Alexander Caldwell (March 1, 1830May 19, 1917) was a
U.S. Senator from
Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
.
Early years
Born in
Drakes Ferry, Pennsylvania, he attended public schools, and in 1847 enlisted as a
private to serve in the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
. He moved to
Columbia, Pennsylvania
Columbia, formerly Wright's Ferry, is a borough (town) in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 10,222. It is southeast of Harrisburg, on the east (left) bank of the Susquehanna River, ...
, in 1848, where he was employed in a bank and subsequently went into business for himself.
He then moved to
Leavenworth, Kansas
Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States. Part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Leavenworth is located on the west bank of the Missouri River, on the site o ...
, in 1861 and engaged in the transportation of military supplies to the various posts on the plains. He then worked building railroads, especially the
Missouri River
The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...
and
Kansas Central Railroad.
Politics
Caldwell was elected as a
Republican to the U.S. Senate and had served just two years, from March 4, 1871, to March 24, 1873, when he resigned in the face of a movement to expel him for bribery and corruption. It was claimed that he had bribed his political opponents not to run, leaving the field clear for himself.
Senatorial candidate
Thomas Carney (and former Governor of Kansas), admitted that he had accepted $15,000 from Caldwell to leave the race and thereby assist in Caldwell's election in 1871.
Later years
From 1877 to 1897, he manufactured wagons and carriages, and from 1897 to 1915 he was president of the First National Bank of Leavenworth. In the 1880s, Caldwell was the president of the Idaho and Oregon Land Improvement Company, which purchased acreage next to the tracks of the
Oregon Short Line Railroad. The city of
Caldwell in
southwestern Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
is named after him.
[''Idaho for the Curious'', by Cort Conley, 1982, , p.387]
Caldwell died in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
in 1917, and is interred at Mount Muncie Cemetery in Leavenworth, Kansas.
See also
*
List of federal political scandals in the United States
This article provides a list of political scandals that involve officials from the government of the United States, sorted from oldest to most recent.
Scope and organization of political scandals
This article is organized by presidential terms ...
References
External links
State Library of Kansas: Alexander Caldwell*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell, Alexander
1830 births
1917 deaths
Kansas Republicans
People from Columbia, Pennsylvania
People from Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania
Republican Party United States senators from Kansas
19th-century United States senators