Oliver Henry Nelson Shoup (December 13, 1869 – September 30, 1940) was the 22nd

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

from 1919 to 1923.

Early life, education, and career

Oliver Shoup was born in

Champaign County, Illinois Champaign County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 census, its population was 205,865, making it the 10th-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Urbana. Champaign County is part of the Champaign–Urbana, ...

on December 13, 1869, to William and Delia Shoup. His father was a

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

soldier during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. He lived in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, until he was 13 years old, when they moved to

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

in 1882. He attended public school and went to

Colorado College Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduates at its campus. The college offer ...

. He left college in 1888 to pursue a business career. He worked for different companies before finding success in the oil industry. Shoup served as the first president of the Midwest Oil Company and the Midwest Refining Company in 1914. He also was the director for multiple banks across the state of Colorado.

Politics

Shoup was elected governor of Colorado on November 5, 1918, and re-elected for a second term on November 2, 1920. While governor, the

Colorado National Guard The Colorado National Guard consists of the Colorado Army National Guard and Colorado Air National Guard, forming the state of Colorado's component to the United States National Guard. Founded in 1860, the Colorado National Guard falls under t ...

was restructured and the State Highway Department was founded. The bonded debt of Colorado was also decreased during his tenure. Shoup was a strong proponent of

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

in the state of Colorado and nationwide. In early 1922 Denver's lawmakers in the state legislature found an opening. Pueblo had been devastated by a flood, and Gov. Oliver Henry Shoup called an emergency session of the legislature. Denver lawmakers now had power over Pueblo. They would vote for emergency funding for the beleaguered town (an economic rival to Denver) in return for legislation authorizing the issuance of bonds for Denver's tunnel. A deal was struck, and on April 29, the

Moffat Tunnel Improvement District The Moffat Tunnel Improvement District was an independent entity of the State of Colorado (USA) created to build and manage the Moffat Tunnel, a railroad and water tunnel under James Peak and Rollins Pass. The district had the authority to sell b ...

was created, with the

Moffat Tunnel The Moffat Tunnel is a railroad and water tunnel that cuts through the Continental Divide in north-central Colorado. Named after Colorado railroad pioneer David Moffat, the tunnel's first official railroad traffic passed through in February 192 ...

considered one of Shoup's lasting legacies. Shoup declined to run for a third term and left the governor's office on January 9, 1923, returning to work in the private business sector. Shoup ran once again for governor of Colorado in 1926 but was unsuccessful.

Personal life

Shoup was married Unetta Small, the daughter of William Small, on September 18, 1891. They had four children together: Reba, Oliver Jr., Merill, and Verner. Shoup and his family were of the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

faith. Unetta died in 1927. Shoup remarried in 1930 to Mary Alice Hackett. In his final years, he moved to

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

where he retired from public life.

Death

He died of a heart attack on September 30, 1940, in his home in Santa Monica, California and is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shoup, Oliver Henry 1869 births 1940 deaths Republican Party governors of Colorado People from Champaign County, Illinois