Jack C. Walton

John Callaway "Jack" Walton (* March 6, 1881 in Indianapolis, Indiana, † November 25, 1949 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ) was an American politician (Democratic Party), and in 1923, the fifth Governor of the State of Oklahoma.

Early years and political rise

Even as a child Jack Walton moved with his parents from Indiana to Nebraska and then to Arkansas. During the Spanish- American War, he was a field artilleryman in the U.S. Army. He studied engineering in Mexico, before settling in Oklahoma City in 1903.

Until 1919 he worked in the City Council of Oklahoma City. His local time was interrupted by the First World War, where he served as a Colonel in the U.S. Army. Between 1919 and 1923 he was mayor of Oklahoma City. In 1922 he was elected governor of his state, where he prevailed with 54:45 percent of the vote to Republican John Fields.

Governor of Oklahoma

Walton took up his new post on January 8, 1923. His term was to last only until November 19 of this year. This was a successful impeachment proceedings against the governor. Background of these events were triggered by the Ku Klux Klan riots in Tulsa County. To suppress this unrest, Walton had imposed military law over the entire district and repealed the constitutional rights of the residents. This part of his action constituted a violation of the Constitution dar. order to prevent a political and legal review of his actions, Walton had now imposed on the entire state of a state of emergency. These included that he wanted to prohibit the state legislature with the help of the National Guard meetings. The Parliament did not like this treatment, nevertheless met for meetings and put a successful impeachment against the governor in motion. On November 19, Walton was convicted and removed from office. According to the state constitution Vice Governor Martin E. Trapp took over the governorship.

Further CV

After his dismissal as governor Walton tried in spite of everything to remain in politics. In 1924 he applied unsuccessfully for a seat in the U.S. Senate. 1931 failed for reelection as mayor of Oklahoma City and in the years 1934 and 1938, he failed in the primaries of his party when he sought a return to the governorship. Between 1932 and 1939, he was then a member of a government commission (Oklahoma Corporation Commission). Jack Walton died in 1949. He married Madeliene Cecile, with whom he had two children.