George C. Ludlow
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George Craig Ludlow (April 6, 1830 – December 18, 1900) was an American
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 ...
politician, who served as the 25th
governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...
from 1881 to 1884.


Early life

George Craig Ludlow was born in
Milford, New Jersey Milford is a borough located in western Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 1,232, a decrease of one person (−0.1%) from the 2010 census count of 1,233, which ...
, on April 6, 1830. His father Cornelius Ludlow and grandfather Benjamin Ludlow were both active in Democratic Party politics. In 1835, the Ludlow family moved to
New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Rutgers College Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
in 1850 and opened a law practice in 1853. He was private counsel for the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
.


Early political career

In 1876, he was elected to represent Middlesex County in the
New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...
. In 1878, he was chosen as Senate President.


Governor of New Jersey


1880 campaign

In 1880, the New Jersey Democratic convention nominated Ludlow for Governor. His nomination was largely the result of an alliance between
Leon Abbett Leon Abbett (October 8, 1836December 4, 1894) was an American Democratic Party politician and lawyer who served two nonconsecutive terms as the 26th Governor of New Jersey from 1884 to 1887 and 1890 to 1893. His official state biography refers t ...
and the "State House Ring," a group of influential state legislators opposed to Abbett's rivals. In the general election, Ludlow faced Republican Frederic A. Potts. Both candidates were closely associated with the railroad industry; Ludlow as counsel for the Pennsylvania and Potts as an influential stockholder in the Jersey Central Railroad. In the end, Ludlow won by a mere 651 votes of some 250,000 ballots cast, the closest result in New Jersey history by raw votes and the closest by percentage margin until
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
.


Term in office

Ludlow entered office facing Republican control of both houses of the legislature and amid rumors that the Pennsylvania Railroad had ordered its employees to vote for him. He was also beholden to the State House Ring for his nomination and had little power within his own party. Overall, his administration has been characterized as "honest and diligent but basically unproductive." In 1882, Ludlow vetoed a bill to allow the Central Railroad of New Jersey's board of directors to increase the corporation's capital stock without shareholder approval, thus removing control from the stockholders. He denounced the bill as immoral and unjust. However, the veto was overridden by large majorities of both houses. In the same session, Ludlow vetoed a bill to limit public access to large areas of the Jersey City waterfront, which would have aided the Pennsylvania Railroad in a legal battle against the city. He denounced that bill as "an abuse of legislative power and a violation of the principles of fair dealing and justice." The bill was passed again by the Senate but derailed in the Assembly amid bribery charges and a legislative investigation. Ludlow's term was also dominated by difficulty balancing the state budget following the 1880 abolition of the state tax and his own desire for further tax relief. After running a deficit of approximately $281,000.00 in 1882 (), Ludlow placed greater emphasis on increasing taxes on corporations, especially railroads. Ludlow was also the first governor to devote attention to clean water access; established a council to oversee asylums, prisons, jails and almhouses; and signed a law classifying municipalities into four groups.


Post-governorship

In 1894, Ludlow served on the twenty-member commission established to recommend amendments to the state constitution. In 1895, Governor
George T. Werts George Theodore Werts (March 24, 1846January 17, 1910) was an American attorney, judge, and Democratic Party politician who served as the 28th governor of New Jersey from 1893 to 1896. His term in Governor coincided with the precipitous declin ...
appointed Ludlow to serve on the
New Jersey Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging the ...
.


Death and burial

Ludlow died in New Brunswick on December 18, 1900, from heart disease and was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in
North Brunswick, New Jersey North Brunswick is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is centrally located in the Raritan Valley region within the New York Metropolitan area. At the 2020 United States census, the population was 43,905, reflecting ...
. He was survived by a wife and two sons.


See also

* List of governors of New Jersey


References


External links


Biography of George C. Ludlow (PDF)
at the
New Jersey State Library The New Jersey State Library, based in Trenton, New Jersey, was established in 1796 to serve the information needs of New Jersey's Governor, Legislature and Judiciary. The State Library is also responsible to assist in the provision of library and ...

New Jersey Governor George Craig Ludlow
at 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 ...

George C. Ludlow
at
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 of ...

Dead Governors of New Jersey bio for George Craig Ludlow
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ludlow, George 1830 births 1900 deaths Democratic Party governors of New Jersey Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Democratic Party New Jersey state senators Justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey People from Milford, New Jersey Politicians from New Brunswick, New Jersey Rutgers University alumni American Protestants Presidents of the New Jersey Senate Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (North Brunswick, New Jersey) 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American judges 19th-century New Jersey politicians