Stephen Victor Graham (March 4, 1874 – September 2, 1955) was a United States Naval Rear Admiral and the

governor of American Samoa This is a list of Governor (United States), governors, etc. of the part of the Samoan Islands (now comprising American Samoa) under United States administration since 1900. From 1900 to 1978 governors were appointed by the Federal government o ...

from September 9, 1927, to August 2, 1929. Graham attended the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

and served on numerous ships before being posted to the governorship. As governor, he established a strong charter for the former Bank of American Samoa and reworked Samoan fiscal law. After his governorship, he worked at the Naval Academy as the head of the Modern Languages department.

Life

Early life

Graham was born on March 4, 1874, in

Cass County, Michigan Cass County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 51,589. Its county seat is Cassopolis. Cass County is included in the South Bend– Mishawaka, IN-MI, Metropolitan Statistical Area which has a ...

Naval career

Graham was appointed to the

from

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

on May 19, 1890. He graduated July 1, 1896, and received the rank of

lieutenant (junior grade) Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...

on July 1, 1899. He served on , , USS ''Saratoga'', and . Later in his career, as a lieutenant commander, Graham headed the Department of Modern Languages at the United States Naval Academy. After retiring, Graham was awarded the rank of

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

on March 3, 1931.

Governorship

On September 9, 1927, Graham became Governor of American Samoa. While in office, Graham rechartered the Bank of American Samoa and amended current fiscal laws for the island. He ceded the post to Gatewood Sanders Lincoln on August 2, 1929. Shortly after Captain Graham became governor, he received a letter from the Mau saying they would not pay any more taxes until a decision had been made regarding the “desire of the Samoa League for civil government.” Graham was invited to the Mau headquarters in Nuʻuuli, where he told them not paying taxes would be an act of defiance. The Mau said they were not hostile to the Navy administration, but believed the time had come for a change. After governor Graham explained the “Samoa for Samoans” policy of the Navy, Mau members were so impressed and discontinued their taxation efforts. Governor Graham recommended to the U.S. Navy's secretary that they adopt a patient and attentive approach to prevent conflict when engaging with the

Mau movement The Mau was a nonviolence, non-violent movement for Samoan independence from colony, colonial rule during the first half of the 20th century. ''Mau'' means 'resolute' or 'resolved' in the sense of 'opinion', 'unwavering', 'to be decided', o ...

. A Samoan orator expressed that the community appreciated the Governor's willingness to meet and genuinely listen to them, contrasting with previous administrations that had treated them with disdain.Chapell, David A. (2000). "The Forgotten Mau: Anti-Navy Protest in American Samoa, 1920–1935".

Pacific Historical Review The ''Pacific Historical Review'' is the official publication of the Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association. It is a quarterly academic journal published by University of California Press. It was established in 1932 under foun ...

. 69 (2): Pages 250-251. ISSN 0030-8684.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Stephen Victor 1874 births 1955 deaths United States Navy rear admirals Governors of American Samoa United States Naval Academy faculty United States Naval Academy alumni People from Cass County, Michigan Military personnel from Michigan