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 Jen ...
.
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
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
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
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
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 ful ...
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
A government bond or sovereign bond is a form of bond issued by a government to support public spending. It generally includes a commitment to pay periodic interest, called coupon payments'','' and to repay the face value on the maturity date ...
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 poli ...
theory according to the New York Times.
He resigned on March 3, 1907, to become a
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 in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. 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
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 ...
ing, working in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. 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
Further reading
*
External links
U.S. Department of the Treasury biographyMen 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
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