George Washington Glick (July 4, 1827 – April 13, 1911) was the

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

Governor of Kansas 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 ...

. George Washington Glick was raised on his father's farm near Greencastle, Ohio. He enlisted for service in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the ...

, but saw no action. At age 21 he began studying to become an attorney at the law offices of Buckland and Hayes (later President

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governo ...

); he was admitted to the bar two years later and established a moderate law practice, earning a reputation as a hard-working lawyer. Glick moved to Atchison, Kansas, in 1859 and formed a partnership with Alfred P. Otis. He served as a Union soldier in the 2nd Kansas Infantry during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

. Elected to the

Kansas State Legislature The Kansas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a bicameral assembly, composed of the lower Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 state representatives, and the upper Kansas Senate, with 40 state senators ...

in 1862, he served for 14 of the next 18 years and was Speaker ''pro tempore'' in 1876. He served in both houses of the state legislature. Glick was well respected and considered "just and expert" by his colleagues. He was elected

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 ...

in 1882 and served until 1885. He was also, despite being the 9th governor overall, only the first Democrat to serve as governor of Kansas. Legislation enacted during his tenure included the creation of a railroad commission, a "good roads" law, reassessment of tax laws, and the establishment of a livestock sanitary commission. He was later appointed pension agent in

Topeka 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 Uni ...

by President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

. After 15 years of civic service, George Glick was forced to abandon his political career because of a throat infection that nearly destroyed his ability to speak. He continued, however, as an attorney for various railroads. He also managed his farm and served as a charter member and first vice president of the

Kansas Historical Society The Kansas Historical Society is the official state historical society of Kansas. Headquartered in Topeka, it operates as "the trustee of the state" for the purpose of maintaining the state's history and operates the Kansas Museum of History, Kan ...

. Glick died in 1911 in

Atchison, Kansas Atchison is a city and county seat of Atchison County, Kansas, United States, along the Missouri River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 10,885. The city is named in honor of US Senator David Rice Atchison from Missouri ...

Statue replacement

In 1914, the state of Kansas donated a marble statue of Glick to the

U.S. Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill at ...

National Statuary Hall Collection The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is composed of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. Limited to two statues per state, the collection was originally set up in the old ...

as one of its two allowed entries. The statue was sculpted by

Charles Niehaus Charles Henry Niehaus (January 24, 1855 — June 19, 1935), was an American sculptor. Education Niehaus was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to German parents. He began working as a marble and wood carver, and then gained entrance to the McMicken ...

, who sculpted seven other statues for the collection, including Kansas's other entry, Senator John J. Ingalls in 1905. In 2003, Kansas became the first state to replace a statue when it replaced Glick with a bronze of former president Dwight D. Eisenhower. Glick's statue was moved to the Kansas History Center in Topeka.

Notes

External links

Glick speeches
on State Library of Kansas web site
Publications concerning Kansas Governor Glick's administration available via the KGI Online Library.
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Glick, George Washington 1827 births 1911 deaths People from Fairfield County, Ohio People from Atchison, Kansas Kansas lawyers Union Army soldiers People of Kansas in the American Civil War Democratic Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives Democratic Party Kansas state senators Democratic Party governors of Kansas American Lutherans 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century Lutherans