Albert Ritchie
Albert Cabell Ritchie ( born August 29, 1876 in Richmond, Virginia; † February 24, 1936 in Baltimore, Maryland ) was an American politician (Democratic Party) and 1920-1935 Governor of Maryland.
Early years and political rise
Ritchie first attended private schools in his homeland. Then he studied until 1896 at the Johns Hopkins University. After a subsequent law studies at the University of Maryland, he was admitted in 1898 as a lawyer. He then worked in a community law firm, before he took the city of Baltimore legally 1903-1910. Also in 1903 he founded with a partner in his own law firm, which he led until 1919. Between 1910 and 1913 he represented as a lawyer the concerns of the citizens against the public institutions of the city of Baltimore ( Public Service Commission ). In this capacity he fought, among other things, a reduction in gas and electricity prices.
Between 1915 and 1919 he served as Minister of Justice ( Attorney General ) of the State of Maryland. On November 4, 1919, he was elected as a candidate of his party to Republican Harry Nice as the new governor of his state.
Governor of Maryland
Albert Ritchie took up his new post on 14 January 1920. After he was re-elected in the years 1923, 1926 and 1930 respectively, he could remain in office until January 9, 1935. During his tenure, the school system in Maryland have been improved and expanded the streets of the state. The apparatus of government was restructured and adopted a new law regulating compensation for accidents at work. Ritchie was an opponent of Prohibition, and thus also against the 18th Amendment. A strike by miners in 1922 could be ended through negotiation and without violence. Governor Ritchie hardly worked with the federal government together under Presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. Because of a law that postponed the election dates in Maryland, his second term was shortened by one year. The governor also promoted agriculture.
His last years as governor were overshadowed by the Great Depression. The taxes were lowered in Maryland as a countermeasure. In the years 1924 and 1932, Ritchie was a Democratic presidential candidate in the interview. In 1932 he turned down an offer from Franklin D. Roosevelt to run for vice president. In 1934, Ritchie applied again to his re-election. But this time he lost to Harry Nice. The reasons for its defeat were on the one hand the poor economic situation and on the other hand, intra-party tensions.
After the end of his tenure, he was working as a lawyer again. In February 1936, he died unexpectedly in Baltimore. He was married to Elizabeth Catherine Baker, from whom he was divorced in 1916. He has not remarried and had no children.