Ohio Governor Gravesites: #37 Joseph B. Foraker

Joseph B. Foraker

Born: July 5 1846
Died: May 10, 1917
Political Party: Republican
Term of Office: January 14, 1886 - January 12, 1890
Buried: Spring Grove Cemetery Cincinnati, Ohio
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   Joseph Foraker was born in Highland County, Ohio in 1846 to a farming family. When Foraker was 15 he went to stay with an Uncle who worked as a County auditor. Having little previous schooling, this gave him the chance to learn more as he clerked for his Uncle. At the age of 16 he joined the Union Army eventually earning the rank of Captain. He served under General William Tecumseh Sherman during his March to the Sea.

   After the war, Foraker attended Ohio Wesleyan University before going to study law at Cornell University. Foraker graduated from law school at Cornell in 1869, which also happened to be Cornell's first graduating class of 8 total students. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in October 1869, after moving to Cincinnati and started practicing law.

   Foraker became a successful lawyer, gaining a reputation as a well spoken Republican. In 1879, he entered politics by being elected as a judge on Cincinnati's superior court. In 1883, Foraker was chosen as the Republican candidate for Governor of Ohio. But after Republican Governor Charles Foster raised taxes on liquor, it really hurt any Republicans chance of winning the election. Foraker lost in 1883 to Democrat George Hoadly.

Foraker was chosen as an at large delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1884 along with Congressman and future President William McKinley and Cleveland political boss Mark Hanna. Foraker was persuaded to nominate Senator John Sherman (brother of General William Tecumseh Sherman) from Ohio for President. Sherman ultimately lost the nomination to James G. Blaine. But his involvement in the Convention gave him national recognition. He was even considered as a VP Candidate for Blaine, receiving one delegates vote. Having become a more familiar face and name, he ran again in 1885, beating Hoadly this time.

   As Governor, Foraker worked to end voter fraud, worked to end corruption at the city level of government, created a state board of health, and pushed for greater oversite on the management of the state prisons, among many other things. He won reelection in 1887.

   In 1887, President Cleveland asked that all southern battle flags captured by the north during the Civil War be returned to the south. Foraker refused, saying that it wasn't going to happen while he was Governor. Foraker was hailed a hero by many for his refusing the President's request, receiving thousands of congratulatory messages. Not long after, Foraker visited Philadelphia to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Constitution. In one of the parades, Foraker rode past President Cleveland as he and other Civil War Veterans waved some of the south's captured battle flags that Cleveland asked be returned.

A split occurred in the Ohio Republican party during Foraker's 2nd term when he refused Mark Hanna's recommendation for who should serve as Ohio's state oil inspector. By splitting with the Hanna, McKinley, Sherman wing of the party, Foraker lost reelection to a 3rd term in 1889. Mark Hanna played a big part in James A. Garfield's successful 1880 Presidential Campaign, and it seemed that Foraker was being groomed for a future Presidential run. But after the split with Hanna, Hanna seemed to focus his attention on making William McKinley President some day. Which he did.

    Foraker returned to practice law in Cincinnati. He began to heal the wounds of the split when in 1891, he agreed to William McKinley's request to put forward his name at the state Republican convention for Governor of Ohio. But things heated up again when Foraker unsuccessfully tried to take the Republican nomination for Senator away from John Sherman in the election of 1892. But later that year, Hanna and Foraker made peace when Foraker agreed to Hanna's request to put William McKinley's name in nomination for President at the 1892 Republican National Convention. McKinley lost the nomination to President Benjamin Harrison and James G. Blaine. But 4 years later, McKinley won the nomination and the White House.

    Foraker's influence in Ohio Republican politics reached a peak in the Republican state convention in 1895. Foraker chose an ally, Asa Bushnell to be candidate for Governor, and positioned himself as candidate for the U.S. Senate. Both Bushnell and Foraker won the offices that they were seeking. Foraker once again put McKinley's name up for nomination at the Republican National Convention in 1896. He also gave the nominating speech for McKinley. On March 4, 1897, Joseph Foraker took his seat as a US Senator. It was also the same day that McKinley became President.

Joseph Foraker served 2- 6 year terms in the Senate. In that time, he was a useful ally to his once rival President McKinley. But when Theodore Roosevelt became President he would often find himself at odds with some of his policies. Foraker would try for the Republican nomination for President in 1908, but was soundly defeated by Theodore Roosevelt's heir apparent William Howard Taft.

In his first term as Senator, Foraker was given money in exchange for offering legal advice to Standard Oil. This sort of thing was fairly common back then. But the "conflict of interest" factor was just starting to become an issue. This became public knowledge around the time that he was running for a 3rd term in the Senate. He lost the election and returned to practicing law in Cincinnati. He took another shot at the Senate in 1914, but lost to future President Warren G. Harding. Foraker died in Cincinnati in 1917.

Joseph Foraker was the 5th Governor grave we found in Spring Grove Cemetery in February 2012.