Albert Ritchie - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Albert Cabell Ritchie a member of the United States Democratic Party, was the 49th Governor of Maryland

Governor of Maryland

The Governor of Maryland heads the executive branch of the government of Maryland, and he is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state, and he has a broad range of appointive powers in both the State and local governments,...

in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

from 1920 to 1935. Ritchie campaigned for, but did not win, the Democratic presidential

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

nomination in both 1924 and 1932.

Early life and family

Albert Ritchie was born on August 29, 1876 in Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

to relatively distinguished parents. His father, Albert, had served as a member of the Maryland Constitutional Convention in 1867, as a Professor of Law at the University of Maryland

University of Maryland, Baltimore

University of Maryland, Baltimore, was founded in 1807. It comprises some of the oldest professional schools in the nation and world. It is the original campus of the University System of Maryland. Located on 60 acres in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, it is part of the University System of Maryland...

, as City Solicitor of Baltimore, Maryland, and as a judge. His mother, Elizabeth Caskie Cabell, descended from a Governor of Virginia

Governor of Virginia

The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....

and of Joseph Cabell, a close associate of Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

.

Ritchie moved to Baltimore with his family shortly after his birth and received his early education from private schools. He received a bachelor's degree

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

from Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University

The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

in 1896, and his LL.D from the University of Maryland School of Law

University of Maryland School of Law

The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law is the second-oldest law school in the United States by date of establishment and third-oldest by date of first classes. The school is located on the campus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore in Downtown Baltimore's West Side...

in 1898. He entered into practice with the firm of Steele, Semmes, Carey and Bond in 1900, and in 1903 was appointed Assistant City Solicitor of Baltimore. The same year, he formed his own law practice with Stuart S. Janney. Ritchie continued to serve as Solicitor until 1910, and continued to practice law with Janney until 1919. In 1907, Ritchie was appointed as a professor of law at the University of Maryland School of Law.

In 1907, Ritchie married Elizabeth Catherine Baker of Catonsville, Maryland

Catonsville, Maryland

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:In 2010 Catonsville had a population of 41,567...

. However, in June 1916, Baker filed for divorce under the charge of abandonment, since Ritchie had left her to live with his mother in 1910. He did not challenge her claim, and the divorce was finalized soon thereafter. Ritchie never remarried, nor did he have any children.

Public Service Commission

On July 1, 1910, Ritchie was appointed as People's Counsel to the Public Service Commission of Baltimore. He garnered much attention for fighting to lower gas and electricity prices for the people of Baltimore that resulted in annual savings of $500,000. Ritchie resigned on February 16, 1913 to return to his law practice, where he took up a case against a local utility company for producing inferior quality gas. The Public Service Commission sided with Ritchie on the issue, and the result was further savings $200,000 annually for the residents of Baltimore.

Attorney General of Maryland

Ritchie's actions did not go unnoticed, and he was nominated to be Attorney General of Maryland

Attorney General of Maryland

The Attorney General of Maryland is the chief legal officer of the State of Maryland in the United States and is elected by the people every four years with no term limits...

in 1915, a position he served in from December 20, 1915 to December 20, 1919. In the primary election, Ritchie defeated challenger William Milnes Maloy, who would later challenge him for Governor, by 20,000 votes. In the general election, Ritchie defeated his Republican rival, Albert Doub, by 25,000 votes. As Attorney General, Ritchie economized the state government by having the state law department assume the legal activities of nearly every department, with the exception of the Public Service Commission, thus eliminating the need for other departments to hire outside legal counsel.

On June 3, 1918, Ritchie took a leave of absence as Attorney General to serve on War Industries Board

War Industries Board

The War Industries Board was a United States government agency established on July 28, 1917, during World War I, to coordinate the purchase of war supplies. The organization encouraged companies to use mass-production techniques to increase efficiency and urged them to eliminate waste by...

as General Counsel. Established as a result of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, the War Industries Board was one of the most influential of al the wartime organizations established by the government. While on the board, Ritchie became a good friend of Bernard Baruch

Bernard Baruch

Bernard Mannes Baruch was an American financier, stock-market speculator, statesman, and political consultant. After his success in business, he devoted his time toward advising U.S. Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt on economic matters and became a philanthropist.-Early life...

, the chairman of the board, and a man who would later support Ritchie's presidential aspirations. The Board was dissolved in December 1918, and Ritchie returned to his position as Attorney General.

Governor of Maryland

During the gubernatorial election of 1919, Ritchie made his interest known and quickly gained support from the state democrats. He went unopposed on the primary ticket, but the general election proved to be considerably more challenging, and also proved to be one of the closest elections in state history.

Harry Whinna Nice, the Republican nominee was a close friend and favorite of a notorious and powerful Democratic party boss in Baltimore City, John S. "Frank" Kelly. Harry Nice was a frequent caller to "Frank" Kelly's headquarters on West Saratoga Street in Baltimore while attending law school. The warm relationship Nice developed with "Boss" Kelly as he was also known, worked to his advantage and landed him a considerably high appointment following law school, assistant to the State's Attorney in Baltimore, this was especially surprising since Nice was a Republican in a city predominantly run by Democrats. It is still rumored to this day that Kelly, seeking to confirm and show the Democratic Party leadership trying to oust him, that he was still the top Democratic boss in Baltimore, pulled a few strings to get Nice appointed as a sign of just how powerful he was to any would be political challengers.

The election year of 1919, saw the political winds of fortune blowing strongly in the direction of the GOP, not only in Maryland but nationally as well. Convinced and initially backed by Kelly, Nice resigned as assistant State's Attorney and cast his hat into the gubernatorial race. However, Harry Nice then made a costly mistake. In speeches during the campaign, Nice promised to clean up the dirty underworld politics of the Democrats and their political bosses and ensure elections were fair and open to everyone. In this time period ballot stuffing

Ballot stuffing

Ballot stuffing is the illegal act of one person submitting multiple ballots during a vote in which only one ballot per person is permitted. The name originates from the earliest days of this practice in which people literally did stuff more than one ballot in a ballot box at the same time...

, voter fraud and outright voter intimidation were common place, especially in large cities like Baltimore.

These speeches were taken by "Boss" Kelly as slap to the face, the man he had helped build politically was out condemning him and his business in public. While Kelly was no doubt enraged by this he was probably more embarrassed then anything else, the other Baltimore bosses saw this as weakness believing Kelly had no real control over his candidate as he had often claimed. So in a last minute decision on election day "Boss" Kelly, switched his support from his former friend Harry Nice to Albert Ritchie and swung just enough votes Ritchie's way to give him the narrowest margin of victory in Maryland history. Out of nearly 225,000 votes, Ritchie won with a mere 165 votes to spare, defeating Republican challenger Harry W. Nice 112,240 to 112,075. Across the state, however, Republicans gained control of the legislature, and succeeded in electing Republicans and Mayor of Baltimore and Attorney General.

First term

Ritchie proved one of the last strong upholders of states' rights, gaining national prominence in 1922 with his stand against President Harding during the Western Maryland coal strike, and his strenuous opposition to the Volstead Act. His legislative program was in three main areas: state government reorganization, increased representation for Baltimore City, and reduction in the number of elections. The first governor of Maryland reelected since the Civil War, Ritchie loomed as a serious contender for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1924 until the compromise on John W. Davis. Ritchie worked hard for the ticket, and at home achieved reforms in mental health, shellfish conservation, and law enforcement while continuing to fight federal encroachments on state prerogatives.

During Ritchie's first term, he worked to improve the public education

Public education

State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...

system by establishing standards for the counties and by distributing wealth from the richer to the poorer counties. His actions were successful, and the Maryland educational system emerged as one of the best in the nation. Ritchie also invested considerable funds in expanding and improving the highways of the state, resulting in Maryland emerging as having one of the best highway systems in the country.

Ritchie was a strong opponent of the Eighteenth Amendment

Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution established Prohibition in the United States. The separate Volstead Act set down methods of enforcing the Eighteenth Amendment, and defined which "intoxicating liquors" were prohibited, and which were excluded from prohibition...

, which established prohibition, and was a staunch advocate of states' rights

States' rights

States' rights in U.S. politics refers to political powers reserved for the U.S. state governments rather than the federal government. It is often considered a loaded term because of its use in opposition to federally mandated racial desegregation...

. He also gained national attention for his refusal to cooperate with the administrations of Presidents Warren G. Harding

Warren G. Harding

Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...

and Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge

John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...

. During a miner's strike in 1922, Ritchie refused a request from Harding to break up the strike by force, instead choosing a diplomatic alternative. The situation was peacefully defused.

Second term

For the first time in state history, Ritchie was nominated for a second term as Governor in 1923. He was again unopposed in the primary, but during the general election faced Alexander Armstrong, his successor as Attorney General. In a campaign which focused on his accomplishments as Governor and defiance of the Eighteenth Amendment, Ritchie easily defeated Armstrong by a plurality of 43,000 votes. His second term began on January 9, 1924, but because of an election law that changed the date of election that passed during Ritchie's first term, his second term only lasted three years.

Ritchie was one of the last strong upholders of states' rights, gaining national prominence in 1922 with his stand against President Harding during the Western Maryland coal strike, and his strenuous opposition to the Volstead Act. His legislative program was in three main areas: state government reorganization, increased representation for Baltimore City, and reduction in the number of elections. The first governor of Maryland reelected since the Civil War, Ritchie loomed as a serious contender for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1924 until the compromise on John W. Davis. Ritchie worked hard for the ticket, and at home achieved reforms in mental health, shellfish conservation, and law enforcement while continuing to fight federal encroachments on state prerogatives.

Third term

Ritchie had announced early on his intentions to seek a third term as Governor, but, unlike in 1919 and 1923, he faced opposition in the primary elections of 1926. Ritchie's old rival, William Milnes Maloy, whom Ritchie had defeated in 1915 for nomination to Attorney General, again chose to challenge Ritchie for the Democratic nomination. Ritchie was easily nominated, having defeated Maloy by 81,500 votes. During the general election, Ritchie was challenged by Republican Addison Mullikin, who made issue of the Conowingo Dam

Conowingo Dam

The Conowingo Dam is a large hydroelectric dam in the Lower Susquehanna River. The dam, one of the largest non-federal hydroelectric dams in the US, is classified as a medium height, masonry gravity type dam...

construction project which he felt Ritchie had handled poorly. Nevertheless, Ritchie won the election by over 60,000 votes and won Baltimore City and 14 of 23 counties in the state. He was sworn in for his third term on January 12, 1927.

During his third term, Ritchie further worked with the state transportation system, calling for the construction of new highways and bridges, and for the improvement of the railways. Ritchie also pursued one of the earliest programs of conservation of the Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...

, enacting strict game and fishing legislation. A corruption scandal emerged towards the end of Ritchie's third term involving employees of the State Roads Commission who were accused of embezzling

Embezzlement

Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....

$376,000. After a long investigation, and after Ritchie established a committee to investigate the allegations, those responsible were arrested. The Governor and the State Roads Commission were absolved from blame.

Fourth term

Ritchie was nominated for a fourth term in September 1930. State Senator David McIntosh of Baltimore County had initially announced his candidacy for governor, but withdrew upon Ritchie's announcement that he would seek renomination. Ritchie secured renomination easily, and faced William Broening, the Republican Mayor of Baltimore, during the general election. Ritchie won re-election by one of the largest majorities up to that time, having won by a plurality of 66,770 votes.

By early 1931 unemployment stood at 19.2%. Governor Albert C. Ritchie was a stalwart opponent of federal intervention in local affairs, and continued to urge programs sponsored by the business community itself. Social welfare agencies based on state support expanded services as much as possible, but beyond pushing ahead with all feasible public works projects the state did little. Baltimore established a Commission on Employment Stabilization but found work for only one-fifth of the job-seekers. Baltimore relief agencies were soon overwhelmed and the election of Mayor Howard W. Jackson, although bringing about municipal loans to the Citizens' Emergency Relief Committee, showed that local aid was simply inadequate. Ritchie agreed to issue state bonds to aid Baltimore, but would not borrow from President Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover

Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...

's new Reconstruction Finance Corporation

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was an independent agency of the United States government, established and chartered by the US Congress in 1932, Act of January 22, 1932, c. 8, 47 Stat. 5, during the administration of President Herbert Hoover. It was modeled after the War Finance Corporation...

until mid-1933, and his luxury tax program met stiff opposition from county representatives opposed to new tobacco taxes. Originally planned for $8 million, the Baltimore bond issue had to be $12 million as the state economy floundered. Only reluctantly was federal assistance finally accepted.

Ritchie had established a national reputation during the convention of 1924 and was admired by the conservative wing of the Democratic party; he was a wet who appealed to the urban vote. He was convinced that Roosevelt would not get the necessary two-thirds vote to win the nomination, and that Al Smith

Al Smith

Alfred Emanuel Smith. , known in private and public life as Al Smith, was an American statesman who was elected the 42nd Governor of New York three times, and was the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate in 1928...

would help Ritchie obtain the nomination. Ritchie was well-received at the 1932 Chicago convention, and James A. Farley offered him the vice-presidential nomination with Roosevelt. Ritchie refused, hoping that Smith's men would stop Roosevelt. However, John Nance Garner

John Nance Garner

John Nance Garner, IV , was the 32nd Vice President of the United States and the 44th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives .- Early life and family :...

accepted Farley's proposal to release Garner's delegates in exchange for the vice-presidency, and William G. McAdoo delivered California's votes to Roosevelt. Ritchie failed in his bid to win the nomination.

Throughout his 15 years as Governor, Ritchie called the legislature into special session several times, including once in 1920 to vote on women's suffrage

Women's suffrage

Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...

in Maryland, and again in 1933 to ratify the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1933. Ritchie tried, but failed to achieve nomination as President during the election of 1932

United States presidential election, 1932

The United States presidential election of 1932 took place as the effects of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, the Revenue Act of 1932, and the Great Depression were being felt intensely across the country. President Herbert Hoover's popularity was falling as...

, and declined an offer by Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

to be his running mate.

Defeated for fifth term

Ritchie's popularity as governor reached its peak during the early years of his fourth term, but gradually began to wane because of growing jealously within the party as a result of his long tenure as Governor, and because of a lynching

Lynching in the United States

Lynching, the practice of killing people by extrajudicial mob action, occurred in the United States chiefly from the late 18th century through the 1960s. Lynchings took place most frequently in the South from 1890 to the 1920s, with a peak in the annual toll in 1892.It is associated with...

that had occurred on the Maryland Eastern Shore. Although Ritchie's model, business-like government had thoroughly modernized Maryland, he had forged a Democratic party organization which his opponents attacked as a "machine." In 1934 Ritchie was seeking his fifth term and "Ritchie forever" seemed a real possibility. However, Dr. Charles Conley cut heavily into the Ritchie vote in the Democratic primary, and Republican opponent Harry W. Nice attacked the governor's relief efforts and promised to be "more new Dealish" than the conservative Ritchie. While a Ritchie victory was widely predicted, when Nice took all but three counties the postmortems agreed that the governor's longevity 'and the cry of `too long' ' was the fundamental explanation, although the opposition of Baltimore blacks and labor also seemed significant. In the general election Nice defeated Ritchie 253,813 to 247,644.

He was also a member of Civitan International.

Death

After his defeat, Ritchie returned to his law practice in Baltimore. On February 24, 1936, Ritchie died suddenly and unexpectedly of what was determined to be a cerebral hemorrhage. After a private funeral, Ritchie's body was placed on public display for several days and was viewed by thousands of mourners. He was interred at Greenmount Cemetery

Greenmount Cemetery

Green Mount Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as a large number of prominent Baltimore-area families...

, where he was buried next to his father and mother.

Election history

Governor of Maryland

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|bgcolor=#DDEEFF |Albert Cabell Ritchie
|bgcolor=#DDEEFF |Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

Harry Nice

Harry Whinna Nice , a member of the United States Republican Party, was the 50th Governor of Maryland in the United States from 1935 to 1939....

|bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |Republican