Alexander Joseph Groesbeck (November 7, 1873 – March 10, 1953) was an American politician who served as

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and the 30th

governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of state, head of government, and chief executive of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the stat ...

Early life

Groesbeck was born in Warren, Michigan, the son of Macomb County Sheriff Louis Groesbeck and his wife Julia (Coquillard) Groesbeck. Groesbeck attended the public schools of Mount Clemens, Michigan, and of Wallaceburg, Ontario, where his parents resided for two years with their family. Groesbeck wanted to become a lawyer from an early age, and undertook the study of law in the office of an attorney at

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately. Located along the St. Clair ...

. He went on to earn a law degree from the University of Michigan at

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

in 1893. He was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

that year and set up practice in Detroit where he rapidly gained the "respect, goodwill and confidence of his colleagues, because of his close conformity to the highest ethical standards of the profession".

Politics

Groesbeck's entrance into state politics came in 1912 he led efforts to select a delegation to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

favoring the renomination of President William Howard Taft. Groesbeck also actively led the party faction supporting Taft in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. That same year, Groesbeck was elected the state party chairman, serving until 1914. In 1914, he was a candidate for

, but lost in the Republican

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

Chase S. Osborn Chase Salmon Osborn (January 22, 1860 – April 11, 1949) was an American politician, newspaper reporter and publisher, and explorer. He served as the 27th governor of Michigan from 1911 to 1913. The governor spent time at Possum Poke in Georgi ...

. In 1916, Groesbeck was elected attorney general of Michigan, and was re-elected in 1918. As reported in '' The New York Times'', Attorney General Groesbeck supported a call for Henry Ford to run for the United States Senate as a Republican. This vision drew opposiotion from many other Republicans. In 1920, he won the Republican primary election for governor and defeated Democrat and former governor

Woodbridge N. Ferris Woodbridge Nathan Ferris (January 6, 1853March 23, 1928) was an American educator from New York, Illinois and Michigan who served as the 28th governor of Michigan and in the United States Senate as a Democrat. Early life in New York, Michigan a ...

in the

. After being re-elected in 1922 and 1924, Groesbeck lost to

Fred W. Green Fred Warren Green (October 19, 1871November 30, 1936) was an American politician who served as the 31st governor of Michigan from 1927 to 1931, and he was the mayor of Ionia, Michigan, from 1913 to 1916. Active in athletics during his time as ...

in the 1926 Republican primary election. In 1924, he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention, which chose President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

to be re-elected. In addition to Groesbeck's political work, he was one of the builders of the Flint-Saginaw Interurban Railway. At the Detroit Club, he was instrumental in 1922 in selecting

James Couzens James J. Couzens (August 26, 1872October 22, 1936) was an American businessman, politician and philanthropist. He served as mayor of Detroit (1919–1922) and U.S. Senator from Michigan (1922–1936). Prior to entering politics he served as vice ...

to be the successful Republican candidate for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

seat left vacant by

Truman Newberry Truman Handy Newberry (November 5, 1864 – October 3, 1945) was an American businessman and political figure. He served as the Secretary of Navy between 1908 and 1909. He was a Republican U.S. Senator from Michigan between 1919 and 1922. Bio ...

. In 1925, Groesbeck vetoed legislation that would have created a

state poet laureate Many of the states in the United States have established the post of poet laureate to which a prominent poet residing in the respective state is appointed. The responsibilities of the state poets laureate are similar to those of the Poet Laureat ...

. '' Time'' magazine reported:

Forgetful of the state poets of republican Athens, the Governor's historical knowledge led him to describe the bill as "a reversion to monarchical customs" which "has no place in a republican form of government."

During his six years in office, the state's highway growth continued, prison reform measures were sanctioned, state titles for automobiles began, and state government was restructured and consolidated. He was defeated in the 1930 Republican primary election by

Wilber M. Brucker Wilber Marion Brucker (June 23, 1894 – October 28, 1968) was an American Republican politician. Born in Saginaw, Michigan, he served as the 32nd governor of Michigan from 1931 to 1933 and as the United States Secretary of the Army betwee ...

. Groesbeck is recognized as an important "road builder" in Michigan, being the first governor to champion the use of concrete and "take Michigan out of the mud." In 1924, he opposed a ballot initiative (sponsored by the Public School Defense League) to require attendance at

public schools Public school may refer to: *State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England and ...

and outlaw private ones; this placed him at odds with the position of the then increasingly popular

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

, which supported the opposing candidate, James Hamilton.

Retirement, death and legacy

Groesbeck was later appointed chairman of the Michigan Civil Service Commission, and served from 1941 to 1944. Also in 1944, he was a delegate to the

which nominated for U.S. president,

Thomas Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...

, who would lose to the three-term President

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

in the general election. He was also a member of the

Detroit Bar Association Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, the Michigan Bar Association and the American Bar Association, and in club circles was well known as a member of the Detroit Club and the Detroit Athletic Club. Groesbeck's gubernatorial papers are kept in the Archives of the State of Michigan. He died in Detroit and is interred there at Woodlawn Cemetery. Groesbeck Highway ( M-97) was named for the governor, both because of the local prominence of the Groesbeck family in Macomb county and Oakland County and because of his strong support for building roads and highways in Michigan. He is memorialized by a state historical marker in the City of Warren.City of Warren, Alex Groesbeck historical marker information.

References

External links

Alexander Groesbeck at Macomb County Historical Commission.Digital picture of Alex Groesbeck, Michigan History, Arts and Libraries.National Governors Association, Alexander Groesbeck, 30th Governor of Michigan.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Groesbeck, Alex J. 1873 births 1953 deaths Republican Party governors of Michigan Michigan Attorneys General Michigan lawyers Michigan Republican Party chairs Politicians from Detroit People from Warren, Michigan University of Michigan Law School alumni Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Detroit) 20th-century American politicians American expatriates in Canada

Early life

Politics

Retirement, death and legacy

References

Further reading

External links