Frank Steunenberg
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| Frank Steunenberg | |
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| In office January 1897 – January 1901 |
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| Lieutenant(s) | George F. Moore (1897) J. H. Hutchinson (1899) |
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| Preceded by | William J. McConnell |
| Succeeded by | Frank W. Hunt |
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| Born | August 8, 1861 Keokuk, Iowa |
| Died | December 30, 1905 Caldwell, Idaho |
| Political party | Democrat-Populist |
| Profession | publisher |
Frank Steunenberg (born August 8, 1861 in Keokuk, Iowa – died December 30, 1905 in Caldwell, Idaho) was the fourth Governor of the State of Idaho, serving from 1897 until 1901. He is perhaps best known for his 1905 assassination by one-time union member Harry Orchard, who also admitted to being a paid informant for the Cripple Creek, Colorado, Mine Owner's Association.[1] Orchard attempted to implicate leaders of the radical Western Federation of Miners in the murder. The labor leaders were found innocent[2] in two trials,[3] but Orchard spent the rest of his life in prison.
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[edit] Early career
Steunenberg dropped out of school at 16 to become a printer's apprentice. In 1881 he was hired by the Des Moines Register in Des Moines, Iowa. Steunenberg later published a ne
[edit] Assassination and Trial
On December 30, 1905, Steunenberg was killed outside his house in Caldwell by a bomb rigged to his front gate. Harry Orchard was arrested shortly thereafter for the murder, and the investigation was conducted by Pinkerton agent James McParland. With the promise of a lighter sentence, McParland compelled Orchard to write a confession in which he implicated "Big Bill" Haywood, general secretary of the Western Federation of Miners, Charles Moyer, president of the Western Federation of Miners, and George Pettibone, a labor activist who had a prior conviction related to an 1892 dispute in Coeur d'Alene, as co-conspirators. McParland arrested the three in Colorado in February 1906.
The nationally publicized trial took place in Boise in 1907. There was a lack of evidence in a case that was supported only by Orchard's testimony. Clarence Darrow, a lawyer who specialized in defending trade union leaders, won an acquittal for Haywood. Pettibone was defended in a separate trial by Judge Hilton of Denver, and was also acquitted. Charges were dropped against Moyer.[4] Orchard received a death sentence in a separate trial, but the sentence was commuted to life in prison.
More information about the Steunenberg trials at James McParland.
[edit] References
- ^ Roughneck, The Life and Times of Big Bill Haywood, Peter Carlson, 1983, page 119.
- ^ Roughneck, The Life and Times of Big Bill Haywood, Peter Carlson, 1983, page 135.
- ^ The Autobiography of Big Bill Haywood, William Dudley Haywood, 1929, page 224 ppbk.
- ^ The Autobiography of Big Bil Haywood, William Dudley Haywood, 1929, page 224 ppbk.
[edit] Additional references
[edit] See also
[edit] Further reading
- The Trial of Bill Haywood - a detailed account of the murder trial
- Big Trouble: A Murder in a Small Western Town Sets Off a Struggle for the Soul of America by J. Anthony Lukas. An extensive discussion of the class warfare occurring at the turn of the 20th century.
| Preceded by Edward A. Stevenson |
Democratic Party nominee, Governor of Idaho 1896 (won), 1898 (won) |
Succeeded by Frank W. Hunt |
| Preceded by William J. McConnell |
Governor of Idaho January 4, 1897–January 7, 1901 |
Succeeded by Frank W. Hunt |
| Governors of Idaho |  |
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| Shoup • Willey • McConnell • Steunenberg • Hunt • Morrison • Gooding • Brady • Hawley • Haines • Alexander • Davis • Moore • Baldridge • Ross • B. Clark • Bottolfsen • C. Clark • Bottolfsen • Gossett • Williams • Robins • Jordan • Smylie • Samuelson • Andrus • Evans • Andrus • Batt • Kempthorne • Risch • Otter |
