Joseph Ritner | |
|---|---|
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| 8thGovernor of Pennsylvania | |
| In office December 15, 1835 – January 15, 1839 | |
| Preceded by | George Wolf |
| Succeeded by | David R. Porter |
| 17thSpeaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives | |
| In office 1826–1869 | |
| Preceded by | Joel Barlow Sutherland |
| Succeeded by | Ner Middleswarth |
| Member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives | |
| In office 1820–1826 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1780-03-25)March 25, 1780 Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | October 16, 1869(1869-10-16) (aged 89) Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican(before 1828) Anti-Masonic(1828–1839) Whig(1839–1854) Republican(1854–1869) |
| Spouse | Susan Alter (1801–1852; her death) |
| Profession | Farmer |
| Signature | .png) |
Joseph Ritner (March 25, 1780 – October 16, 1869)[1] was the eighthgovernor of Pennsylvania,[2] and was a member of theAnti-Masonic Party.[3][4] Elected governor during the1835 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, he served from 1835 to 1839.[5]
Controversy surrounding his defeat in the1838 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election sparked theBuckshot War.[6][7]
In 1856, Governor Ritner served as a delegate to the firstRepublican National Convention inPhiladelphia.[8]
Ritner was born inReading, Pennsylvania, on March 25, 1780. His parents were ofGerman heritage, and Ritner was primarily self-educated, including learning to read and write in English, while also acquiring a working knowledge of German.[9] He moved toCumberland County as a teenager, where he worked as a farm hand and laborer until he purchased a farm of his own inWashington County. In 1801, Ritner married Susan Alter,[10] and they were the parents of 10 children.[10] The Washington County farm had been owned by Ritner's wife's uncle, and included a large library, which enabled Ritner to continue his efforts at self-study.[10]
During theWar of 1812, Ritner served first as commander of a Washington County militia company, the Rifle Rangers. He later served as a private with his regiment in western Pennsylvania andOhio.
In 1820, Ritner was elected road supervisor in Washington County. Later that year he was elected to thePennsylvania House of Representatives as aDemocratic-Republican. He was reelected five times, and wasSpeaker in his final two terms.[11][12]
Ritner became involved with the Anti-Masonic movement in the late 1820s, and after two defeats byGeorge Wolf in his bids to become governor,[13] he was finally successful during the 1835 election. A large crowd attended his inaugural ceremonies on December 15, 1835.[14]
When theSecond Bank of the United States lost its federal charter in 1836, Ritner signed legislation giving it a state charter. As a supporter of public education, Ritner prevented repeal of Pennsylvania's Public School Law of 1834, and succeeded in passage of an enhanced public school measure in 1836.[15]
An ardent opponent of slavery, Ritner was the inspiration for an abolitionist poem byJohn Greenleaf Whittier, 1836'sRitner, in which Whittier praised the anti-slavery sentiment of the governor's annual message to the state legislature.[16]
Toward the end of his tenure as governor, major changes were effected in Pennsylvania's system of state governance. The Pennsylvania State Constitution was amended, all White freemen over the age of twenty-one were given the right to vote, and the practice of awarding official positions as "life offices" was abolished.[17]
Ritner's reputation, however, was negatively affected by Anti-Masonic efforts to gerrymander state legislative districts for their benefit. In addition, as Anti-Masons attempted to expand their support by taking positions on other issues, including expanded construction of public works. During this time, Ritner was criticized for allegedly using public rail and canal projects as a source of patronage.
When he ran for a second term as aWhig Party-supported, Anti-Masonic candidate during the controversial1838 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, which grew increasingly heated as anti-Masonic and anti-abolitionist rhetoric rose,[18] he narrowly lost toDemocratic nomineeDavid Rittenhouse Porter, who, as aGrand Master of the Huntingdon Lodge of theFreemasons, had risen to the level of Deputy Grand Master of his Masonic district.[19] Ritner and his supporters then unsuccessfully attempted to contest the election, including an effort by Ritner to mobilize the state militia, which sparked theBuckshot War. (The militia were to be armed with buckshot, thus giving the event its name.)[20][21]
After leaving office, Ritner settled on a farm in Cumberland County. He suffered from cataracts, and surgery in 1839 restored the sight in his right eye, though he remained blind in his left.[22]
With the end of the Anti-Masonic Party, Ritner actively supported the Whigs. In 1849 newly elected Whig PresidentZachary Taylor nominated Ritner for the post ofDirector of the United States Mint, then inPhiladelphia. Taylor died before the nomination was acted on, so Ritner was never confirmed.
Ritner joined theRepublican Party when it was founded in the mid-1850s, and was a delegate to the1856 Republican National Convention.
He died on October 16, 1869,[23][24] and was buried at Mount Rock Cemetery in Mount Rock, Pennsylvania.[25][26]
Governor Ritner has a residence hall named in his honor on the University Park campus ofPenn State. Ritner Street inPhiladelphia is also named in his honor.
In 1938, the state of Pennsylvania dedicated the Governor Ritner Highway, which connectsCarlisle andShippensburg along Route 11 in Cumberland County.
| Party political offices | ||
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| First | Anti-Masonic nominee forGovernor of Pennsylvania 1829,1832,1835,1838 | Succeeded by None |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Pennsylvania 1835–1839 | Succeeded by |
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