Best 10 American Governors (Patreon)

Best 10 American Governors

Here are the 10 best governors in American history, according to Mr. Beat. For his 10 WORST governors in American history, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eQjl2Br-XY Want a specific history topic covered? Your idea gets picked when you donate on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/iammrbeat Mr. Beat's band: http://electricneedleroom.net/ Mr. Beat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/beatmastermatt Honorable mentions: James Blanchard Sam Houston Bill Weld Floyd Olsen George Clinton Mario Cuomo Pat Brown Epaphroditus Ransom - Shout out to Mr. Dunn for bringing him to my attention Gary Johnson William Seward Adelbert Ames Oliver Morton Terry Sanford Benjamin Gatz Brown Earl Long William Milliken Edwin Johnson Andrew Gregg Curtin Music by Tabby Cat. Produced by Matt Beat. All images found in the public domain, used under fair use guidelines, or original content from Matt Beat. Creative commons image credits: CC-BY-SA-3.0/Matt H. Wade at Wikipedia Runner1928 McGhiever Gage Skidmore Famartin Joe Loong Matthew D. Wilson Mr. Beat's top 10 governors, with sources referenced: #10 James Beaver https://web.archive.org/web/20070501001930/http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/governors/beaver.asp?secid=31 https://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-3BD #9 Ann Richards https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/archive/html/exec/governors/31.html https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Lessons-from-governor-Ann-Richards-Play-12707682.php #8 Jesse “The Body” Ventura https://www.thenation.com/article/ventura-legacy/ http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200212/17_mccalluml_venturalegacy/ Don't Start the Revolution Without Me! by Jesse Ventura #7 Clyde Tingley https://www.abqjournal.com/327880/clyde-tingley-a-man-for-all-seasons.html https://www.abqjournal.com/637303/author-seeks-help-in-telling-other-half-of-clyde-tingley-story.html Clyde Tingley's New Deal for New Mexico: 1935-1938 by Lucinda Lucero Sachs #6 Percival Baxter https://www.friendsofbaxter.org/park/baxters-vision https://maineanencyclopedia.com/percival-p-baxter/ #5 DeWitt Clinton https://www.nga.org/governor/dewitt-clinton/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeWitt_Clinton #4 George Romney https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/08/how-george-romney-championed-civil-rights-and-challenged-his-church/261073/ #3 William Seward https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/78406/10-resolute-facts-about-william-seward #2 Huey Long https://time.com/4020709/huey-long-anniversary/ https://www.hueylong.com/life-times/governor.php https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/06/12/the-big-sleazy Yeah, I know...he’s turned into a meme, and he still is a controversial figure, but the more I’ve learned about Huey Long over the years, the more I appreciate him. Governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932, today he is known as your standard populist...or even demagogue. And that’s fair, he often told people what they wanted to hear, but I think he really believed what he said. When he ran for governor, he ran under the slogan “every man a king, but no one wears a crown.” His whole thing was that the rich were exploiting the poor in his state, so it was time the poor finally got their due. He campaigned in the rural areas of the state often neglected by the New Orleans and Baton Rouge elite. It’s important to realize that in 1928, during a time of widespread poverty and 75% illiteracy in Louisiana, a poll tax and literacy tests kept most of the poor from voting in the state. But Long handily won in the election thanks to those rural voters, and he scared the crap out of the political establishment, especially with all this talk of taxing the rich more. Long got a bad rap since he did fire many of his opponents once in office. Loyalty was huge to him. But once he consolidated his power, he got lots done, creating a free textbook program for schoolchildren and building up roads, bridges, hospitals, and schools. He literally would show up announced to the Senate or House to almost bully his legislation through when opponents tried to block it. He didn’t feel bad, though, since these opponents were usually funded by business interests. #1 Robert La Follette https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-035/ Robert La Follette cared. And he was extremely influential. Governor of Wisconsin from 1901 to 1906, La Follette was one of the key figures of the entire Progressive Era. He became the poster child of “The Wisconsin Idea,” which called for the breaking up of monopolies and trusts and an end to out of control income inequality. La Follette also believed it was due time that democracy had expanded in the country. As governor, he was able to weaken the railroad monopoly by taxing and regulating the industry. He also made direct primary elections a thing and reformed the state civil service. Fighting Bob was also a charismatic speaker who inspired tens of thousands. #bestgovernors #ushistory #usgovernors