Edward Irving Edwards (December 1, 1863 – January 26, 1931) was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the 37th

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 r ...

from 1920 to 1923 and in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

from 1923 to 1929.

Life and career

Edwards was born in 1863 in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Jersey City public schools The Jersey City Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district located in Jersey City, in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that were established pursuant ...

and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. He later studied law in the office of his brother, William David Edwards, who was also a state senator.The Political Graveyard
/ref> On November 14, 1888, he married Blanche Smith. They had two children, Edward Irving, Jr. and Elizabeth Jules. He engaged in banking and in the general contracting business. He later became president and chairman of the board of directors of the First National Bank of Jersey City. Edwards entered politics and became part of the

Hudson County Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in ...

Democratic Organization, being elected state senator in 1918. He became a friend and close political ally of Mayor Frank Hague, Frank "Boss" Hague, who ran the Democratic machine in Hudson County, and later the whole state of New Jersey. Hague supported Edwards's gubernatorial run in 1919. At the end of his term, forbidden by the state constitution to run for a consecutive term, he ran for the

in 1922. Campaigning against the 18th Amendment (Prohibition) and with the support of the Hague Democratic Political Machine, Edwards defeated incumbent Republican

Joseph S. Frelinghuysen Joseph Sherman Frelinghuysen Sr. (March 12, 1869 – February 8, 1948) represented New Jersey as a U.S. Republican Party, Republican in the United States Senate from 1917 to 1923. Early life and family He was born in Raritan, New Jersey, on M ...

by almost 90,000 votes and served from March 4, 1923, to March 3, 1929. After six years in the Senate, Edwards ran for re-election against Republican Hamilton Kean in 1928. Kean came out against Prohibition also which hurt Edwards who used his "Applejack Campaign" so successfully in the past. Also, Edwards could not overcome the "Coolidge Prosperity" that was sweeping the country. He lost by over 230,000 votes, having 41.8% of the vote to Kean's 57.8%. After returning to Jersey City in March 1929, his luck turned for the worse. His wife had died in 1928 and his relationship with Mayor Hague went downhill when Hague supported

A. Harry Moore Arthur Harry Moore (July 3, 1877 – November 18, 1952) was an American Democratic politician and attorney who was the 39th governor of New Jersey, serving three nonconsecutive three-year terms between 1926 and 1941. As of , Moore remains t ...

instead of Edwards for governor. He went broke in the

Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange coll ...

and was implicated in an

electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

scandal.

Death

Edwards was diagnosed with

skin cancer Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. There are three main types of skin cancers: basal-cell skin cancer (BCC) ...

and shot himself in his apartment at 131 Kensington Avenue in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Bayview – New York Bay Cemetery Bayview Cemetery, previously called Greenville Cemetery, is located in Jersey City, New Jersey. It merged with New York Bay Cemetery and is now known as Bayview – New York Bay Cemetery. History The cemetery was built in 1848. It is located in t ...

in the plot of his older brother, William David Edwards, who died in 1916.

References

External links

Biography for Edward I. Edwards (PDF)

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 ...

* for Edward Irving Edwards
New Jersey Governor Edward Irving Edwards

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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Edward I. 1863 births 1931 suicides American Episcopalians American politicians who committed suicide Burials at Bayview – New York Bay Cemetery Democratic Party governors of New Jersey Democratic Party United States senators from New Jersey Democratic Party New Jersey state senators New York University alumni Politicians from Jersey City, New Jersey Suicides by firearm in New Jersey Candidates in the 1920 United States presidential election 20th-century American politicians 1931 deaths

Life and career

Death

See also

References

External links