- William Stephens
Infobox Governor
name = William Dennison Stephens
order = 24th
office = Governor of California
term_start =March 15 ,1917
term_end =January 8 ,1923
lieutenant =C. C. Young
predecessor =Hiram Johnson
successor =Friend Richardson
order2 = 37th
office2 = Mayor of Los Angeles
term_start2 =March 15 ,1909
term_end2 =March 26 ,1909
lieutenant2 =
predecessor2=Arthur C. Harper
successor2 = George Alexander
birth_date = birth date|1859|12|26
birth_place =Eaton, Ohio
death_date = death date and age|1944|4|25|1859|12|26
death_place =Los Angeles, California
party = Republican
Progressive
spouse = Flora Rawson Stephens
profession =Engineer ,politician
religion =William Dennison Stephens (
December 26 ,1859 ndashApril 25 ,1944 ) was an American federal and state politician. A three-term member of theU.S. House of Representatives from 1911 to 1916, Stephens was also the 24thGovernor of California from 1917 to 1923.Biography
William Stephens was born in
Eaton, Ohio onDecember 26 ,1859 . He was the third child out of a total of nine children born to Martin and Alvira Stephens. With ambitions to become alawyer , Stephens studied earnestly in law to become a lawyer, yet family fortunes required all of his earnings to go to his family instead. [cite web |url=http://www.accuracyproject.org/cbe-Stephens,William.html|title=Governor William Stephens|publisher=Internet Accuracy Project|date=2005-2007 |accessdate=2007-09-03]Following his graduation from Eaton High School in 1876, Stephens worked for three years as a school teacher before joining the railroad business to become an engineer. Between 1880 and 1887, Stephens helped survey the construction of railroads in
Ohio ,Indiana ,Iowa andLouisiana . [cite web|url=http://www.ulwaf.com/LA-1900s/SpecialReports/Mayors/MayorStephens.html|title=William D. Stephens,Governor During World War I, Dies|publisher="Los Angeles Examiner " |date=26 April 1944|accessdate=2007-09-03] His days in the railroads came to an end in 1887 when his mother, Alvira, now falling ill, sought a hot and drier climate to improve her health. The Stephens family, including William, relocated toLos Angeles, California that year, though Alvira would be dead within a year. [cite web |url=http://www.accuracyproject.org/cbe-Stephens,William.html|title=Governor William Stephens|publisher=Internet Accuracy Project|date=2005-2007 |accessdate=2007-09-03]After relocating to Los Angeles, Stephens began to work as a traveling salesman and later as a
grocery manager. In 1891, Stephens married Flora Rawson, whom he would remain married to until her death in 1931. In 1902, he became a partner in Carr and Stephens Groceries, giving Stephens wide name recognition throughout Los Angeles. Increasingly, Stephens became involved in business and municipal politics, serving on the board of directors of theLos Angeles Chamber of Commerce from 1902 to 1911, as well as being elected to theLos Angeles Board of Education from 1906 to 1907. Stephens further served on the Los Angeles Board of Water Commissioners, working alongsideWilliam Mulholland in an advisory committee for the construction of theLos Angeles Aqueduct . [cite web |url=http://www.accuracyproject.org/cbe-Stephens,William.html|title=Governor William Stephens|publisher=Internet Accuracy Project|date=2005-2007 |accessdate=2007-09-03]In 1906, Stephens served briefly as a Major in the
California Army National Guard during the San Francisco Earthquake as part of the First Brigade. In 1909, he became vice president of theAmerican National Bank .Following Los Angeles Mayor Arthur C. Harper's resignation from office shortly before a crucial
recall election , Stephens was appointed Acting Mayor of the city onMarch 15 ,1909 , becoming the city's 37th mayor. Stephens mayoralship lasted for less than two weeks before George Alexander, the winner of the election, assumed the office. [cite web |url=http://www.ulwaf.com/LA-1900s/09.03.html|title=Mayor Harper Resigns from Office Under Threats|publisher="Los Angeles Examiner "|date=March 12 ,1909 |accessdate=2007-09-03]After his brief stint as Mayor of Los Angeles, Stephens entered the realm of federal politics. In the 1910 elections, Stephens was elected as a Republican for the 7th congressional district to the
U.S. House of Representatives .. Due to redistricting, Stephens changed constituencies to the newly-created 10th congressional district for the 1912 elections, which he also successfully won. During this time period, Stephens increasingly identified himself as a member of theProgressive movement , becoming a member of the Progressive Party, led by formerU.S. President Theodore Roosevelt and California GovernorHiram Johnson . Stephens was one of the 13 Progressives to be elected to theU.S. House of Representatives in the 1910s, four of which (including himself) came from California. He successfully defended his seat again the 1914 elections, winning a consecutive third term to the House. Stephens would continue to identify himself as a member of the Progressive Party until the party’s dissolution in 1916, when he rejoined the Republican Party.Following Lieutenant Governor John Morton Eshleman's death from
tuberculosis onFebruary 28 ,1916 , Governor Hiram Johnson sought a replacement for his subordinate. By mid-year, Johnson had selected Stephens as Eshleman's successor, forcing him to resign his seat from the federal House and assume the position of lieutenant governor on July 22.Stephens position as lieutenant governor was short lived. Governor Johnson himself was elected to the
U.S. Senate in the 1916 elections, leaving the governorship open to the recently installed lieutenant governor. Johnson submitted hisresignation to take his Senate seat onMarch 15 ,1917 , with Stephens, fulfilling his duties as lieutenant governor, to assume the governorship, making him the state's 24th governor.Governorship
Nearly immediately, Stephens faced controversy regarding the
Preparedness Day Bombing , aterrorist attack that had occurred onJuly 22 ,1916 in San Francisco during the city's Preparedness Day parade. The attack was blamed onleft wing radicals, in particular union leader and formerIndustrial Workers of the World memberThomas Mooney , and his alleged accomplice, Warren Billings. Both Mooney and Billings were convicted by trial, though the trial was later accused of being conducted in an enragedlynch mob atmosphere. Governor Stephens supported both of their convictions. However, international sympathy for Mooney quickly spread, making him one of the United States' most famouspolitical prisoners . National and international pressure was pressed onto Stephens; among those who pressured the governor included PresidentWoodrow Wilson , who telegraphed Stephens to personally ask the governor to review the state's legal case against Mooney. [cite web |url=http://www.accuracyproject.org/cbe-Stephens,William.html|title=Governor William Stephens|publisher=Internet Accuracy Project|date=2005-2007 |accessdate=2007-09-03] Stephens bowed to pressure, but only slightly, commuting Mooney's death sentence tolife imprisonment .Despite the slight clemency sparing Mooney’s life, several militant labor radicals continued to pressure Stephens, resulting in threats, and eventually, actions of violence. On the evening of
December 17 ,1917 , anassassination attempt was made on Stephens whendynamite exploded at the foot of the Governor's Mansion inSacramento . Although Stephens was uninjured in the attack, the explosion caused considerable damage to the kitchen. Radicals from the IWW were later blamed for the attack. In an unrelated threat, labor radicals also threatened to destroy both theCalifornia State Capitol and the Governor's Mansion if a $50,000 ransom was not met. [cite web |url=http://www.californiagovernors.ca.gov/h/biography/governor_24.html|title=William Stephens|publisher=California State Library |date=2007 |accessdate=2007-09-03]The threats from labor radicals, as well as pressure from the ongoing
First World War , were responded by Stephens with the successful passage and signing of criminal syndicalism laws, targeting radical labor unionists and their advocacy for violent confrontation with state authorities. [cite web |url=http://www.californiagovernors.ca.gov/h/biography/governor_24.html|title=William Stephens|publisher=California State Library |date=2007|accessdate=2007-09-03] Despite numerous threats on his life and state property, Stephens refused to bow to pressure topardon Thomas Mooney for the remainder of his administration; it was not until the Democratic governorship of labor-sympatheticCulbert Olson in 1939 that Mooney would be pardoned.A Progressive like his predecessor
Hiram Johnson , Stephens chose not to expand on the reforms made by Johnson. Instead, Stephens sought to keep the electoral and bureaucratic reforms already put in place. [cite book |author=DeBow, Ken and John C. Syer|title=Power and Politics in California |location=New York |publisher=Longman |year=2003 |origyear= |isbn=0321089758]In the 1918 state general elections, Stephens won renomination for the Republican Party, campaigning on a platform to solidify Progressive reforms within the state government. He easily won the election, trouncing former Democrat and Independent candidate
Theodore A. Bell by a 20% margin of the vote. Other candidates included Republican Mayor of San FranciscoJames Rolph , who appeared as awrite-in candidate at 3%, andHenry H. Roser of theSocialist Party of America with 4.2%. [cite web |url=http://www.joincalifornia.com/election/1918-11-05|title=November 5, 1918 General Election results|publisher=JoinCalifornia.org|date=1918-11-05|accessdate=2007-09-03]After his successful election to the governorship to a full four-year term, Stephens grew increasingly concerned over the needs of returning veterans from the World War. Stephens argued that the state government had a mandate to provide benefits for returning veterans, such as government-sponsored retraining and allocation of funds to help reemployment. Through his advocacy, a veteran assistance program was established. During the same time period, Stephens also supported state and federal moves towards the
prohibition of alcohol. [cite web |url=http://www.accuracyproject.org/cbe-Stephens,William.html|title=Governor William Stephens|publisher=Internet Accuracy Project|date=2005-2007|accessdate=2007-09-03]Like his predecessor, Hiram Johnson, Stephens remained highly suspicious of Asian immigration to
California , especially from theJapanese Empire , which he viewed as an increasingly belligerent nation. In 1919, Stephens openly advocated to theCalifornia State Legislature the creation of stricter exclusion laws to restrict Japanese immigrants. He declared that the influx of Japanese was a threat not only to California but to theUnited States . [cite web |url=http://www.ulwaf.com/LA-1900s/SpecialReports/Mayors/MayorStephens.html|title=William D. Stephens,Governor During World War I, Dies|publisher="Los Angeles Examiner " |date=April 26 ,1944 |accessdate=2007-09-03] Through the remainder of his governorship, Stephens sought the aid of other governors and public officials to restrict Japanese immigration. In part, some of his efforts were realized by the federalImmigration Act of 1924 .Despite threats on his life, Stephens remained publicly visible throughout his governorship. He was part of the general welcoming committee when Edward,
Prince of Wales , arrived aboard the "HMS Renown" inSan Diego Bay in 1920, during the future British monarch's first visit to California. [cite web |url=http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/92summer/wales.htm|title=The Prince of Wales Visits San Diego: A Study in Perception |publisher="The Journal of San Diego History" | dateSummer 1992, Volume 38, Number 3|accessdate=2007-09-03] Stephens was also present for the launch of the "USS California". His daughter, Mrs. R.T. Zane, ceremonially launched thebattleship .During his governorship, Stephens realized his life-long dream by entering the California Bar to become a certified lawyer. [cite web |url=http://www.californiagovernors.ca.gov/h/biography/governor_24.html|title=William Stephens|publisher=
California State Library |date=2007|accessdate=2007-09-03]In the final months of his governorship, Stephens vetoed bills sponsored by the Legislature that would deregulate state utilities, vowing to keep the Progressive reforms put in place by
Hiram Johnson . [cite book |author=DeBow, Ken and John C. Syer|title=Power and Politics in California |location=New York |publisher=Longman |year=2003 |origyear= |isbn=0321089758]In the 1922 general elections, Stephens sought renomination of the Republican Party’s choice for governor. However, Republican ranks had decidedly grown more conservative since 1918. He failed to win the Republican gubernatorial
primary election , losing toCalifornia State Treasurer Friend Richardson .Post governorship
After failing in his bid for renomination, Stephens returned to
Los Angeles to establish a law practice. He would never again hold public office, though he remained active in public affairs.He died on
April 25 ,1944 at Santa Fe Hospital in Los Angeles of a heart ailment. He was 84 years old. Coincidently, Stephens death was nearly 13 years to the day after the death of his wife, Flora. He is interred inAngelus-Rosedale Cemetery , Los Angeles.References
External links
* [http://www.governor.ca.gov/govsite/govsgallery/h/biography/governor_24.html#personal/ Governors of California profile of William Stephens]
* [http://www.accuracyproject.org/cbe-Stephens,William.html Internet Accuracy Project profile of Governor William Stephens]
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