John Edward Erickson (March 14, 1863May 25, 1946) was an American politician of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
from
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
. He served as the eighth
Governor of Montana
The governor of Montana is the head of government of MontanaMontana Constitution, Article VI, Section 4. and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto ...
and as a
United States senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
.
Biography
Erickson was born in
Stoughton, Wisconsin
Stoughton is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. It straddles the Yahara River about 20 miles southeast of the state capital, Madison. Stoughton is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the popula ...
.
[ ] He was the son of E. Erickson and Olene Alma Erickson, both Norwegian immigrants.
When he was one year old, he moved with his parents to
Eureka, Kansas
Eureka is a city in and the county seat of Greenwood County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,332.
History
The first settlement at Eureka was in 1857. The first post office in Eureka was establis ...
.
He graduated from
Washburn University
Washburn University (WU) is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,100 ...
in
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...
in 1890.
He studied law, was
admitted to the bar
An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...
in 1891 at
Eureka, Kansas
Eureka is a city in and the county seat of Greenwood County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,332.
History
The first settlement at Eureka was in 1857. The first post office in Eureka was establis ...
. He married Grace Vance in 1898 and they had three children.
Career
Erickson was admitted to the Kansas state bar in 1891.
He moved to
Great Falls, Montana in 1892
and later to
Choteau, Montana
Choteau is a city in and the county seat of Teton County, Montana, United States. It lies along U.S. Routes 89 and 287, (the latter terminating at the former in this city) approximately east of the Rocky Mountains, near Flathead National F ...
,
where he continued practicing law. He served as county attorney of
Teton County from 1897 to 1905, then judge of the eleventh judicial district of Montana from 1905 to 1915.
He resumed the practice of law at
Kalispell, Montana
Kalispell (, Montana Salish: Ql̓ispé, Kutenai language: kqayaqawakⱡuʔnam) is a city in, and the county seat of, Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2020 census put Kalispell's population at 24,558. In Montana's northwest region ...
in 1916. A
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
, Erickson was elected in 1924 as the
eighth Governor of Montana.
He won reelection in 1928, and again in 1932,
making him the only governor elected to three terms. He served from January 4, 1925 to March 13, 1933. During his tenure, a new state income tax was sanctioned, a fund to financially equalize impoverished rural schools was established, a gasoline tax was implemented, a new banking law was authorized, and a tax on mining profits was initiated.
On March 13, 1933, Erickson resigned as governor whereupon
Frank Cooney, formerly Erickson's lieutenant governor and now the acting governor, appointed Erickson to the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
to fill the vacancy caused by the death of
Thomas J. Walsh. Although on the face of it, this appears to have been a rather brazen attempt on Erickson's part to establish himself in the Senate, Montana Senator
Burton K. Wheeler
Burton Kendall Wheeler (February 27, 1882January 6, 1975) was an attorney and an American politician of the Democratic Party in Montana, which he represented as a United States senator from 1923 until 1947.
Born in Massachusetts, Wheeler began ...
tells a different story in his autobiography. Apparently Montana's Democratic National Committeeman,
J. Bruce Kremer, was certain to be appointed to Walsh's seat. Walsh had very much disliked Kremer and worried that Kremer would succeed him if he (Walsh) accepted
Franklin D. 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 ...
's appointment to his cabinet, as Attorney General (which Walsh had, at the time of his death). After Walsh's untimely demise, his daughter Genevieve Gudger asked Senator Wheeler if he would intercede with Governor Erickson to stop Kremer's appointment. As Wheeler also disliked Kremer, he agreed to do so. In Wheeler's telling,
[Wheeler, p. 301] it was he who talked a reluctant Erickson into getting himself appointed. Erickson ran in 1934 to fill the remainder of Walsh's Senate term, but finished third in the primary, behind
James E. Murray
James Edward Murray (May 3, 1876March 23, 1961) was an American politician and United States Senator from Montana, and a liberal leader of the Democratic Party. He served in the United States Senate from 1934 until 1961.
Background
Born on a f ...
, who went on to win the
special general election, and
James F. O'Connor. He continued to serve in the Senate through November 6, 1934, the day that Murray was elected, at which point he resigned in favor of Murray, in order to give Murray seniority rights over other freshman senators, who didn't start their terms until 1935. Following his return from the Senate, Erickson practiced law in
Helena, Montana, until his death.
Death
Erickson died on May 25, 1946, and is entombed at Conrad Memorial Cemetery, Kalispell, Flathead County, Montana.
References
Sources
*
Note
External links
John Edward Erickson entryat the
National Governors Association
The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...
John Edward Erickson entryat
The Political Graveyard
The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erickson, John E.
1863 births
1946 deaths
American Lutherans
Democratic Party United States senators from Montana
Democratic Party governors of Montana
Montana lawyers
Montana state court judges
Kansas lawyers
People from Eureka, Kansas
Politicians from Helena, Montana
Politicians from Kalispell, Montana
People from Stoughton, Wisconsin
Washburn University alumni
American people of Norwegian descent
People from Choteau, Montana