal government's work." Just days later, American Indian Movement co-founder Russell Means and fellow AIM member John Thomas were shot, albeit not fatally. Janklow was also attorney general when FBI agents Jack L. Coler and Ronald A. Williams were gunned down on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in June of 1975, the incident that would lead to the controversial conviction of Leonard Peltier. "It looked like an execution," Janklow said. "They were riddled with bullets."

AIM leaders frequently clashed with Janklow during this period in his life. During his first campaign for attorney general, Janklow explained an accusation that he had left high school after being accused of raping a 17-year-old by saying the juvenile delinquency charge had been dismissed and that it was not a case of rape. A more serious charge came from AIM leader Dennis Banks, who brought up an accusation against Janklow by Jacinta Eagle Deer. She said that in 1967, when she was 15 and Janklow was still practicing on the Rosebud Reservation, that Janklow raped her at gunpoint after she accepted his offer of a ride home. Janklow was never criminally charged, but Banks started a petition to disbar him in the tribal courts and was successful in doing so in 1974.

Banks in particular became an enemy to Janklow as he took refuge from 1973 riot and firearms charges in California. In April of 1976, Banks' attorney said Janklow despised Banks and wanted to see him dead. "The man's life has been threatened by the highest judicial officer of South Dakota, William Janklow," the attorney said. "Mr. Janklow, the attorney general of South Dakota, has made the statement that the only way to deal with the AIM leaders is to shoot them in the head." Other sources quote Janklow as saying that the only way to resolve Indian issues in South Dakota would be to "put a gun to the AIM leaders' heads and pull the trigger." California agreed with Banks' contention that his life would be in danger if returned to South Dakota. During Janklow's first successful gubernatorial campaign in 1978, Banks accused Janklow of making the feud a campaign issue and said Janklow's "whole career is based on the conviction of Dennis Banks."

California's decision about Banks rankled Janklow so much that he still held a grudge against the state late in his first term as governor. In 1982, he told a reporter that he had started giving the "California option" to criminals, letting them choose between serving a prison term in South Dakota or promising to live out the rest of their life in California. "You people decided you liked our felons. It's like the Statue of Liberty," Janklow sniped. "We  kind of feel there is a beacon in California saying, 'Give us your felons, your pickpockets, your crooked masses yearning to be free.'"

Janklow served his first two terms as governor of South Dakota from 1979 to 1987. He said he endeavored to be a servant of the people. He was a sometimes brusque speaker and frequently made controversial remarks, to the point where some considered him more of a bully than a straight talker; it earned him the nickname "Wild Bill." Yet he also frequently partnered with people from across party lines to accomplish projects for the state or advocate for what he thought was right. He praised Democratic President Jimmy Carter in 1979 for cutting oil imports from Iran, declaring, "It's about time. I couldn't support you more. For the first time in a year, I'm proud to be an American again." Six years later, in response to Republican President Ronald Reagan's proposal to cut federal aid to farms, Janklow led 103 state legislators to Washington, D.C., to advocate for South Dakota's farmers; he commented that "the farmers' greatest enemy is the Congress of the United States because they don't have the guts and the courage and they won't make the hard decisions to straighten out America's fiscal mess."  

One of Janklow's most notable accomplishments in his first term as governor was a successful effort to lure Citibank to the state. Realizing that usury rates in New York were making it difficult for them to keep credit card interest rates ahead of inflation, he convinced the legislature to repeal similar laws in South Dakota. The legislature also consented to Janklow's idea of having the state purchase a crucial railroad line to undermine a threat that the private company holding the property would abandon it. He also negotiated a deal to sell Missouri River water to a pipeline and coal slurry system, a deal which would be scrapped three years later.

South Dakota law prohibited a governor from seeking a third consecutive term, so Janklow instead made a bid for the Senate in 1986. Janklow said he did not believe the incumbent, James Abdnor, would be able to defeat Democratic candidate Tom Daschle in the general election. The prediction would prove correct, but Janklow was unable to win the Republican nomination. Returning again to private practice, he reappeared on the political scene in 1994. This time, he had to seek the party's nomination against incumbent Governor Walter D. Miller, who had served as lieutenant governor until the death of Governor George Mickelson in a plane crash the year before. Janklow was able to win both the primary and the general election, and another win in 1998 made him the first South Dakota governor to be elected four times.

Janklow advocated the legislative approval of a 30 percent reduction in property taxes for agricultural land and owner-occupied homes. The state ultimately compromised with a 20 percent reduction, making up revenue by axing 755 state jobs, increasing the state share of video lottery proceeds, and restructuring areas such  as state aid to students. Other work included an expanded immunization program for children, an expansion of adoptions for traditionally long-term foster children, and improvements in education technology including having schools wired for multiple technologies such as statewide Intranet and video conferencing equipment.

Janklow also implemented a number of policies on the state's prison system. He advocated turning the University of South Dakota at Springfield into a prison and had prisoners put to work on public projects such as the construction of affordable housing for the elderly, fighting forest fires, and flood response. He won the state the authority to place juvenile offenders, with a corresponding development of juveniles facilities and programs. This program later came under scrutiny when a 14-year-old girl died during a forced run in 1999. Two years later, with the number of juvenile inmates declining, Janklow closed down the system and put the remaining 57 juveniles into private and out-of-state programs.

In 2002, with term limits again preventing him from running for a fifth term as governor, Janklow ran for the House of Representatives. He was successful in this race and would work with Daschle on a number of goals, but this career would be cut short after scarcely a year in office.

In August of 2003, Janklow was driving his 1995 Cadillac through the South Dakota community of Trent when he ran a stop sign and collided with a motorcyclist, 55-year-old Randolph E. Scott of Minnesota. The accident killed Scott and left Janklow with head and hand injuries. The intersection was surrounded by fields of corn, which made it impossible for drivers to see other motorists coming up on the site, and neither man had been drinking. However, the police investigation determined that Janklow was not only in the wrong but criminally liable in the accident. Scott had the right of way and was traveling at the legal speed; Janklow was going 70 to 75 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone.

He was charged with second-degree manslaughter, a felony and the most serious possible charge in the state in a fatal accident where alcohol was not involved, and misdemeanor charges of speeding, reckless driving, and running a stop sign. Republican leaders urged Janklow to resign, but he continued to serve in Congress while awaiting trial.

The trial began in November, with the prosecution critiquing Janklow's spotty driving record. In the decade prior to Scott's death, Janklow had incurred about a dozen speeding tickets and was involved in eight accidents. Janklow had even referenced his driving record in advocating harsher prison sentences for drug dealers during his time as governor; he admitted then that he liked to speed on the road, but would be less likely to do so if he was risking a long prison sentence. He had nearly had an accident at the same intersection eight months before. Witnesses testified that a car nearly crashed into the side of their truck, and that the vehicle was later traced to Janklow.

The defense essentially conceded the misdemeanor charges in trying to get the felony dismissed. Janklow took the stand in his own defense, but said he could not remember several things related to the accident and admitted that he had a habit of speeding on country roads and had probably gone through stop signs by accident before. Janklow's attorney said Janklow was having a diabetic reaction at the time of the accident, since he had taken his insulin shot but had not eaten anything during a day of meetings and driving long meetings. Daschle was among the witnesses called by the defense to confirm that he hadn't seen Janklow eat anything during the day of the accident. The prosecution ridiculed this as a "goofy hypoglycemia defense," saying Janklow told emergency responders that his blood sugar was fine; diabetes groups also criticized Janklow for the excuse.

The jury found Janklow guilty of all charges; he announced an hour later that he would resign his seat. He was sentenced to 100 days in prison. In a special election held early in 2004, Democratic candidate Stephanie Herseth won Janklow's seat; she would serve the remainder of his term and go on to win another three terms.

Janklow soon sought to appeal his conviction, but the first effort was unsuccessful in part because the state supreme court in its entirety had to recuse itself. Janklow had appointed all five judges during his long career, four to the supreme court and one to the circuit court. However, in 2005 he challenged the revocation of his law license as part of the conviction and was successful in getting it restored in 2006. He again argued that speed was necessary in the large state, saying he had to go fast as governor to get to disaster scenes. “I was a hero for getting there in a hurry," he said. "When I got blown off the road in a tornado going to Spencer, people complimented me.” Janklow would resume his old driving habits after his driving privileges were restored in 2007, picking up four citations for speeding.

A few years later, Janklow announced that he had been diagnosed with brain cancer. He died of this malady in January of 2012.

Sources: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, National Governor's Association, "Sioux Charges Neighborhood Discrimination" in the Sarasota Journal on May 12 1971, "Federal Handing of Takeovers Hit" in The Journal on May 3 1975, "Leader of Indian Movement is Shot" in the Toledo Blade on May 5 1975, "Shooting of Two FBI Agents is Called an 'Execution'" in the Spokane Daily Chronicle on Jun. 27 1975, "Indian Leader Pleads Innocent to 5 Federal Firearms Charges" in the Eugene Register-Guard on Apr. 14 1976, "Dakotan Still Seeks Fugitive" in the Spokane Daily Chronicle on Apr. 20 1978, "People in the News" in the Eugene Register-Guard on May 25 1979, "Carter Hailed: "I'm Proud to Be an American" in the Telegraph-Herald on Nov. 13 1979, "South Dakota Adopts New Policy on Justice for Criminals" in the Rome News-Tribune on Jun. 3 1982, "55 Speed-Limit Seems Here to Stay" in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on Jul. 11 1982, "Farm-State Lawmakers Brace For New Battle" in the Spokane Chronicle on Feb. 25 1985, "Farmers' Plight Goes Unheeded, Senator Says" in the Beaver County Times on Feb. 27 1985, "Senator Survives Shootout in S.D., and Moderate Will Oppose Cranston" in the Deseret News on Jun. 4 1986, "South Dakota Reaps Federal Loot" in the Post and Courier on May 13 1999, "Congressman in Fatal Accident Ran Stop Sign, Prosecutor Says" in the New York Times on Aug. 20 2003, "Janklow Sped Past Stop Sign Before Accident, Report Says" in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Aug. 21 2003, "Rep Faces Stiff Charges in Fatal Crash with Cyclist" in The Vindicator on Aug. 30 2003, "A Timeline of Bill Janklow's Career" in Minnesota Public Radio on Sep. 5 2003, "Attorney Concedes Janklow Sped" in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Dec. 1 2003, "One Top Political Figure Testifies for Another in South Dakota" in the New York Times on Dec. 5 2003, "Janklow Recalls Not Eating" in the Topeka Capital-Journal on Dec. 7 2003, "Legislator Convicted in Crash" in the Boston Globe on Dec. 9 2003, "S. Dakota Fills Vacant House Seat" in the Boston Globe on Jun. 2 2004, "Scene of the Crime" in American Motorcycle for March 2006, "Bill Janklow, A Four-Term Governor, Dies At 72" in the New York Times on Jan. 12 2012, "Former S.D. Gov., U.S. Rep. William Janklow Dies" on NPR on Jan. 12 2012, The Judicial Branch of State Government: People, Process, and Politics by Sean O. Hogan, Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement by Dennis Banks and Richard Erdoes, Black Hills White Justice: The Sioux Nation Versus the United States 1775 to Present by Edward Lazarus

Jonathan M. Davis: pardon me boys

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With just weeks left in his term, Governor Jonathan McMillan Davis of Kansas went after an unexpected target. In December of 1922, he led the University of Kansas Board of Administration in firing the school's chancellor, Ernest H. Lindley. The decision was done without a hearing on the basis of several reputed charges, including aloofness from the student body, failing to abide by the board's orders, and partisan politics. The last one in particular brought cries of hypocrisy, given that Davis discharged his Republican appointee to the board, William P. Lambertson, and replaced him with a Democrat soon after Lambertson opposed Lindley's removal.

The uproar would blow over almost immediately after Davis left office. Lindley, who had been chancellor at the university since 1920, was reappointed by Davis' Republican successor, Ben S. Paulen, a few days into his term. Lindley would go on to hold the position until his retirement in 1938. But during the tumult, the Lawrence Journal-World criticized the rationale for the firing as trivial and suggested that Davis was engaging in "petty politics" and either taking out his anger over his failed re-election on Lindley or trying to stir up trouble for Paulen. Davis probably thought he was doing the right thing, the newspaper opined, but also suggested that the outgoing governor had an arrogant streak and was especially humiliated at the loss considering his presidential aspirations earlier in the year. The editors felt that his lame duck actions had "caused more grief and humiliation to the state of Kansas than any governor in half a century."

Despite these harsh words, the paper said they did not consider him to be dishonest or corrupt. They may well have held off their opinion on this topic if they had been aware of the scandal that would erupt scarcely a week after the editorial ran.

Born in Bronson, Kansas in April of 1871, Davis began attending the University of Kansas in 1888 and stayed there until 1891 before transferring to the University of Nebraska. He never graduated, for the death of his father brought him back to his hometown to help manage the family farm. Davis would remain heavily invested in the farm, although he also spent seven years managing a bank.

Davis first entered politics in 1900 when he was elected to the state house of representatives. After a prolonged absence, he returned there after winning the 1908 and 1910 elections and became a member of the state senate in 1912. He succeeded in winning the Democratic nomination for governor in 1920, but lost the general election to Republican candidate Henry J. Allen. Two years later, Davis returned to win the election and successfully contested Allen for the title.

Described as a "dirt farmer governor," Davis was especially concerned about lowering taxes and helping the state's agricultural workers. In July of 1923, he advised wheat farmers to implement a "selling strike" by storing up supplies to drive up prices. Davis contended that the prices were too low and that he would work with other governors in the Midwest to spread the idea, since buyers would simply go to other markets if only Kansas put the strike into effect. "The only way the farmer can fight for a fair price is to store his wheat and refuse to sell it until he gets a price that is just," he said. During his term, Davis also oversaw the distribution of $25 million in bonuses to ex-servicemen of World War I, limited banking procedures, put utilities under public control, authorized an improved road bill, and endorsed prohibition and women's suffrage.

The populist appeal of Davis was such that there were rumors that he would seek the presidency or a Senate seat. Sure enough, in April of 1924 the Democratic state convention passed a resolution vowing to support his nomination for President at the upcoming national convention. The resolution only asked the delegates to commit themselves to Davis for as long as it was expedient, but in a crowded field his nomination on the national stage was not out of the question. He traveled to the event pledging "to get something done for the farmer" while in office, with a platform including an adjustment of freight rates as well as the credit basis for farmers, reducing tariffs, making credit available to farmers in the same way it was available to businesses, and stabilizing markets.

The deadlock between former Secretary of the Treasury William Gibbs McAdoo and New York Governor Al Smith led the convention to choose a John Davis as a compromise candidate, but it was not the Kansas governor. John W. Davis, ambassador to the United Kingdom and a former West Virginia congressman, would go on to unsuccessfully contest Calvin Coolidge for the presidency. In his re-election bid, meanwhile, Davis turned on the organization that had supported him in 1922 and drafted a plank declaring the Democratic Party "unalterably opposed" to the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan shifted its support to the Republican side, aiding candidate Ben Sanford Paulen to victory in November.

The firing of Lindley and replacement of Lambertson were not the only lame duck actions that earned Davis criticism during his final months in office. He also came under fire for a questionable series of pardons and paroles. In one case, he pardoned Dr. W.A. Nixon after Nixon had served only a few years behind bars after conviction of the sensational murder of an attorney. In another, he pardoned F.D. Bushnell, who had been charged with swindling a black farmer.

The Kansas City Journal eventually got word that Davis was making offers in exchange for cash. They set up a sting operation with the cooperation of Fred Pollman, a former banker who had gone to prison on forgery charges and was on parole at the time. With just three days left in Davis' term, the newspaper set up a hidden listening device in Pollman's room at the Topeka Hotel and gave Pollman marked bills. Government officials and reporters from the Journal listened in from another room as Davis' son, Russell, met with Pollman. Russell left the room after Pollman gave him $1,000, then returned with a pardon from the governor. Pollman then gave Russell another $250. As he was leaving, reporters confronted Russell about the exchange. Caught off-guard, Russell nevertheless said that his father was not involved in the deal. Davis admitted that Russell had been "inveigled into accepting the money" and characterized the incident as a "frame up by my political enemies to 'get me.'" Davis also said he had already decided to grant the pardon when Russell was caught by the newspaper.

The Journal also reported that Glenn A. Davis, imprisoned on a murder charge, claimed to have acted as the governor's agent in the Pollman transaction. He said Governor Davis also offered him a pardon in exchange for cash, and rejected his request for parole when he refused. Davis had been uncertain whether he would attend Paulen's inauguration on January 12, 1925, but in the end he wouldn't have a choice. With just hours left in his term, Davis and Russell were arrested on bribery charges. While Paulen took the oath of office, they made their first appearance in court. The scandal soon grew to include Carl J. Peterson, the state bank commissioner and a friend and political adviser to Davis. Investigators charged that Peterson asked convicted banker Walter Grundy for $4,000 in exchange for a pardon and settled for $2,500 after consulting with Davis. Peterson soon resigned, two and a half months before his term was to end.

Davis returned to work on the farm until May of 1925, when he faced his first bribery trial in the Grundy case. Davis testified in his own defense, and in the end the jury voted to acquit him. Peterson went to trial on the same issue in February of 1926 and was also acquitted. They were good signs for Davis' second trial, which ran in March and April of that year. Davis reiterated that he knew nothing of his son's deal with Pollman, saying the ex-banker requested one so he could go into the coal mining business and that he acquiesced. Character witnesses also testified on his behalf. Davis was once again acquitted, a verdict which also cleared Russell of charges.

The three verdicts rejuvenated Davis, who promptly sued the Journal and others involved in the sting in an unsuccessful claim for $5 million in damages. He considered that his administration had been vindicated and that there was still a political future for him. "I am strong enough to fight and when the farmers want me to run again for governor to carry out to carry out a tax reduction program, the call will be loud enough for me to enter the ring," he said. "But until then I shall stay on the farm." Despite this claim, Davis also told Paulen, "Looks like I'll have to run. And if the Democrats choose me again, and the Republicans renominate you, I hope our friendship will not be impaired."

Both men did get re-nominated by their respective parties, though Davis' won by a narrow margin. Out of about 62,000 ballots cast in the primary, he was selected by a margin of only about 1,600 votes. During the general election campaign, he again advocated tax reduction and a compulsory banking law while also speaking against the power of large corporations. With the scandal fresh in the state's memory, however, Paulen was easily able to keep his post.

Davis would return to his farm for the remainder of his life, but he would take a crack at elected office at nearly every opportunity. In 1928, he was unopposed for the Democratic nomination for state representative. He withdrew from the race later on, saying he could not campaign and manage the farm at the same time and that it would only be more difficult if he won the election. Two years later, the party chose Nellie Cline to run for Senate; when she failed to file her intent to run, Davis made a surprise bid by filing just before the deadline. Once again, the Republican incumbent cleaned up at the polls as Senator Arthur Capper won a fourth term.

In the next years, Davis was able to regain a bit of influence as some legislators and newspapers supported his call for a special legislative session aimed at lowering expenditures and taxes. However, Davis was not able to wrest the Democratic nomination for state senator from incumbent Harry Warren and instead ran an unsuccessful independent campaign. In 1934, for the first time in over a decade, Davis' name didn't appear on the election year ballot.

He returned in 1936 to seek the Democratic nomination for governor. He challenged attorney Walter Huxman for the spot, supporting the Townsend Plan for pensioning to open up more employment opportunities for younger residents. As always, Davis also returned to his favorite planks of tax relief and farm support. Huxman won the nomination and went on to win the general election.

In 1938, Davis launched an independent campaign for governor. The Democrats opposed the bid, fearing that it would siphon off votes from Huxman. At the final tally, however, Davis mustered just 15,605 votes out of 755,202 cast. Huxman still lost his office, with Republican challenger Payne Ratner decisively winning the gubernatorial election. Two years later, Davis again unsuccessfully challenged Warren for the state senate nomination.

By 1942, it seemed that Davis was seeking office out of habit as much as anything else. He briefly considered running for the House of Representatives but instead filed for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor. In the four-way race, Davis narrowly won the nomination to appear in the general election for the first time in 16 years. Voters still favored the GOP, however, with Jess C. Denious winning lieutenant governor and Andrew F. Schoeppel becoming governor.

It was the last race Davis attempted. He died seven months later, in June of 1943.

Sources: National Governors Association, Kansas State Library, "The Next Governor a K.U. Man" in the October 22 University of Kansas Graduate Magazine,"Kansas Governor Asks Grain Strike" in the Milwaukee Sentinel on Jul. 15 1923, "Republicans Fear Losses in Senate Through Revolt" in the Montreal Gazettee on Jul. 31 1923, "Gov. Davis is Willing" in the New York Times on Aug. 2 1923, "Convention Backs Davis Aspirations" in the Lawrence Journal-World on Apr. 2 1924, "Davis, Kansas, to Work for Farmer at Convention" in the Reading Eagle on Jun. 21 1924, "Paulen Will Make a Klan Statement" in the Lawrence Journal-World on Aug. 27 1924, "Is It Policy or Is It Just Davis?" in the Lawrence Journal-World on Jan. 2 1925, "Davis Act Legal; Dr. Lindley is Out" in the Lawrence Journal-World on Jan. 10 1925, "Governor Davis' Son Takes Pardon Coin" in the Palm Beach Post on Jan. 11 1925, "Says Governor Desired Money to Give Pardon" in the Palm Beach Post on Jan. 11 1925, "Governor Davis is Arrested on Bribery Charge" in the Providence News on Jan. 12 1925, "Second Charge Brought Against Ex.-Governor Davis" in the Evening Independent on Jan. 13 1925, "Chancellor Talks to Student Body" in the Lawrence Journal-World on Jan. 14 1925, "Kansas Bank Chief Quits in Defiance" in the New York Times on Jan. 16 1925, "Trial of Davis Nears Its Close" in the Spokesman-Review on May 20 1925, "Former Governor Takes the Stand" in the Lawrence Journal-World on Mar. 31 1926, "Jury Acquits Gov. J.M. Davis" in the Gettysburg Times on Apr. 6 1926, "Davis Found Not Guilty By Kansas Jury" in the Southeast Missourian on Apr. 25 1926, "Former Governor Loses Libel Suit" in the Berkeley Daily Gazette on Nov. 4 1926, "Farm Issue Faces Votes in Wheat Belt Primaries" in the Evening Independent on Aug. 5 1930, "3 States Vote at Primaries" in the Pittsburgh Press on Aug. 4 1936, "Victory Claims by Both Parties" in the Lawrence Journal-World on Nov. 8 1938, "The Press and Lindley" in the Lawrence Journal-World on Dec. 7 1938, "The Post-Gubernatorial Career of Jonathan M. Davis" by John R. Finger, Encyclopedia of Kansas by Nancy Capace, Biennial Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Kansas, American Legislative Leaders in the Midwest 1911-1994 by Nancy and James Sharp

Hiram Bingham: dodgy lobbying

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Like another Connecticut senator censured several decades after him, Hiram Bingham III's misdeeds ultimately amounted to little more than a blemish on a remarkable career. Indeed, Bingham's political service as a whole almost comes off as a footnote to his persona as an explorer, so prevalent that he is often cited as a possible inspiration for the character of Indiana Jones.

The son of a Pacific missionary, Bingham was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in November of 1875. He grew up in the islands, attending the Punahou School and earning an undergraduate degree from Oahu College in 1892. From there, he went stateside to attend the Phillips Academy, Yale University, the University of California at Berkeley, and Harvard University.

One of Bingham's first explorations came shortly after Bingham graduated from Harvard in 1906. The next year, he traveled the route set by Simon Bolivar from Venezuela to Colombia. In 1908, he explored an old Spanish trade route through the Andes and became a delegate to the First Pan American Scientific Congress in Santiago, Chile. Bingham also went from student to teacher, working as a professor of history and politics at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton University.

Perhaps Bingham's greatest accomplishment came in 1911 during an expedition to find Vilcabamba, the "lost city of the Incas." The joint mission by Yale and the National Geographic Society instead uncovered the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu. The notion that Bingham discovered the city has generally been toned down in more recent years. The German explorer Augusto Berns may have explored Machu Picchu as early as 1867, and a Peruvian Indian who offered to act as a guide was the one who led Bingham's team there. However, Bingham was the first person to make a scientific study of the site, with follow-up expeditions in 1912 and 1915. Bingham's claim that Machu Picchu was the Vilcabamba site was not debunked until the middle of the 20th century. However, Bingham's trips also uncovered the nearby settlements of Vitcos and Espiritu Pampa, with archaeologist Gene Savoy determining in 1964 that the latter site was the likely Vilcabamba site.

World War I was already underway in Europe at the time of these expeditions, and Bingham may have foreseen American involvement in the conflict. He became a captain in the Connecticut National Guard in 1916, and when the United States declared war on the Central Powers in the spring of 1917 he became an aviator and organized the United States Schools of Military Aeronautics. He served in the Signal Corps, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel, and oversaw the flying school at Issoudun, France, from August to December in 1917.

Bingham's political career began in 1922, when he became the lieutenant governor of Connecticut. He held this position through 1924, the year he was elected governor of the state. This election took place just weeks after the suicide of Frank B. Brandegee, who had represented the state in the Senate since 1905. Bingham ran as the Republican in the special election held in December to fill the vacancy and won, committing him to the remainder of the Senate term ending in March of 1927. The curious circumstances meant Bingham would serve less than a day as Connecticut's governor before resigning, taking up his Senate duties and turning the governor's role over to Lieutenant Governor John Harper Trumbull.

President Calvin Coolidge appointed him a member of his Aircraft Board in 1925. Bingham also chaired the Committee on Printing and the Committee on Territories and Insular Possessions during his time in Congress. He continued his travels while in politics, including a 1927 trip to China during a war in that country that left him robbed of his money and camera.

Starting in April of 1929, a subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee began investigating lobbying activities among members. Concerns about this activity had been increasing in the early 20th century, with proposed regulations ongoing since 1911. Although Bingham was not immediately subject to the investigation, he volunteered to defend his own lobbyist, Charles L. Eyanson. He began giving testimony in October of 1929.

Bingham told the subcommittee members that Eyanson was initially on "loan" from the Manufacturer's Association of Connecticut to assist with tariff legislation. Although Eyanson continued to receive a salary from the lobbying group, Bingham also set up an arrangement where he became an official Senate employee as well. As Republican members of the Finance Committee began meeting in private on the tariff proposals, Bingham asked his principal clerk to formally resign his post. Although he would continue to perform his duties and receive his salary, Eyanson was sworn in as an official employee in the clerk's place so he would be able to attend the closed sessions. Eyanson was paid a salary for this new role, but passed it on to the regular clerk.

The investigators were taken aback by how much involvement in Senate affairs Bingham had allowed Eyanson to have. Even Eyanson was unsure who he answered to during this period. "Until I reported to Senator Bingham I would be a representative of the Manufacturers' Association...but actually I did not represent the association after I went with Senator Bingham. I represented Senator Bingham," he testified. Under questioning, Bingham admitted that he should have let other senators know about the arrangement. When the subcommittee issued its report at the end of the month, it was critical of Bingham's actions but made no recommendation of censure. Senator Thaddeus H. Caraway, an Arkansas Democrat who first proposed the subcommittee, offered stronger criticism on the Senate floor but also didn't recommend any formal punishment.

Bingham, however, had strong words for those who spoke against him. In remarks on the Senate floor, he accused of the subcommittee of being biased and partisan, saying Judiciary Committee chairman George Norris, a progressive Republican from Nebraska, stacked the subcommittee with people opposed to the policies of President Herbert Hoover, which Bingham supported. He complained that he was being framed and was the victim of a "modern Spanish Inquisition." The rant also implied that one senator on the subcommittee used a Capitol policeman to chauffeur him to his distant state. John J. Blaine, a Wisconsin Republican, sensed he was being targeted and demanded that Bingham named the accused; Bingham promptly confirmed that he was referring to Blaine. He continued to rail against the subcommittee, saying it used the methods of a criminal court to try to catch him in a contradiction and issued an inaccurate final report. "I had not supposed that there was no much unfairness in a group of senators," he said. "I had not supposed that for political purposes, to damage a New England senator and a friend of the administration, that they would go so far as they did."

The senators had not expected such a heated reaction, and they responded in kind. In November, Norris introduced a resolution seeking censure against Bingham for actions "contrary to good morals and senatorial ethics" that tended "to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute." Norris said that throughout the debate over Eyanson's role in the Senate, Bingham "never yet grasped the fact that the action he took was injurious to the honor and dignity of the Senate, was injurious to public sentiment and to public opinion." Blaine described Bingham's defense of his actions as akin to those made by the accused in the recent Teapot Dome Scandal, accused Bingham of having a seniority complex, and described the arrangement with Eyanson as a "dirty, slimy deal." Caraway challenged any of the Republican senators to defend Bingham; the GOP side of the chamber remained silent. Although the resolution was amended to specify that Bingham never had corrupt motives, the final vote approved the censure 54-22.

Lobbying legislation would be slow to arrive. During the 1930s, Congress finally passed bills requiring registration by lobbyists in the fields of public utilities, shipping firms, and foreign agents. It was not until 1946 that the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act, adopted as part of the Legislative Reorganization Act, would require all lobbyists to register with Congress. By that time, Bingham was long gone from the body. He lost his bid for re-election in 1932, a defeat he blamed on Prohibition advocates after supporting a repeal that ultimately did not appear on the platform in Hoover's own failed re-election bid.

After leaving the Senate, Bingham worked in the banking industry and wrote history books. He was a strong opponent of Hoover's successor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and his New Deal plan, saying the federal government was "trying to become a dictatorship." In a dramatic breakup in 1937, his wife of 37 years filed for divorce and accused Bingham of mental cruelty. She said he would enthusiastically greet the family's two dogs while acknowledging her presence only with a "kind of grunt." Bingham announced he would remarry only three months later, to Suzanne Carroll Hill (a descendant of Declaration of Independence signer Charles Carroll). He also engaged in lobbying of his own, promoting the aviation industry in Washington, D.C., and later served as the vice president of the Coleman Oil Company.

During the Second World War, Bingham lectured at naval training schools. President Harry Truman later appointed him chairman of the Civil Service Commission's Loyalty Review Board, a role Bingham held from 1951 to 1953. Truman founded the loyalty program in 1947, and although government agencies had their own boards to review Federal Bureau of Investigation findings on employee loyalty, the 12-member Loyalty Review Board was an entity employees could appeal to if they were found disloyal and fired. Bingham's appointment was a handy way of countering Republican accusations that Truman's administration was harboring disloyal employees.

Bingham died in Washington, D.C. of a respiratory ailment in June of 1956. His son, Jonathan Brewster Bingham, would also go into politics. He would serve as the United States delegate to four General Assemblies of the United Nations as well as a Democrat in the House of Representatives from 1965 to 1983.

Sources: The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, National Governors Association, The United States Senate Historical Office, Encyclopedia Britannica, "Lost City of Incas a Wonderful Ruin" in the New York Times on Jan. 1 1914, "Resigns to Become Senator" in the Lawrence Journal-World on Jan. 8 1925, "Bingham's Car Plundered on Return From Battle Front" in the Milwaukee Sentinel on Jun. 1 1927, "Senator Bingham Roundly Scored on Senate Floor" in the Telegraph-Herald on Oct. 28 1929, "Glass Assails New Deal Tax 'Tyranny'" in the Evening Independent on Jul. 18 1936, "Divorce is Granted Mrs. Hiram Bingham" in the Meriden Daily Journal on Mar. 27 1937, "Hiram Bingham to Wed Mrs. Hill" in the New York Times on Jun. 26 1937, "U.S. Loyalty and Security Risks Involve Different Procedures" in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on Jul. 24 1951, "Ex.-Sen. Bingham of Connecticut Dies in Capital" in the St. Petersburg Times on June 7 1956, "Hiram Bingham 'Discovers' Machu Picchu" in Wired on Jul. 24 2008

Otto Kerner: tainted reputation

Image from msnbc.msn.com

Otto Kerner, Jr. would be far from the first politician accused of financial misconduct who fought his conviction and accused the court of besmirching his name. But when Kerner complained that the jury's finding of guilty had "deeply and irreparably tainted the good reputation that [he] cherished," he had a significant legacy to defend. Until his day in court, Kerner was best known for having delivered one of the most progressive opinions on race relations by the United States government.

Born in Chicago in August of 1908, Kerner earned a bachelor's degree from Brown University in 1930, attended Trinity College at Cambridge University in England from 1930 to 1931, and earned a Juris Doctorate from the Northwestern University School of Law in 1934. He enlisted in the National Guard after graduation and transferred to field artillery two years later. With the outbreak of World War II, he served in both the European and Pacific theaters. When he retired from the service in 1954, Kerner was a major general with a Soldier's Medal, Bronze Star, and Army Commendation Ribbon.

Kerner entered politics soon after, becoming the U.S. District Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. He held this position from 1947 to 1955 before serving as a Cook County judge from 1955 to 1960. During his time in these positions, Kerner led an effort to reform adoption procedures. Running on the Democratic ticket, Kerner was elected governor of Illinois in 1960. He was re-elected four years later. Kerner served on the National Governors' Conference Executive Committee from 1967 to 1968, and he chaired the Midwestern Governors' Conference that same year.There was a minor scandal in December of 1964 when Theodore J. Isaacs, Kerner's former campaign manager, was charged with misconduct and conspiracy for allegedly receiving fees from two envelope companies. The charges blew over, but it wouldn't be the last time that Isaacs appeared before a judge.

Kerner was perhaps best known for his role as chairman of an 11-member bipartisan committee convened in the summer of 1967 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. A series of devastating race riots had broken out across the country in recent years, and Johnson wanted to know why. Officially known as the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, the group was nicknamed the "Kerner Commission" due to Kerner's leadership role and progressive record as the Illinois governor; he had worked to integrate the National Guard, and although Chicago had not been exempt from the riots the disruptions had been much less severe than those in Detroit and elsewhere. For several months, the committee members met with civic leaders, police officers, politicians, and social scientists to discuss the racial situation in the country.

The result was a groundbreaking report in March of 1968 identifying a number of deep-seated problems and recommending several sweeping reforms. It confirmed the assertions of many civil rights leaders and was a general indictment of the degradation of race relations, blaming "white racism" as the crux of the problem. The report also said racism had become institutionalized, with racist policies not only leading to the creation of black ghettos but keeping them intact and rationalizing their existence. As a result, black citizens had poorer access to education and health facilities and were more susceptible to poverty and unemployment than white citizens. The report also accused police departments of having confrontational tactics when policing the ghettos and contributing to the severity of the riots by responding too slowly to the disruptions. Some members of the media were accused of being irresponsible in reports that could "seed the thoughts of riots."

The findings included the ominous finding that "our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white--separate and unequal." It recommended an immediate effort to improve ghetto conditions by better access to jobs and housing, including 550,000 new jobs and 600,000 new housing units in 1968 alone . Members also suggested a need for welfare reform, guaranteed income for every American family, and full-year schooling for children. Shortly before it disbanded, the commission released a supplemental report in July of 1968 saying more ghetto residents than expected--18 percent--had joined in the riots and that the participants wee not just criminals or "riff-raff" but a large number of urban youth.

This secondary report was likely in response to a complaint accusing the commission of not placing responsibility for the riots on the rioters themselves. Richard Nixon, running on a "law and order" platform in 1968, accused the Kerner Commission report of blaming "everybody for the riots except the perpetrators." The report may have illuminated a number of issues, but the scale of the recommendations and belief that the riots were more the fault of conspirators than social conditions meant that it did little else. A year after the release of the report, an independent study by the nonprofit organizations Urban America Inc. and The Urban Coalition found that little progress had been made in race relations. It borrowed a line from the Kerner Commission in concluding, "A year later we are a year closer to being two societies, black and white, increasingly separate and scarcely less unequal." Testifying before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee in May of 1971, Kerner said he thought police tactics had improved since the riots but that underlying racial issues remained unaddressed.

Kerner decided not to run for a third term due to a "deep concern for the health and happiness" of his family." He resigned his governorship early, handing over the reins to Lieutenant Governor Samuel Shapiro in May of 1968. However, Kerner soon accepted a presidential appointment as a federal appeals court judge in Chicago. In December of 1969, an investigation began into the allegation that Kerner received $50,000 in bank stock shortly before ordering the dismissal of a second indictment against organized crime figure Joseph Amabile, who had been sentenced to 15 years in prison on extortion conviction. Although nothing came of this inquiry, Kerner would land in hot water less than two years late on a similar accusation.

In July of 1971, investigators questioned Kerner about a hefty profit he made in racetrack stock while serving as governor. Five months later, a federal grand jury indicted him on charges of bribery, mail fraud, tax evasion, perjury, and conspiracy. The jury also indicted three former administration officials and one of their secretaries: Isaacs, who had served as state director of revenue between 1961 and 1963; William S. Miller, chairman of Illinois Racing Board from 1961 to 1967; Joseph Knight, director of state institutions between 1962 and 1968; and Faith McInturf, Miller's former secretary and business associate. The charges alleged that Kerner conspired to acquire $356,000 in racetrack stock for the bargain price of $70,158, and that this amounted to a bribe since it intended to influence his decisions on horse racing matters. Prosecutors also charged that Kerner evaded $84,129 in taxes by false reports to the Internal Revenue Service.

Kerner promptly took leave of his post but did not resign it. The case zeroed in on him and Isaacs, as the charges against McInturf evaporated and Knight was too old and ill to stand trial; the state dropped the charges against Miller when he agreed to testify against his co-defendants. The trial against Kerner and Isaacs began in January of 1971 and lasted for seven weeks; the state called 40 witnesses, the defense 31. Majorie Everett, a former head of Chicago Thoroughbred Enterprises, said she made stock available to Kerner and Isaacs in 1962 and contributed $45,000 to the governor's campaign. Miller said Kerner knew the contributions were made with the intent that he would favor Everett's interests with his decisions; he said Kerner accepted simply by saying, "Well, that's very nice of Marj." The government also asserted that Kerner and Isaacs went through a complex system of hiding the assets and avoiding taxes on them. On the stand, Kerner denied that he ever interpreted the stock and contribution as a bribe.

The jury disagreed; they found Kerner guilty of a total of 17 charges and Isaacs guilty of 15. It was the first time a sitting federal judge was convicted of criminal charges. Kerner vowed to fight the conviction and refused to give up his post, meaning he could only be removed by impeachment. In April of 1973, he and Isaacs were each sentenced to three years in prison and a $20,000 fine. Kerner complained, "My real punishment, deserved or not, has already been inflicted...I was never tainted, and I was never bought."

His argument about the interpretation of the stock and campaign donation held some merit during the appeals process. An appeals court agreed to dismiss the bribery charge, but upheld the other convictions. In June of 1974, the Supreme Court denied a review of the cases; Kerner's argument, in part, was that he could not be indicted while a sitting judge. Some members of Congress were getting tired of this particular ambiguity. In July, Kerner finally resigned from the judge's position as efforts to impeach him gained momentum. He started serving his sentence the same month.

Kerner remained imprisoned until March of 1975. By that time, his health had declined precipitously. Although he had kicked the habit, Kerner had formerly been a longtime smoker; surgeons removed a tumor from his lung and gave him a 50-50 chance of survival. Kerner's poor health sped up his release from prison, and he accepted a job consulting with Lewis University-Chicago's special services center to improve the mental attitudes of prisoners.

President Gerald Ford received a request to pardon Kerner in October of 1975, but rejected it. Kerner was again under consideration for a pardon in May of 1976, but was already fighting a losing battle against resurgent lung cancer at this point. He died the same month and, due to his military service, was buried with honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

Sources: National Governors Association, "Advisers Map Plans to Fight Discrimination" in the Ocala Star-Banner on May 30 1963, "Wild Scene as Governor Orders Illinois Adjournment" in the Telegraph-Herald on Jun. 27 1963, "Nine Public Officials Indicted on Charges of Malfeasance" in the Reading Eagle on Dec.17 1964, "Illinois Governor to Quit Politics" in the Spokane Daily Chronicle on Feb. 7 1968, "Anti-Riot Panel Urges Major National Effort" in the Beaver County Times on Mar. 4 1968, "Armed Cops Not Answer - Kerner" in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Mar. 13 1968, "Riot Commission Calls For Action on Report" in the St. Petersburg Times on Apr. 10 1968, "Illinois Governor Resigns" in the Press-Courier on May 21 1968, "Riot Commission Report is Challenged" in the Sumter Daily Item on July 27 1968, "One Year Later: The Nation Still Drifts Toward a Racial Upheaval" in the Lewiston Morning Tribune on Mar. 2 1969, "Kerner Silent on Charge" in the Southeast Missourian on Dec. 3 1969, "Judge Kerner Testifies For Senate Group" in the Gettysburg Times on May 26 1971, "Kerner Gain in Racetrack Stock Cited" in the Milwaukee Sentinel on Jul. 30 1971, "U.S. Jury Indicts Judge Kerner" in the Milwaukee Sentinel on Dec. 16 1971, "Kerner Pledges Battle to Erase Conviction" in the Toledo Blade on Feb. 20 1973, "Indictments Against Miller, Aide Dropped" in the Chicago Tribune on Mar. 3 1973, "Kerner Gets Three Years, $50,000 Fine" in the Ellensburg Daily Record on Apr. 20 1973, "Kerner Free of Bribery Conviction" in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Feb. 20 1974, "Kerner: Honor Dearer Than Life" in the Ellensburg Daily Record on Feb. 20 1974, "High Court Refuses to Review Kerner Case" in the Portsmouth Times on Jun. 17 1974, "Kerner Quits Bench, Faces Prison Term" in the Beaver County Times on Jul. 25 1974, "Lung Tumor Removed From Former Governor" in the Beaver County Times on Mar. 12 1975, "Kerner to Work With Inmates" in the Free Lance-Star on May 22 1975, "Ford Reject Pardon for Former Governor" in the Virgin Islands Daily News on Oct.18 1975, "Pardon Eyed For Kerner" in the Spokesman-Review on May 7 1976, "Otto Kerner Dies; Paroled Year Ago" in the Schenectady Gazette on May 10 1976, Encyclopedia of American Race Riots edited by Walter C. Rucker and James N. Upton, Crime and Punishment: A History of the Criminal Justice System by Mitchel P. Roth

Albert B. Fall: tempest in a teapot

Image from e-education.psu.edu

Though President Warren G. Harding was never implicated in any of the scandals befalling his administration, his preference for giving his Cabinet unregulated control over their departments helped contribute to their abuse of power. Of his Secretary of the Interior, Albert Bacon Fall, Harding once said, "If Albert Fall isn't an honest man, I'm not fit to be President of the United States." Harding died unexpectedly in August of 1923, just a couple of months shy of the scandal that would show how he had misplaced his trust.

Fall was born in November of 1861 into a hardscrabble life in Frankfort, Kentucky. He worked at a cotton mill in his youth to help support his family, and later became a drugstore clerk and teacher. From an early age, Fall suffered from respiratory problems. He moved to Mexico in the hope that the climate would be more tolerable for this health issue and worked in the mining industry before returning to the United States, studying law in Texas. He moved to Las Cruces in New Mexico, then a U.S. territory, where he pursued employment in real estate, mining, and livestock interests while also opening a bookstore. Fall began practicing law after he was admitted to the bar in 1891, choosing Mexican law as his area of expertise.

By the time he got into the legal field, Fall had already started on a political career. After unsuccessfully running for the territory's house of representatives in 1888, he won a seat in the body in 1890; the year before, he was elected the irrigation commissioner of Dona Ana County. In 1893, he was appointed judge of the third judicial district in 1893. However, he soon left to return to private practice after an accusation that he deliberately discounted returns in an election in order to favor the Democratic candidate. He became the territorial attorney general in 1897 and 1907, the terms bookending another term in the legislature which Fall managed to serve despite opening a new law practice in El Paso, Texas. He was in a different party in 1904, having switched to join the Republicans. When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, Fall served as a captain in Company H of the First Territorial Infantry.

When New Mexico was admitted as a state, the legislature named Fall as one of the first people to represent the state in the Senate. It was a contentious choice; 32 were in favor, but a coalition of Democrats, progressive Republicans, and one other Republican did not cast a vote. The legislature's chairman argued that the choice was not valid because 37 votes were needed, but the Republicans said the decision stood because it was made with a majority of those present. Governor William C. McDonald, a Democrat, did not sign Fall's credentials. However, Fall was re-elected without incident in January of 1913 for a term commencing in March. In 1918, with the Senate electoral process changed from legislatures to popular vote, Fall won a second term.

Fall quickly became a controversial figure for his role in the relations between the United States and Mexico. Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor, said Fall's demands amounted to an ultimatum which could lead to war. These included Fall's contention that the country was not doing enough to collect from Mexico for damages done to American property in skirmishes with rebels along the border. There was a minor scandal in 1913 when Fall denounced provisional Mexican president General Victoriano Huerta as a "traitorous and treacherous assassin" and demanded the repeal of a joint resolution allowing the President to authorize arms shipments to Mexico. The Mexican government in turn accused Fall of fomenting revolution and providing the rebellion with $200,000 to protect his property interests in the country. Fall denied the charge, saying, "The whole trouble is that I know the Mexican people, that I am thoroughly in sympathy with the great masses of the Mexican people and that I am not in sympathy with traitors nor assassins of any race. Huerta and his associates know these facts and they fear my statements concerning them, and they are driven to desperation when they threaten any exposé of myself or my facts."

When Harding was elected President in 1920, Fall accepted an offer to join his Cabinet as Secretary of the Interior and resigned from the Senate in March of 1921. He would become known as one of the members of the "Ohio gang," the members of the Harding Administration who achieved the most autonomy only to abuse this power. A rumor arose that Fall would resign at the end of his first year in the job due to irreconcilable disagreements with Harding over the issues of soldiers' bonuses and farm legislation. Fall said this was not true, and also denied suggestions that he had received offers to become affiliated with oil companies. It was an early hint of the scandal that would rock the country for several years. Though Fall did not resign in 1922, he did leave the post on his two-year anniversary. The reported reason for his departure was similar to the 1922 rumor: he and Harding remained friends, but disagreed over a variety of issues including U.S. intervention in Mexico and policies involving Alaska and conservation. Harding named the Postmaster General, Hubert Work, to take Fall's place.

The resignation came about five months before the lid blew off in a corrupt bargain that would come to be known as the Teapot Dome Scandal. This issue had its roots in the U.S. Navy's conversion from coal to diesel to fuel its ships. In order to ensure an adequate supply of fuel for the vessels, the administrations of William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson had set aside reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyoming and Elk Hills in California. During his time as Secretary of the Interior, Fall convinced Harding that the jurisdiction of the reserves should fall under his department rather than the Navy. He argued that neighboring private companies were inadvertently draining the reserves, and that it would make more sense to lease the fields to these companies and have them give the government a portion of the tapped oil. With Secretary of the Navy Edwin Denby agreeing with the recommendation, Harding acquiesced.

In April of 1922, Fall leased the Teapot Dome reserve to the Mammoth Oil Company, owned by Harry F. Sinclar. Sinclair gained control of the Teapot Dome reserve without ever going to bid; the 20-year lease promised to pay government between 12.5 to 50 percent of proceeds, depending on production. These funds would be paid in certificates that could be exchanged for fuel or Mammoth's services in constructing oil storage factories. Edward Doheny, a close friend of Fall's and owner of the Pan American Petroleum Company, won control over most of the Elk Hills reserve. He also submitted a successful bid for the construction of oil storage facilities at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

Congress investigated the transactions in 1922, but it wasn't until October of 1923 that a Senate inquiry began to uncover the seedy details of the leases. A Wyoming congressman questioned why they had not gone out to bid, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an exposé alleging corruption in the deals. The Senate Public Lands Committee called in witnesses to see if any criminal activity had taken place, and eventually uncovered gifts and loans made to Fall by Sinclair and Doheny. Sinclair admitted that Fall had been his personal guest on several occasions, and the committee later determined that he gave Fall $260,000 in Liberty bonds as well as a herd of cattle and other gifts in exchange for control of the Teapot Dome reserve. Fall claimed that an additional $100,000 loan uncovered by the committee was given to him by Washington newspaper publisher E.B. McLean to purchase additional ranch properties in New Mexico. But in January of 1924, Doheny admitted that he had given this money to Fall in a black satchel during the lease negotiations. Further investigation determined that Fall was suffering from significant financial difficulties when he joined the Harding Administration, and that he had used the money to pay off his debts, renovate his ranch, and purchase adjoining property.

The blatant disregard for the public office horrified the American public, and the scandal sent shock waves through the Cabinet. Though not implicated in any criminal wrongdoing, Denby was heavily criticized for ceding control of the reserves to Fall and resigned under fire. Attorney General Harry Daugherty was also not found to be personally culpable, but resigned in 1924 amid accusations that he dealt in Sinclair stock and should have caught the misconduct. The leases were quickly annulled, and the Supreme Court upheld the decisions in two separate cases in 1927.

An indictment came down against Sinclair in March of 1924, and others were issued against Fall and Doheny three months later. The government charged that the men conspired to get control of the reserves between July of 1921 and December of 1922. However, the court quashed the indictments in April of 1925 since the assistant attorney general was present during the grand jury proceedings. The relief for Fall and the oil men was short-lived; all were re-indicted a month later. However, Fall and Doheny were acquitted of the conspiracy charges in December of 1926.

The legal proceedings continued to grind slowly forward, as both Fall and Doheny still faced bribery charges. Sinclair avoided these charges, but his refusal to cooperate with investigators earned him a conviction for contempt of both the Senate and Supreme Court in March of 1927; he was sentenced to serve three months in jail and pay a $500 fine. In the autumn of this year, the government tried to finally bring Fall's case to trial only to run into troubles with securing witnesses and other factors. Moreover, Fall was then 66 years old and "near death" with serious congestion in his right lung. The trial was put on hold. In the spring of 1928, Fall said that Harding had insisted upon leasing the oil fields and that Denby had been the person to request it. The transaction was above board and not done in secret, he asserted.

The case finally came before a jury in October of 1929. Fall was present in a wheelchair, attended by a medical staff. The main witness in his defense was Doheny, who would later be acquitted at his own trial. Doheny characterized the $100,000 payment to Fall not as a bribe, but as a loan to a friend. He also made the rather clairvoyant assertion that the deal was also made in the interests of deterring Japanese power, as he felt it would help keep the Navy well-prepared against the threat of an attack by this country. Doheny claimed that a Navy officer had urged him to seek control over an oil reserve as part of a contract for the oil storage facilities at Pearl Harbor, so that a Pacific power could be kept in check. "That government was Japan and fortunately the [September 1923] earthquake in Japan destroyed the very thing that was the menace, thousands of barrels of oil," Doheny testified.

The jury was not moved by this passionate appeal, and found Fall guilty of bribery. Fall was the first member of a presidential cabinet to be convicted of a crime. Doheny, who felt the case had been significantly directed by the bench, angrily cried, "The jury didn't try the case, the judge tried it!" Nevertheless, the jury recommended leniency for Fall due to his age and illness. He was sentenced to a year and a day in prison and a $100,000 fine. After unsuccessfully appealing the verdict, Fall arrived at the prison by ambulance to begin serving his sentence in July of 1931. He was released in May of 1932. The scandal would have a major effect on conservation policy, notably leading to the creation of the Federal Oil Conservation Board.

Fall resumed his business pursuits in New Mexico, but the scandal and his illness prevented him from meeting with much success in these areas. The 750,000-acre ranch he lived on had been purchased at foreclosure auction by the Doheny-led Petroleum Securities Company in 1929, and in 1935 the company moved to evict him. Fall fought the action, and was able to hold onto the ranch house and 100 acres. Nearly broke, Fall spent the last two years of his life suffering from continued illness in a hospital. He died in November of 1944 in El Paso.

Sources: The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, Ohio History Central, "Queer Tactics in New Mexico Senate" in The Day on June 6 1912, "Would Discipline Mexico" in the New York Times on July 23 1912, "U.S. Senator is Accused of Aiding Rebels" in the New York Times on June 29 1913, "Fall Denies Diaz Charge" in the New York Times on July 2 1913, "Gompers Sees War With Mexico If Sen. Fall's Program is Carried Out" in the Lewiston Daily Sun on June 4 1920, "Fall Denies Report That He Will Resign" in the New York Times on Feb. 11 1922, "Work Given Fall's Place" in the Evening Independent on Feb. 27 1923, "Sinclair Bares Oil Lease Facts" in the Miami News-Metropolis on Oct. 29 1923, "Fall is Under Fire" in the Prescott Evening Courier on Dec. 27 1923, "Technicality Knocks Out Fall-Doheny True Bill" in the Reading Eagle on Apr. 3 1925, "New Indictments Against Teapot Dome Celebrities Drop the Bribery Charges" in the Evening Independent on May 28 1925, The Oxford Companion to United States History edited by Paul S. Boyer, "Sinclair Oil Lease Annulled" in the Providence News on Oct. 10 1927, "Here's History of Naval Oil Lease Cases" in the San Jose Evening News on Oct. 18 1927, "Fall Near Death" in the Pittsburgh Press on Nov. 5 1927, "Fall Continues With Account of Oil Leases" in the San Jose News on Mar. 27 1928, "Doheny Weeps in Testifying at Fall Trial" in the Milwaukee Sentinel on Oct. 18 1929, "Convict Fall, Ask Mercy of Court" in the Pittsburgh Press on Oct. 25 1929, "Fall Arrives at Prison to Start Term" in the Schenectady Gazette on Jul. 21 1931, "Fall To Be Released From Prison Today" in the Reading Eagle on May 9 1932, "Albert B. Fall, 83, Dies in Hospital" in the Pittsburgh Press on Dec. 1 1944, Encyclopedia of White-Collar & Corporate Crime edited by Lawrence M. Salinger, The New Encyclopedia of American Scandal by George C. Kohn

Joe Waggonner: solicitation immunity

Image from waggonnercenter.org

A close friend of Wilbur Mills, a fellow member of the House of Representatives, Joseph David Waggonner, Jr. was there to support Mills following revelations that he had a dubious relationship with a stripper and was struggling with alcohol problems. Two years later, Waggonner weathered his own scandal.

Waggonner was born in Plain Dealing, Louisiana in September of 1918. He graduated from Plain Dealing High School in 1935 before earning a bachelor's degree from Louisiana Tech University in 1941. Although he entered the business world after this graduation, he joined the Navy for the duration of World War II and returned for service in the Korean War between 1951 and 1952.

Waggonner's first experience with politics began in 1954, when he was elected to the Bossier Parish school board. He served there for six years, spending his last year as a member of the Louisiana state board of education as well. In 1961, he was the president of both the United Schools Committee of Louisiana and Louisiana School Boards Association. Waggonner also ran unsuccessfully for state comptroller in 1959.

When Representative Overton Brooks died in September of 1961, the district held a special election in December to fill the vacancy. Waggonner was chosen as the Democratic nominee and faced off against Republican candidate Charlton H. Lyons, Sr. Both men were extremely conservative and in favor of segregation; in fact, Waggonner had briefly left the Democratic Party in 1960 to run in the general election as an elector for the States Rights Party. When the results came in, Waggonner had defeated Lyons. He would be re-elected in 1962 and in each of the next seven congressional elections.

During his time in Congress, Waggonner was credited with bringing a number of improvements to his district. These included the establishment of an interstate between Lafayette and Shreveport, development to make the Red River navigable, helping convince General Motors to set up a plant in Shreveport, and acquiring funding for the Barksdale Air Force Base and Fort Polk. Waggonner served on the Ways and Means Committee as well as the House committee that administered the space program. He became one of the most prominent leaders of the conservative Southern Democrats and a vocal opponent of liberal Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, whom he accused of engaging in paid activity while a judge as well as a $200,000 payment to a mobster while Douglas was the head of the Albert Parvin Foundation.

Waggonner also became an outspoken critic of civil rights measures and other initiatives by President Lyndon Johnson. He led the fight against Johnson's school aid and antipoverty measures, declaring, "There's no demand, for the first time in many years, for this legislation except from those who are politically motivated." He described the civil rights group Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee as a "radical, Communist-infiltrated gangs of agitators...dedicated to violence for the sake of the party line." Waggonner claimed that civil rights measures unfairly targeted the South. He said that congressmen were "blackmailed into acting" on a bill on housing discrimination since it was being pushed through Congress at the same time as a number of violent incidents in the South. In response to President Richard Nixon's 1969 civil rights bill, Waggonner complained, "You've got to quit whipping the South."

Despite this criticism, Waggonner was a strong Nixon supporter. He was taken aback when transcripts related to the Watergate scandal were released in August of 1974. "The only thing I've got to say is it hurts," he told a reporter. "I'll let the dust settle before I say more, and think the whole thing through." Yet the men remained close enough that Nixon consulted with Waggonner as the scandal reached its crescendo. Waggonner told Nixon that he could probably rally 70 Democrats to oppose the President's impeachment, but warned that if he did so there would still be a demand to hold Nixon in contempt of the Supreme Court for refusing to turn over his audio tapes as ordered. The advice no doubt played a part in Nixon's ultimate decision to resign. "After my call with Joe Waggonner...realized that we are really looking at about thirty days in which the climactic decision with regard to whether we are able to stay in office," he recorded in his journal.

In June of 1976, reports surfaced that Waggonner had briefly been detained by the Washington, D.C. police earlier in the year after soliciting a prostitute posing as a prostitute. According to the police, three such decoys were stationed at a corner frequented by prostitutes and Waggonner circled the block three times before motioning to one of the women. He arranged to meet with her and pay $50 for sex, at which point the policewoman tapped the top of his car as a signal for officers in the area to arrest him. After a trip to the police station, however, Waggonner was released without being charged.

Waggonner had a different version of events, claiming he had been the victim of entrapment. He said a woman was trying to entice him and he refused, but when an unmarked car pulled up he became frightened and fled the scene. He said officers caught him after a short foot chase, but were ultimately satisfied with his account of the events. He was nevertheless none too pleased when the media found out about the incident. The New York Post broke the story, accusing the police and U.S. Attorney's Office of trying to cover the matter up. They quoted Waggonner as saying, "Gentlemen, this will destroy me. This will destroy my family. Do you want to destroy me?"

The incident did have the effect of abolishing a century-old practice in the nation's capital. Soliciting a prostitute was a misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail and a $250 fine. Yet as Police Chief Maurice J. Cullinane explained, members of Congress had immunity from all misdemeanors. The original intent of the law was to prevent the arrest of congressmen in relation to civil charges, but the matter involving Waggonner prompted the department to consider changing the policy. After a legal review, the misdemeanor immunity for congressmen was scrapped in July of 1976.

The matter had no effect on the year's election. Waggonner easily won the Democratic nomination in August and had no Republican rival in the general election. In fact, there had been five other sex scandals involving Democratic congressmen in 1976 and most of the officials involved survived for another term. Only Hays, who had been pressured to resign following a second embarrassing incident after an electoral win, and Allan Howe, a Utah representative defeated in the election after his conviction on a charge of soliciting a prostitute, would not return.

The new term Waggonner won would be his last. His most notable work at this point was his advocacy of the oil and gas industries. In February of 1978, he announced that he was retiring after the completion of his term "to be with my family and to share with them...God's abundance of life." He died in October of 2007 in Shreveport.

Sources: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, The Waggonner Center at Louisiana Tech University, "Democrat Is Favored In Election" in the Spokesman-Review on Dec. 19 1961, "House May Not Accept Open Housing Amendment" in the News and Courier on Mar. 11 1968, "Congress Passes Rights Bill; LBJ Vows 'Early' Signature" in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on Apr. 11 1968, "Voting Rights Measure Clears House" in the News and Courier on Dec. 12 1969, "House Set To Vote On Cambodia Funds" in The Telegraph on May 10 1973, "Justice Douglas Target Of New Probe Demands" in the Press-Courier on May 10 1973, "Disclosure Stuns Backers" in the Bangor Daily News on Aug. 6 1974, "'Flatfoot Floozie' Catches A Congressman, Paper Says" in the Miami News on June 17 1974, "Hays Will Resign From House Post" in the Free-Lance Star on June 18 1976, "GOP Predicts, Democrats Dispute, Prediction Of House Gains" in the Herald-Journal on Jul. 15 1976, "Immunity Ended For Congressmen" in the Spokesman-Review on July 26 1976, "Incumbent Defeated" in the Spokesman-Review on Aug. 15 1976, "Books Closed on Sex Scandal" in The Telegraph on Dec. 9 1976, "2 Demos To Retire" in the Deseret News on Feb. 11 1978, "2 More Congressmen To Retire" in the Spokane Daily Chronicle on Feb. 11 1978, "Joe Waggonner, La. Congressman" in the Boston Globe on Oct. 10 2007, Time and Chance: Gerald Ford's Appointment with History by James M. Cannon, In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s by Clayborne Carson

William Woods Holden: a divided legacy

Image from northcarolinahistory.org

The competing legacies of William Woods Holden have ensured that opinions on the North Carolina governor continue to vary greatly. He has been praised for cracking down on the Ku Klux Klan during his tenure and criticized for the way he carried out this goal. Even 140 years later, when the topic of Holden's impeachment again appeared in the state senate, there were some who bitterly considered the governor a renegade who had trampled individual rights.

Holden was born in Hillsborough, North Carolina in November of 1818. At age 10, he apprenticed with the hometown newspaper, the Hillsborough Recorder. Holden later studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1841, but soon found himself back in the newspaper business. He worked at the Raleigh Star, and later became the owner and editor of the North Carolina Standard. Through this organ, he advocated for causes such as equal suffrage, universal education, and improved labor conditions.

First entering politics as a Whig, Holden joined the Democratic Party in 1843. A year later, he began serving in the state's house of commons and held a seat there until 1847. Holden was absent from politics for several years, although in 1858 he was rejected as both a gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidate. Though he defended states' rights to secede and supported the expansion of states and territories allowing slavery, Holden initially opposed the idea of North Carolina's secession since he thought it would lead to war. However, following the the secession of several other states and the attack on Fort Sumter, he took part in a secession convention in May of 1861 which led the state to break away from the Union and join the Confederacy. Holden's views changed again during the Civil War as he continued to publish his newspaper. He began to criticize the Confederate government and call for peace, saying it would be better for the South to meet a negotiated end to the conflict rather than fall in unconditional surrender. Some residents denounced Holden as a traitor, and in 1863 troops from Georgia attacked his office, destroyed his type, and seized personal papers. Yet Holden continued to publish until the Confederacy suspended the right of habeas corpus.

Holden's views impressed President Andrew Johnson enough that he appointed Holden the provisional governor of North Carolina during the postwar Reconstruction. This term was to last through December, and Holden worked to revise state constitution to recognize federal authority and begin restoring the economy. In December, Jonathan Worth defeated him in a re-election bid. Holden was offered a chance to represent the state in the U.S. Senate, but declined in order to return to publishing. Yet Holden remained politically active, changing parties again and becoming instrumental in organizing the state's Republican Party. He led the party's ticket in 1868 and was returned to the governor's office, although there was a brief standoff when Worth refused to recognize the Republican victory. This was resolved with an intervention by General Edward Canby to enforce the Reconstruction laws.

When he returned to office, Holden focused on initiatives such as prison reform, universal education, internal improvements such as railroad development, and equal justice. He also oversaw North Carolina's acceptance of Reconstruction efforts. The state had ratified the Fourteenth Amendment in July of 1868 and officially returned to the United States. In March of 1869, the state ratified the Fifteenth Amendment. These additions to the Constitution sought to extend rights to former slaves, declaring that people born or naturalized in the United States were citizens and that color or past servitude did not prevent them from voting.

What did prevent them from voting was the campaign of terror waged by the Ku Klux Klan. The hooded vigilante group carried out lynchings, assaults, and other violent acts in an effort to suppress the black and Republican vote. Holden began to receive urgent requests for protection as civil authorities proved unable to unwilling to take on the KKK. In October of 1869, the governor threatened to declare Lenoir and Jones counties in insurrection. Holden also appealed to local law enforcement to take stronger action against the Klan, while the state legislature passed a law making it illegal to appear disguised in public for the purpose of violence or intimidation.

Though the actions helped cut down on the violence, it did not quash it entirely. Holden was especially concerned with continued KKK atrocities in Alamance and Caswell counties. In the former county, a band of men dragged Wyatt Outlaw, a black councilman and president of the local Union League, from his home and lynched him in February of 1870. Three months later, Republican state senator John W. Stephens attended a Democratic Party convention in Caswell County in an attempt to ease tensions by lending his support to the party's conservative candidate for sheriff. Instead, the candidate and several other attendees took him to the basement and stabbed him to death.

Under the Shoffner Act, recently passed by the state legislature, Holden had the power to declare counties to be in insurrection, raise militias to quell the rebellion, and suspend the right of habeas corpus. In March of 1870, he declared Alamance County to be in such a state, saying he had waited to see if there would be a public outcry against the KKK but that one never materialized, presumably because people were afraid of reprisal. "The laws must be maintained," Holden declared. "These laws are all over. Every citizen, of whatever party or color, must be absolutely free to express his political opinions, and must be safe in his own house. These outrages and these violations of law must and shall cease." In June, citing the murder of Stephens and six others in five counties, Holden declared Caswell County to be in insurrection.

Holden put the task of raising a militia to Col. George W. Kirk, who commanded Union troops in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. These troops moved into Alamance and Caswell counties and also posted a presence in Cleveland County, where state KKK leader Plato Durham lived. As the troops arrested suspected agitators, some accused Holden of perpetrating the same crime he was purportedly trying to stop. With state elections coming up in August, opponents felt the militia troops were terrorizing innocent civilians and trying to intimidate voters. There were complaints of brutal behavior by Kirk's troops, including two men who had been hanged by their necks in an effort to get them to divulge information on the Klan.

Democrats criticized the move as unconstitutional, claiming Holden's accounts of violence were exaggerated and that civil authorities were capable of handling the crime that was occurring. One address declared, in part, "It is true that murders and other outrages have been committed, but they have not been confined to any particular locality or any political party; and when Governor Holden represented to the President and to Congress that these acts are evidence of disloyalty, he is guilty of a willful libel upon the people whose rights he has sworn to protect." The party theorized that Holden could even be trying to provoke a violent conflict with the KKK, allowing him to put the entire state under martial law.

A standoff between Holden, Kirk, and judicial authorities began in the summer when Chief Justice Richard Pearson of the state's supreme court served a writ of habeas corpus on Kirk ordering four prisoners to be delivered before the court. Kirk refused, since Holden had instructed him not to surrender any prisoners to civil authorities. Pearson contacted Holden on the issue, and the governor responded that he felt the civil courts were " no longer a protection to life, liberty, and property; assassinations and outrage go unpunished, and civil magistrates are intimidated." He wanted the prisoners to be tried before federal military tribunals. While Pearson deliberated the issue, Holden wrote to President Ulysses S. Grant seeking federal troops to bolster the militia. "The organization is widespread and numerous, is based on the most deadly hostility to the Reconstruction acts, and is in all respects very unfriendly to the government of the reconstructed states and to the United States," he said. Grant immediately ordered the Secretary of War to comply with the request.

Pearson's ruling was slightly critical of Holden, determining that the governor did not have the right to suspend habeas corpus but that his actions in declaring the counties to be in rebellion and putting them under occupation had been legal. He also tacitly supported the governor by determining that Kirk had "sufficient reason" to not deliver the prisoners when ordered, and that the judiciary's role would be exhausted once he sent the writ to Holden for approval. In other words, he did not agree that Holden should suspend habeas corpus but he did not demand enforcement of the writ. Holden, of course, flatly refused to approve the writ once it came across his desk.

With the state authorities proving unhelpful, the prisoners now appealed to U.S. District Court Judge George Brooks. When Brooks also ordered a writ of habeas corpus for the men, Holden again looked to Grant for help. He argued that if the federal army demanded the prisoners, the court's writ would not apply to them. Attorney General Amos T. Ackerman replied that this would amount to the government blocking the judicial process. Holden relented, telling Kirk to obey the writ, and the federal proceedings were called off. Most of the prisoners arrested by Kirk's troops would later be released. In November, Holden declared that the situation had improved enough that he could lift the martial law. It was the end of what became known as the "Kirk-Holden War," but only the beginning of the proceedings against Holden.

The hotly contested state elections had occurred in August, and the new legislature assembled at the end of November. If Holden had truly been trying to influence the election with his actions, the plan had backfired. The Democrats won a majority in the legislature, which now had 32 members in the state senate and 75 in the house of commons. The party immediately pushed for the governor's impeachment, and in December the house voted 60-46 to remove Holden for "high crimes and misdemeanors." Holden stepped down while the impeachment proceedings got underway, and Lieutenant Governor Tod Caldwell took over for him. Meanwhile, the black members of the house issued a joint address supporting Holden, saying the impeachment proceedings were retaliatory; the governor, they said, had "thwarted the designs of a band of assassins, who had prepared to saturate this state in the blood of the poor people on the night before the last election, on account of their political sentiments, and to prevent them from voting."

Holden's trial began in the senate in February of 1871. He was charged with eight articles of impeachment, which alleged that he had illegally declared the two counties in insurrection, illegally arrested two men (including Joshia Turner Jr., the anti-Republican editor of the Raleigh Sentinel), willfully ignored a writ of habeas corpus, and unlawfully recruited and paid troops. The house would also approve a ninth charge, accusing Holden of conspiracy to defraud the state on railroad bonds, but this never went before the senate. The trial lasted until March and heard 170 witnesses. Ultimately, the senate voted 36-13 to convict him of six counts and remove him from office. It was the second time in U.S. history that a governor was impeached, and the first time that one was convicted.

The unrest in North Carolina had a direct effect on national politics. At the same time that Holden's impeachment trial was going on, Congress was taking steps aiming to better enforce Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendment rights. Just a month after Holden was convicted, Congress passed what was dubbed the Ku Klux Klan Act. This made it a federal offense for anyone to conspire to deny someone from voting, running for office, or otherwise utilizing their citizenship rights, with the special note that it was also unlawful to do this while disguised. The measure essentially allowed federal intervention to take place in the states if any groups were in violation of the law. It specifically denied some of the actions Holden had advocated, including martial law and trials before military tribunals, but it did allow the President to suspend habeas corpus at his discretion in these cases.

The Ku Klux Klan renewed its activities in North Carolina, waging a new campaign of terror in Rowan County shortly after Holden was impeached. Caldwell received appeals for aid, but felt his hands were tied. The Shoffner Act had been repealed by the new legislature, and he was powerless to raise a militia to address the problem. When the Ku Klux Klan Act passed, he requested help from Grant and federal troops were called in to restore order.

Holden, barred from holding political office as a result of his impeachment, was offered ministerial posts to Peru and Argentina but declined both. He moved to Washington, D.C. for awhile to again resume his newspaper career by editing the Daily Chronicle. In 1873, he returned to North Carolina and became the postmaster of Raleigh, holding the position for the next decade. Although several legislators made efforts to pardon him and clear his political disabilities, none were successful. Holden continued to write and serve as something of an unofficial head of the Republican Party until his death in March of 1892.

The pardon effort resurfaced in 2011, but what the legislators behind it found that Holden's reputation was still a touchy subject. What was intended to be a simple vote, symbolically held on the 140th anniversary of Holden's conviction, was derailed when an anonymous person managed to sneak a two-page report onto the senators' desks denouncing Holden as “a bitter, unscrupulous and arrogant demagogue.” As the vote was delayed, the Caswell County Historical Association joined in condemning the former governor, with members saying he had carried out an illegal rebellion, never convicted anyone of being in the KKK, and rightfully been convicted; the pardon would "condemn Caswell’s history on the state level and put us all to shame and glorify Governor Holden, making rights truly wrongs," one historian with the group declared.

The association appealed to the senator from Alamance, who also joined in the call to further study the issue. Doug Berger, a Democratic co-sponsor of the bipartisan proposal, said the bill had the support of a state historian who considered the impeachment to be motivated mostly by racism and party politics. Berger said he was willing to dedicate more study to the issue, but thought it would lead to "the Civil War being fought all over again."

Ultimately, the flare-up settled down. In April of 2011, in a special session held in the old capitol building where Holden was removed from office, the North Carolina senate unanimously voted to pardon Holden.

Sources: National Governors Association, The North Carolina History Project, The North Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial, "Debate on Holden Pardon Delayed by 'Scurrilous' Report" in the New Bern Sun Journal on March 22 2011, "High School Student Halts Holden's Pardon" on WRAL on March 24 2011, "N.C. State Senate Pardons Governor Who Stood Up to Klan" in Reuters on April 12 2011, Historic Alamance County: An Illustrated Almanac by William Murray Vincent, The Long Shadow of the Civil War: Southern Dissent and Its Legacies by Victoria E. Bynum, The Dictionary of North Carolina Biography edited by William S. Powell, Lectures on the Growth and Development of the United States edited by Edwin Wiley and Irving Everett Rines and Albert Bushnell Hart, Encyclopedia of the Reconstruction by Richard Zuczek, The American Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events, North Carolina in the Civil War by Michael C. Hardy, The Ku Klux Klan: A Guide to an American Subculture by Marty Gitlin, Carpetbaggers, Cavalry, and the Ku Klux Klan: Exposing the Invisible Empire During Reconstruction by J. Michael Martinez, Declarations of Dependence: The Long Reconstruction of Popular Politics in the South, 1861-1908 by Gregory P. Downs, The American Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1870