Tom Berry

Thomas Matthew Berry ( born April 23, 1879 in Paddock, Nebraska, † October 30, 1951 in Rapid City, South Dakota ) was an American politician and from 1933 to 1937 the 14th Governor of South Dakota.

Early years

Thomas Berry attended local schools in O'Neal in Nebraska. In 1897 he moved to South Dakota. Finally Over the Gregory County and Todd County he arrived in the Mellette County. There he built on a 120 -square-mile ranch where he raised cattle and horses. Berry was a member of the Democratic Party. Between 1925 and 1931 he was a deputy in the regional parliament of South Dakota and a member of the Board of the Custer State Park ( Custer State Park ). In 1932 he was elected as a candidate of his party for the new Governor of South Dakota. He benefited from the nationwide trend in favor of the Democrats, the highlight of which was the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt as the new U.S. president.

Governor of South Dakota

Thomas Berry took up his new post on January 3, 1933. After a re-election in 1934, he could remain in office until January 5, 1937. During this time, the gradual recovery of the country from the effects of the Great Depression that the country had haunted since 1929 fell. He mainly benefited from the New Deal policies of Roosevelt, which he supported. Between 1935 and 1936 he was also Federal Commissioner for the implementation of this policy in South Dakota ( Federal Relief Administrator). Berry succeeded in time, to reduce the national debt and to introduce unemployment insurance in South Dakota. The property tax was abolished and a sales tax instead. In 1936, Thomas Berry ran for a third term. But this time he was defeated in the elections, the Republicans Leslie Jensen.

Further CV

In the years 1938 and 1942, Berry competed each unsuccessfully for a seat in the U.S. Senate. For this he was 1942-1947 President of the Farm Credit Administration, an organization for monitoring the loans granted to the farmers. Thomas Berry died in October 1951. He was married to Lorena McClein, with whom he had four children.