Military service and legal work
Green served in the U.S. Army during the
Spanish-American WarThe Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
. He was a first lieutenant in the 31st Michigan Volunteer Infantry and later was promoted to battalion
adjutantAdjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
. After the war, he returned to Ypsilanti as the
city attorneyA city attorney can be an elected or appointed position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the city or municipality....
, as well as attorney for the Ypsilanti Reed Furniture Company, a business he later owned in a partnership. His furniture company in Ionia was "one of the largest industries of its kind in the country."
Politics
In 1904, he moved the business to Ionia, where. He was a delegate to
Republican National ConventionThe Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
from
MichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
in 1912, where U.S. President
William Howard TaftWilliam Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
was renominated. Green served as mayor of Ionia from 1913 to 1916. From 1915 to 1919, he was treasurer of the
Michigan Republican PartyThe Michigan Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in Michigan. It is sometimes referred to as MIGOP, which simply means Michigan Grand Old Party....
. In 1920, he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention that nominated
Warren G. HardingWarren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
for U.S. President.
On November 2, 1926, Green was elected Governor of Michigan. He was re-elected to a second two-year term in 1928. On May 18, 1927, the afternoon of the
Bath School disasterThe Bath School disaster is the name given to three bombings in Bath Township, Michigan, on May 18, 1927, which killed 38 elementary school children, two teachers, four other adults and the bomber himself; at least 58 people were injured. Most of the victims were children in the second to sixth...
, Green assisted in the relief work, carting bricks away from the scene. In 1928, he served as a delegate to the RNC which nominated Commerce Secretary
Herbert HooverHerbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
for president.
Howard C. LawrenceHoward C. Lawrence was an American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.- Biography :Lawrence was born in Sebewa Township, Michigan in Ionia County, the son of Cyrus S. Lawrence and Margaret Lawrence. He resided in Ionia, Saginaw and Grand Rapids...
was Green's secretary and business partner. During his administration, Green expanded a fish planting program and took part in the acquisition of seven state parks. He initiated a comprehensive budget system, authorized a new code of criminal practices, secured appropriations for a state hospital building program, and improved workmen's compensation.
The Green administration was notably important in modernizing Michigan's highways. He is touted as the "inventor of the no passing lane", which was adopted as an important safety improvement throughout the country. He was also an early proponent of the
Mackinac BridgeThe Mackinac Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac to connect the non-contiguous Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. Opened in 1957, the bridge is the third longest in total suspension in the world and the longest suspension bridge between anchorages...
.
On October 22, 1927, Governor Green participated in the dedication of the new
University of Michigan Football StadiumMichigan Stadium, nicknamed "The Big House," is the football stadium for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan Stadium was built in 1927 at a cost of $950,000 and had an original capacity of 72,000. Before playing football at the stadium, the Wolverines played on Ferry Field...
: "Michigan Governor Fred W. Green and his Ohio counterpart Vince Donahey, and Presidents C.C. Little of Michigan and George W. Rightmire of Ohio, led the massed bands of the two universities onto the field from the east tunnel. The bands paraded to the flag pole where the national ensign was raised and the vast throng stood bareheaded during the playing of the 'Star Spangled Banner' and 'The Yellow and Blue.'"
In 1927, he appointed Arthur Hendrick Vandenberg, who was editor of the Grand Rapids Herald, to the
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
to replace as the late Senator Woodbridge N. Ferris. He chose Vandenberg only when pressured to do so by the state Republican organization.
In 1928, Green's campaign created the slogan "Keep Michigan Green" as apart of a fire prevention program.
Retirement and death
After leaving office, Green returned to his favorite pastime of hunting and fishing. In 1932, Green served as a delegate to the RNC which nominated
Herbert HooverHerbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
for re-election, who was defeated by
Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
. In 1936, he again served as a delegate to the RNC which nominated
Alf LandonAlfred Mossman "Alf" Landon was an American Republican politician, who served as the 26th Governor of Kansas from 1933–1937. He was best known for being the Republican Party's nominee for President of the United States, defeated in a landslide by Franklin D...
for U.S. President, who was also unsuccessful at unseating Roosevelt. He was a Presbyterian and a member of the
FreemasonsFreemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
,
ElksThe Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is an American fraternal order and social club founded in 1868...
and
RotaryRotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
.
Fred Green died in Munising Hospital in
Munising, MichiganMunising is a city on the southern shore of Lake Superior on the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,539. It is the county seat of Alger County...
on November 30, 1936, ten days after suffering a
heart attackMyocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
while on a deer hunting trip. He is entombed in a mausoleum at the Highland Park Cemetery in
Ionia, MichiganIonia is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Ionia County, Michigan, United States. The population was 11,394 at the 2010 census. Every late July it hosts what may be the world's largest free-admission fair...
.
His accumulated papers, two linear feet and five volumes, are at the
Bentley Historical LibraryThe Bentley Historical Library is a historical library located on the University of Michigan's North Campus in Ann Arbor. It was established in 1935 by the regents of the University of Michigan...
at the University of Michigan.
Sources
External links