Ruffin Golson Pleasant (June 2, 1871 – September 12, 1937) was the
36th Governor of Louisiana from 1916 to 1920, who is remembered for having mobilized his state for World War I. Prior to his governorship, Pleasant was the Louisiana
attorney general
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
from 1912 to 1916 and the city attorney of
Shreveport
Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...
from 1902 to 1908.
Early years and education
Pleasant was born in the community of Shiloh in
Union Parish in north Louisiana to Benjamin Franklin Pleasant and the former Martha Washington Duty. An earlier governor, William Wright Heard, who served from 1900 to 1904, was also born near Shiloh. His parents' names hence evoked the spirit of patriotism that Pleasant extolled in his public life. He was educated at the former Ruston College in
Ruston Ruston may refer to:
Place names
;United States
* Ruston, Louisiana
* Ruston, Washington
;United Kingdom
* East Ruston, Norfolk, England
* Ruston, North Yorkshire, England
* Ruston Parva, East Riding of Yorkshire, England
Companies
* Ruston (engi ...
, the seat of
Lincoln Parish, from 1885 to 1886. He then attended Mount Lebanon College, the forerunner of
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...
-affiliated
Louisiana College from 1887 to 1889. In 1890 he began school at the
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
(LSU) in
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of countie ...
, where he became a member of the
Kappa Sigma
Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and co ...
fraternity. In 1893 he was chosen as captain of the
LSU football squad and played in LSU's first match against
Tulane. He graduated in 1894. Thereafter, he studied law at both
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...
in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most ...
and
Yale College
Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...
in
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
. He was admitted to the bar in 1899.
Pleasant served in the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (cl ...
in 1898 as a lieutenant-colonel of the First Louisiana Regiment of Infantry. After the war, he launched his law practice in Shreveport, a large city by Louisiana standards which is the seat of
Caddo Parish
Caddo Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Caddo'') is a parish located in the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Louisiana. According to the 2020 U.S. census, the parish had a population of 237,848. The parish seat is Shreveport, which develope ...
in the northwestern corner of the state. On
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...
1906, Pleasant married the former Anne Ector, the daughter of Matthew Duncan Ector and the former Sarah "Sallie" Parish Chew.
Moving up the political ladder
Pleasant was first city attorney in Shreveport, then state attorney general, and finally governor. In the 1916 general election, Pleasant, as the Democratic nominee, faced the
Progressive Party's
John M. Parker. Pleasant prevailed with 80,807 votes (62.5 percent) to Parker's 37.2 percent. Parker, a friend of
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
's until their political split in 1916, thereafter returned to the Democratic Party and won the 1920
gubernatorial election with Pleasant's support. At the time Louisiana governors could serve only one four-year term and could not seek a second term until four years had lapsed since the end of a previous term.
As governor, Pleasant encouraged volunteers and contributions for the war effort. Louisiana's support for the war was considered to have been among the strongest in the nation. He named
Lee Emmett Thomas
Lee may refer to:
Name
Given name
* Lee (given name), a given name in English
Surname
* Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee:
** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname
** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...
, a banker and a former
Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives, as the chairman of the Louisiana Tax Commission and then the state banking examiner. Thomas thereafter served as
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...
of Shreveport from 1922 to 1930. Oddly, Thomas was born in
Marion, Louisiana, and educated in Union Parish at Pleasant's birthplace of Shiloh.
In 1917, Pleasant signed into law a measure by the freshman
state senator,
Norris C. Williamson
Norris Charles Craft Williamson (July 31, 1874 – 1949) was a Democrat who served from 1924 to 1932 in the Louisiana State Senate. A resident of Lake Providence, Williamson represented the delta parishes: Tensas, Madison, East Carroll, and C ...
of
East Carroll Parish, which authorized state funding for the eradication of the
cattle tick pest.
When Pleasant was elected governor, voters also chose
Harry D. Wilson, a former state representative from
Tangipahoa Parish, who began a 32-year tenure (1916-1948) as the
Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry
The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) is a state agency of Louisiana, headquartered in Baton Rouge. The Department is responsible for promoting, protecting and advancing agriculture and forestry, and soil and water resour ...
. Pleasant named the cotton farmer C. C. McCrory of
Ascension Parish as the
adjutant general
An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer.
France
In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...
of the
Louisiana National Guard. Later McCrory's son,
Sidney McCrory, served a term as the state agriculture commissioner.
After leaving the governorship, Pleasant resumed his law practice in Shreveport. He soon broke with his successor, John M. Parker, over tax policy and supported
Huey Pierce Long, Jr. Not long afterward, he broke with Long too and became a leading spokesman for the anti-Long
faction of the Louisiana Democratic Party.
Pleasant was elected as a member of the Louisiana Constitutional Convention of 1921. That particular constitution produced by the delegates was superseded in 1974 by a newer governing document.
Pleasant was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention of 1916, which renominated
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of P ...
for president and
Thomas Marshall of
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...
for vice president. He was also a delegate to the Democratic convention in 1924, which took 103 ballots to nominate
John W. Davis of
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...
as the party's
compromise
To compromise is to make a deal between different parties where each party gives up part of their demand. In arguments, compromise is a concept of finding agreement through communication, through a mutual acceptance of terms—often involving var ...
presidential nominee.
The later years
Anne Ector Pleasant died in 1934 after accidentally drinking a poisonous
antiseptic
An antiseptic (from Greek ἀντί ''anti'', "against" and σηπτικός ''sēptikos'', "putrefactive") is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putre ...
in a dark bathroom in their Shreveport home. She was the founder and headmistress of Pleasant Hall, a coed private school in Shreveport. She had sued then
U.S. Senator
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 powe ...
Huey Long for having caused her to be arrested on false charges and for having demeaned her as a "drunken cursing woman" when she sought to examine state public records in the Capitol in Baton Rouge.
Pleasant died in Shreveport four years later. He was
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...
. The couple is interred at Forest Park Cemetery off St. Vincent Avenue in Shreveport.
References
Bibliography
* "Ruffin Golson Pleasant", ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'', Vol. 2 (1988), pp. 654–655
* Miriam G. Reeves, ''The Governors of Louisiana'' (1962)
* Roy Glashan, ''American Governors and Gubernatorial Elections, 1775–1975'' (1975)
US GenWeb – Union Parish, Louisiana – Biography
External links
Cemetery Memorialby La-Cemeteries
State of Louisiana – BiographyNational Governors Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pleasant, Ruffin
1871 births
1937 deaths
American military personnel of the Spanish–American War
American Presbyterians
Harvard Law School alumni
Democratic Party governors of Louisiana
Louisiana Attorneys General
Louisiana State University alumni
19th-century players of American football
LSU Tigers football players
Politicians from Shreveport, Louisiana
People from Union Parish, Louisiana