Leslie Mortier Shaw (November 2, 1848March 28, 1932) was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician. He served as the 17th Governor of Iowa and was a Republican candidate in the

1908 United States presidential election The 1908 United States presidential election was the 31st quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1908. Secretary of War and Republican Party nominee William Howard Taft defeated three-time Democratic nominee William Je ...

Biography

Shaw was born in

Morristown, Vermont Morristown is a town in Lamoille County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,434. Morristown is the largest town by population in Lamoille County, and its central village of Morrisville serves as the county's mai ...

, the son of Boardman O. Shaw and Louise Spaulding "Lovisa" Shaw. He attended

Cornell College Cornell College is a private college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell College, in honor of iron ty ...

in 1874. Shaw married the former Alice Crenshaw on December 6, 1877, with whom he had three children. He became a lawyer and

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

er, and, in 1898, became the 17th Governor of Iowa, serving until 1902. He then became the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

from 1902 to 1907. Like his predecessor Secretary Lyman Gage, Shaw firmly believed that the Treasury should serve the money market in times of difficulty through the introduction of Treasury funds. To this end, Shaw bought back the government bonds from commercial banks that owned them, increased the number of government depository banks, and in 1902, he told the banks that they no longer needed to keep cash reserves against their holdings of public funds. The intended effect of these actions was to provide a more elastic currency which would then respond to the needs of the market. The government intervention in the money market reached its height with Shaw. He supported

tariff A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and pol ...

theory according to the New York Times. He resigned on March 3, 1907, to become a

er in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He was a candidate for the Republican Party nomination during the U.S. presidential election in 1908. After leaving the Presidential Cabinet and his public life, he returned to

ing, working in

. Shaw died in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and was buried in Oakland Cemetery in

Denison, Iowa Denison is a city in Crawford County, Iowa, United States, along the Boyer River, and located in both Denison Township and East Boyer Township. The population was 8,373 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Crawford County. ...

Footnotes

External links

U.S. Department of the Treasury biography

Men of Mark in America
* , - , - 1848 births 1932 deaths 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American politicians Cornell College alumni Republican Party governors of Iowa People from Morristown, Vermont Candidates in the 1908 United States presidential election United States Secretaries of the Treasury Theodore Roosevelt administration cabinet members People from Denison, Iowa Burials in Iowa {{Iowa-politician-stub

Biography

Footnotes

Further reading

External links