Sam C. Ford

Samuel Clarence " Sam" Ford ( born November 7, 1882 in Albany, Kentucky, † November 25, 1961 in Helena, Montana ) was an American lawyer and politician and from 1941 to 1949, the twelfth Governor of the State of Montana.

Early years and political rise

Sam Ford was born in Kentucky and grew up in Kansas. There he attended the public schools. Then he studied until 1906 at the University of Kansas law. After moving to Helena, Montana where he opened a law office. Between 1908 and 1914 he was also Deputy Attorney General for Montana. From 1917 to 1921 he was Attorney General of that State. Until 1929 he devoted himself back to his private practice before he was appointed 1929-1933 as a judge to the Montana Supreme Court. On November 5, 1940, he was elected as a candidate of the Republican Party as the new governor, where he prevailed with 50.7 percent of the vote against the Democratic incumbent Roy E. Ayers.

Governor of Montana

Ford took up his new post on January 6, 1941. After a successful re-election in 1944 he was able to exercise it until January 3, 1949. The first part of his tenure was marked by the events of the Second World War when the United States took part after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor since December 7, 1941. Industrial production had to be changed as in the other U.S. states on military needs. Soldiers had to be patterned. After the war, the production had to be moved back to civil needs and the returning soldiers reintegrate into society. Domestically could set a balanced budget the governor. The widespread bureaucracy in administration was dismantled. In addition, a project for the development of the Missouri River was initiated. This included the construction of dams to combat floods and power plants for the production of electricity. Similar projects were also conducted in North and South Dakota in the way.

In 1948, Ford competed unsuccessfully for a third term. He retired to private life and then died in 1961 after a long illness. Ford was married to Mary L. Shobe, with whom he had four children.