Joseph Marshall Walker
Joseph Marshall Walker ( born July 1, 1784 in New Orleans, Louisiana; † January 20, 1856 ) was an American politician and 1850-1853 Governor of the State of Louisiana.
Early years
Marshall was the son of an English father and a Creole. At the time of his birth today, Louisiana was still a Spanish colony. The young Marshall enjoyed a rather average education, but was very good at languages . He spoke fluent Spanish, French and English. In 1807 he went to Mexico, where he joined the Spanish army and then head to a military school in Chihuahua was.
Political rise
During the war of 1812, Walker served in the militia of Louisiana, which had become part of the United States. He participated in the Battle of New Orleans. In the following years he stood beside his political activity member of the militia, in whose ranks he rose to brigadier general. In the years 1822, 1832 and 1836, he was elected to the House of Representatives from Louisiana. In between, he was in 1824 in the Senate of Louisiana. Walker was also a member of a conference, which revised the state constitution in 1845. From 1845 to 1849 he was Minister of Finance from Louisiana.
Governor of Louisiana
Joseph Marshall was a member of the Democratic Party and was elected as its candidate on November 5, 1849 the new governor of his state. Walker stepped up his new post on January 28, 1850. He was the first governor of this state, which was introduced in the new capital Baton Rouge in his office. The seat of government was moved there until 1849. In Marshall's tenure, the waterways were expanded and built dikes for flood protection. In addition, the expansion of the railway network was advanced. In the education sector free public schools were introduced throughout the state for white children. The first few years earlier revised constitution was very unpopular in Louisiana. Therefore, it was revised again in 1852. But Governor Walker could not come to terms with the outcome of constitutional reform and kicked for this reason on 18 January 1853 by his office.
Further CV
After his resignation he retired to his plantation in Rapides Parish. His party offered him a candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives, but he refused. Joseph Marshall died in January 1856., With his wife Catherine Carter he had twelve children.