Leslie Mortier Shaw (November 2, 1848March 28, 1932) was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician. He served as the 17th Governor of Iowa and was a Republican candidate in the

1908 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 1908. Republican Party (United States), Republican Party nominee William Howard Taft defeated threetime Democratic Party (United States), D ...

. He was Secretary of the Treasury from 1902 to 1907.

Early Life

Shaw was born on November 2, 1848 in Morristown, Vermont, the son of Boardman O. Shaw and Louise Spaulding "Lovisa" Shaw. He attended

Cornell College Cornell College is a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary (Methodist), the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell Co ...

in 1874 and then University of Iowa Law in 1876. Shaw married the former Alice Crenshaw on December 6, 1877, with whom he had three children. Shaw was a part-time lawyer and part-time apple salesman in Denison, Iowa. He later became a banker and founded, with partner Carl F. Kuehnle, the Bank of Dennison, in Dennison, Iowa. They would go on to found banks in

Manilla, Iowa Manilla is a city in Crawford County, Iowa, United States, along the West Branch of the Nishnabotna River, West Nishnabotna River. The population was 775 at the time of the 2020 United States census. History Manilla is working to bolster its dec ...

and

Charter Oak, Iowa Charter Oak is a city in Crawford County, Iowa, United States, along the East Soldier River. The population was 535 at the 2020 census. History Charter Oak was first mentioned in newspapers August 13, 1869. The town Post Office was establis ...

. He was a Methodist, and superintendent of his Sunday school for over 25 years. He also founded, in 1893, the Denison Business and Normal College, which stayed opened until 1917.

Governorship

In 1898, he became the 17th Governor of Iowa, serving until 1902. During his tenure, he established the Board of Control for Iowa's state institutions. He set the foundation to build the Memorial, Historical, and Art Department. He created the Library Commission and helped to establish free public libraries and school libraries throughout the state. He was also the first governor of Iowa to drive a car.

Secretary of Treasury

He became active in politics during the 1896 presidential election where he held speeches in favor of

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

, arguing in favor of his monetary policy. He then became the

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

, being nominated by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

in 1902. Like his predecessor Secretary Lyman Gage, Shaw firmly believed that the Treasury should serve the money market in times of difficulty through the introduction of Treasury funds. To this end, Shaw bought back the

government bonds A government bond or sovereign bond is a form of bond issued by a government to support public spending. It generally includes a commitment to pay periodic interest, called coupon payments'','' and to repay the face value on the maturity da ...

from commercial banks that owned them, increased the number of government depository banks, and in 1902, he told the banks that they no longer needed to keep cash reserves against their holdings of public funds. The intended effect of these actions was to provide a more elastic currency which would then respond to the needs of the market. The government intervention in the money market reached its height with Shaw. He supported

tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...

theory according to the New York Times. He resigned on March 3, 1907, to become a banker in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Later that year, the

Panic of 1907 The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic or Knickerbocker Crisis, was a financial crisis that took place in the United States over a three-week period starting in mid-October, when the New York Stock Exchange suddenly fell almost ...

took place. He was a candidate for the Republican Party nomination during the U.S. presidential election in 1908. Shaw was a critic of

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

and the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. He campaigned for Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover. He was a strong supporter of the Smoot-Hawley tariff.

Later Life

After leaving the Presidential Cabinet, he returned to banking, working in

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, eventually becoming president of banks in both cities. Shaw died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in 1932, and was buried in a mausoleum at Oakland Cemetery in

Denison, Iowa Denison is a city in Crawford County, Iowa, United States, along the Boyer River, and located in both Denison Township and East Boyer Township. The population was 8,373 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Crawford Count ...

References

External links