Davis Hanson Waite

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David Hanson Waite
Davis Hanson Waite

In office
1893 – 1895
Lieutenant(s) David Hopkinson Nichols
Preceded by John L. Routt
Succeeded by Albert W. McIntire

Born April 9, 1825
Jamestown, New York
Died November 27, 1901
Political party Populist

Davis Hanson Waite (April 9, 1825-November 27, 1901), U.S. Populist Party and Democratic Party politician, He served as Governor of Colorado from 1893 to 1895. He was born in Jamestown, New York, and served in the state legislatures of Wisconsin in 1857, and Kansas in 1879, before eventually moving to Colorado, where he started the local newspaper in Aspen, Colorado and was secretary in the local assembly of the Knights of Labor.

A passionate supporter of the Populist Party's Omaha Platform, he was nicknamed "Bloody Bridles" for an 1893 speech, in which he proclaimed, "It is better, infinitely better that blood should flow to the horses' bridles rather than our national liberties should be destroyed." [1]

As governor, Waite supported the Western Federation of Miners in its successful 1894 Cripple Creek Strike and the American Railroad Union during the national Pullman Strike. He was also instrumental in the passage of women's suffrage in Colorado during his governorship. He was defeated for reelection in 1894, but continued to be active in the Populist movement until his death preparing Thanksgiving dinner in 1901.

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[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Goodwin, Lawrence (1978). The Populist Moment: A Short History of the Agrarian Revolt in America. Oxford University Press, page 185. ISBN 0-19-502417-6. 
Preceded by
Alva Adams
Governor of Colorado
1893-1895
Succeeded by
John Long Routt