Henry Horner

Henry Horner ( born November 30, 1879 in Chicago, Illinois, † October 6, 1940 in Winnetka, Illinois ) was an American politician and from 1933 to 1940 the 28th Governor of Illinois.

Early years and political rise

Henry Horner attended the Chicago Manual Training School and the University of Chicago. He then studied at the Chicago Kent College of Jura. After his successful examination and admission to the bar in 1898, he practiced in his hometown. Between 1915 and 1931 Horner judge was in a probate court in Cook County. In 1932 he was appointed by his Democratic Party top candidate for the upcoming gubernatorial election and subsequently elected by the voters in Illinois in this office. He became the first Jewish governor of that state.

Governor of Illinois

Horner took up his new post on January 9, 1933, almost simultaneously with the new President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was inaugurated on March 4 of this year. At the time of taking office the great economic crisis had reached its peak. With the help of the New Deal policies of President the situation improved significantly in the following years. In the tenure of the Horner Prohibition Prohibition was repealed in 1919 again. Thus, the ground bootlegging was nationwide withdrawn. The militant gangster wars took place gradually an end, but not the organized crime that now other areas such as opened up the drug trade. A final highlight of the violence was the assassination of the mayor of Chicago beginning in 1933. Horner led a 2 % sales tax in Illinois. With regard to the electoral system, a voter registration was introduced. Based on a comparison of the signatures so could the identity of the voter can be controlled. A minimum wage for women and miners was introduced in 1933. 1937 followed a law that limited the working day for women to eight hours. In between, a pension law was passed in 1935, which the state pension was introduced in Illinois. Later followed a similar law for the introduction of unemployment insurance. 1937 oil was discovered in Marion County, triggering an oil boom in southern Illinois. In 1933, the 100th anniversary of the city foundation was celebrated in Chicago. On this occasion the waterway from New Orleans was opened to Chicago. In 1934 a major fire destroyed the State Archives, which many historical documents were destroyed. The population growth in Illinois has slowed down significantly in the 1930s. Between 1930 and 1940, the population of the country grew by just 300,000 to 7.9 million. Thus, the increase was smaller than in previous decades. Governor Horner had been confirmed in 1936 in his office. During his second term, he suffered a heart attack from which he eventually died in October 1940. His Lieutenant Governor John point had to do as governor the remaining three months of his tenure. Horner owned a valuable collection of memorabilia to Abraham Lincoln, which he bequeathed to the Historical Society of Illinois.

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