Benjamin Sanford Paulen (July 14, 1869 – July 11, 1961) was an American banker and the 23rd Governor of Kansas from 1925 to 1929. He served as mayor of

Fredonia, Kansas Fredonia is a city in and the county seat of Wilson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,151. The city was founded in 1868, and saw considerable expansion in the early 20th century, with a foss ...

and in the Kansas Senate.

Biography

Paulen was born in DeWitt County, Illinois, four miles south of Fredonia, to Jacob Walter and Lucy Bell (Johnson) Paulen. The family moved to

Wilson County, Kansas Wilson County (standard abbreviation: WL) is a county located in Southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 8,624. Its county seat is Fredonia. History Early history For many millennia, the Great Plains of North Am ...

, in late 1869 when he was less than six months old. He graduated from Fredonia High School in 1887 and took one term at Kansas University. He took a course at Bryant and Stratton Business College in

Saint Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...

, and then worked in his father's merchandise store in 1889. He married Barbara Ellis in

Holton, Kansas Holton is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,401. History The party that chose the site of Holton started at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in May 1856. A ...

, on February 14, 1900, and they had no children.

Career

Paulen served as city councilman, city treasurer, and then mayor of Fredonia. He was elected in 1912 and re-elected in 1916 to the Kansas State Senate. In 1922 Paulen was elected Lieutenant Governor of Kansas. Paulen received support from the

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 ...

during the Republican gubernatorial primary election in 1924. Paulen was elected and reelected to serve two terms as Governor of Kansas from 1925 to 1929. During that time, he signed the 1927 Kindergarten Bill into law, cigarette sales became legal and taxed, a state gasoline tax was sanctioned, an insurance code was established, and a banking board was organized. Paulen served as President of the Kansas Bankers Association and was a member of the executive council of the American Bankers Association. He was a member of the state's constitutional revision committee in 1957.

Death and legacy

Paulen died in 1961 in

. He is interred at Fredonia City Cemetery. Ben S. Paulen Elementary School in Fredonia, now part of Fredonia High School, was named in his honor in 1961.

References

External links

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Get Rural Kansas

Publications concerning Kansas Governor Paulen's administration available via the KGI Online Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paulen, Benjamin S. 1869 births 1961 deaths American Bankers Association American Christian Scientists Republican Party governors of Kansas Kansas city council members Republican Party Kansas state senators Lieutenant Governors of Kansas Mayors of places in Kansas People from DeWitt County, Illinois People from Fredonia, Kansas