George N. Craig
Encyclopedia
George North Craig was the 39th Governor
Governor of Indiana
The Governor of Indiana is the chief executive of the state of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term, and responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government. The governor also shares power with other statewide...

 of the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

 from 1953 until 1957. A lawyer and veteran of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 who was promoted to serve in a division command staff, Craig first gained popularity in the state as national commander of the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...

. He was a political outsider when he ran for governor and was at odds with more conservative party leadership during his time in office. Although he made significant reforms, his term ended with a high profile bribery scandal when it was found that several high level state employees had been accepting bribes to influence their decision in assigning construction contracts. Craig was personally uninvolved in the scandal but was held responsible for it by the public, ending his political career.

At odds with party leaders, and angered by the bribery scandal, he left the state after his term and moved to Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 were he opened a law office and later became president of an automotive company. After a decade he returned to Indiana where he retired from public life, but resumed activity in the Republican Party as a political adviser until his death in 1992.

Family and background

George Craig was born August 6, 1909, in Brazil, Indiana
Brazil, Indiana
Brazil is a city in Clay County, Indiana, United States. The population was 7,912 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Clay County. It is part of the Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, the son of attorney Bernard C. and Clo Branson Craig. He attended local public schools and graduated from Brazil High School in 1927. He enrolled the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...

 in the same year and continued there until 1929. He later admitted that he spent little time studying and joined Kappa Beta Phi
Kappa Beta Phi
Kappa Beta Phi is a secret honor society, mentioned in a Wall Street Journal article that appeared on January 16, 2009, for Wall Street financial executives....

, a school forbidden drinking fraternity. He left the school before graduating and decided to become a lawyer. His enrolled in Indiana University School of Law
Indiana University School of Law
Indiana University School of Law may refer to either of two independent law schools operated by the Indiana University system, namely:*Indiana University Maurer School of Law , located on the campus of Indiana University Bloomington...

in 1930, but was required to meet with the school dean, Paul V. McNutt
Paul V. McNutt
Paul Vories McNutt was an American politician who served as the 34th Governor of Indiana during the Great Depression, high commissioner to the Philippines, administrator of the Federal Security Agency, chairman of the War Manpower Commission and ambassador to the Philippines.-Family and...

, to explain his poor grades in Arizona. After promising to apply himself he was accepted into the school.

Among Craig's classmates was William E. Jenner
William E. Jenner
William Ezra Jenner was a U.S. Republican Indiana State and U.S. Senator.Jenner was born in Marengo, Crawford County, Indiana. He graduated with a Law degree from Indiana University School of Law - Bloomington in 1930, and set up practice in Paoli, Indiana...

, who would later become his primary opponent within the Republican Party. The two often argued over politics while in school together. In 1931 Craig married his fellow classmate Kathryn Louisa Heiliger. After graduating with a law degree in 1932, the couple returned to Clay County
Clay County, Indiana
Clay County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 26,890. The county seat is Brazil. Clay County is included in the Terre Haute, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :Clay County was formed in 1825...

 where they had two children, Margery and John, and Craig began practicing law in his father's firm. As the Great Depression set in, demand for lawyers dropped and Craig had only a few cases a year. He began to become involved in local politics and became the chairman of the county Republican Party in 1938. The following year he became the town of Brazil's attorney. In 1940 he was able to have himself named a candidate for lieutenant governor at the state convention, but was defeated in the vote.

World War II

As the United States entered World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Craig decided to enlist in the army. He was mustered in as a first lieutenant in the Eightieth Infantry Division that was training in Camp Bedford Forrest
Camp Forrest
Camp Forrest, located in Tullahoma, Tennessee, was one of the U.S. Army's largest training bases during World War II. It was an active Army post between 1941 and 1946.-History:...

 in Tullahoma, Tennessee
Tullahoma, Tennessee
-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 18,655 people, 7,717 households, and 5,161 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 88.1% White, 7.0% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 1.1% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races...

. He remained with the division for the remainder of the war. His division was soon dispatched to Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 were they participated in the Invasion of Normandy. After commanding a platoon in storming the beach, he was promoted to command a company, and later a battalion in the subsequent liberation of France. After the war he earned a Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster
Oak leaf cluster
An oak leaf cluster is a common device which is placed on U.S. Army and Air Force awards and decorations to denote those who have received more than one bestowal of a particular decoration. The number of oak leaf clusters typically indicates the number of subsequent awards of the decoration...

 and the Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...

 for his service. As the army began invading Germany, he was promoted to the regimental command staff and then the divisional command staff. There he became acquainted with Supreme Allied Commander Dwight Eisenhower who often visited the division level commanders. His friendship with Eisenhower later played an important role in influencing his position on political issues. After the war in Europe ended, Craig was discharged in 1946 with a final rank of lieutenant colonel.

Craig returned home and resumed his father's law practice which he eventually took over. By the end of 1947 he became involved in the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...

 as the Clay County commander. He quickly rose in the organizations rank, becoming the vice-commander for the state of Indiana, a national committeeman, and in 1949 he was nominated commander of the national organization. The Legion headquarters were in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

 and the group had significant political influence in the state. Command of the organization had been a stepping stone to the governorship for previous men, but Craig denied that he had such ambitions after being elected to the position. He began to travel national and around the state and became acquainted with many national and international dignitaries and high office holders. The Legion's "Tide for Toys" campaign which was intended to distribute toys to foreign children, was started during his term. He continued his friendship with Eisenhower during his tenure and influenced the organization to support the anti-communist agenda as the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

 set in. He personally delivered a number of anti-communist speeches. After fourteen months as commander he returned to his law firm, which he moved to Indianapolis in December 1950.

Campaign

Publicly, Craig announced he intended to leave public life and work as a lawyer for the rest of his career. Secretly, however, he began making arrangement to run for the governorship of Indiana. He was an outsider to the Republican Party leadership, and owed his rise in the American Legion largely to patronage from Democrats. Craig was considerably less conservative than the party leadership, of whom William Jenner was chief, and knew that any attempt to run would be opposed by them. Knowing that most state convention delegates were reelected to each convention, he launched an unprecedented campaign, by personally meeting with hundreds of potential convention delegates before the May election in 1951. He was able to gain enough support to ensure he would be a contender at the convention, and then announced his intention to run. Jenner and the party chairman attempted to unite support in favor of one of the other five more conservative candidates, but after three rounds of balloting Craig won the nomination. He later credited the popularity of the American Legion for his victory. Harold W. Handley
Harold W. Handley
Harold Willis Handley was the 40th Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from 1957 to 1961. A veteran of World War II, and furniture salesman by trade, Handley began his political career as a state senator. Thanks to his longtime friendship with state party leader and United States Senator William E...

, of the opposing faction, was nominated to run for lieutenant governor.

The national Republican Party was at that time going through a period of internal problems over their position on communism, and the best way to deal with the threat—both internally and externally. Craig brought the national party's problem to the state. Jenner and the party leadership supported faction of the party was virulently anti-communist, but Craig openly sided with Eisenhower and the wing of the party advocating a more measured response to the problem. Jenner was incensed not only by Craig's position on communism, but also on his campaign platform that advocated significant increased state spending and the start of a number of new programs. The difference between Craig and the party continued throughout his time in office. Craig's Democratic opponent was incumbent lieutenant governor John Watkins. Thanks in large part to Eisenhower's popularity, Craig won a landslide victory in the election.

Reform agenda

His agenda was largely reform-oriented and included enhancing worker's compensation and unemployment benefits, building new schools, raising teacher's salaries, building a new state prison, constructing new hospitals, and improving traffic safety. Following his inauguration in January 1953, he submitted twenty-six proposals to the Indiana General Assembly
Indiana General Assembly
The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate...

 that encompassed all of his agenda. His most controversial with the legislation was a proposal to reorganize the states 141 agencies into eleven departments centralized under the governor's control. The Republican legislature dismissed the request out of hand and accused him of trying to restart the battle over executive power that had been ongoing in the past three decades, but had largely been avoided by the previous two governors.

Most of Craig's agenda was never implemented as the legislature accused him of not working with them, but in large part it was his differences with party leaders that caused the problems. A Democratic senator observed that it was as if there were three parties in the assembly—the pro-Craig, the anti-Craig, and the Democratic parties. Craig was successful in having the Department of Corrections created, which he used to implement most of his penal reform. The Uniform Traffic Code was also established, which standardized road signs, speed limits, and traffic rules across the state. Funding was also granted to improve safety by installing signage and signal lights around the state. The police academy was expanded and the first narcotics group. The state police force was expanded to add fifty new officers, making it the largest in the nation at the time. The state's Mental Heath Division was also established to reform the state's mental hospitals.

Craig wrangled with the legislature over the creation of major highways around Indiana. The assembly didn't want to pay for the roads, so Craig recommended a toll road be created. The assembly leadership balked at the idea, as toll roads had been abolished decades earlier. The assembly finally authorized the Indiana Toll Road
Indiana Toll Road
The Indiana Toll Road, officially the Indiana East–West Toll Road, is a toll road that runs for east–west across northern Indiana from the Illinois state line to the Ohio state line...

 in northern Indiana, but refused to build anymore, primarily because they didn't want to allow the governor control over a large number of patronage positions which he could potentially use to gain more power in the party. His other construction recommendations, a state office building, new prisons, a the expansion of Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...

 were ignored by the assembly. They also refused what he believed his most economically valuable proposal, creating a shipping harbor on Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...

.

The state's $22 million budget surplus disappeared during Craig's term, in large part though due to the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

 bonus paid out to soldiers to enlist that the assembly authorized over Craig's veto. Craig was quoted as saying, "you can't put a bonus on on patriotism anymore than you an on motherhood." The bonus cost the state $7.6 million. The rest of the surplus was spent on school consolidation as one room schoolhouses were phased out and students bused to larger centralized facilities.

Bribery scandal

Craig was featured on the cover of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

magazine in 1955, where his reforms in the state were touted as a national example. Eisenhower praised Craig as a leader, and urged the party leaders to help him transition to a federal office. Eisenhower offered to make him Secretary of Army in 1955, but Craig declined saying he wished to finish his term as governor. In later years, he also said his refusal was in part due to his personal dislike of Secretary of Defense Charles Erwin Wilson
Charles Erwin Wilson
Charles Erwin Wilson , American businessman and politician, was United States Secretary of Defense from 1953 to 1957 under President Eisenhower. Known as "Engine Charlie", he previously worked as CEO for General Motors. In the wake of the Korean War, he cut the defense budget significantly.-Early...

. Despite his popularity, he continued to remain at odds with the state party leadership. During the final session of the General Assembly he recommended that the death penalty be abolished. The request was not considered by the body, and Jenner used it as proof that Craig had abandoned his conservative principles.

Near the end of Craig's term in 1956 a scandal was discovered that implicated three highway commissioners in accepting bribes to influence their decision on accepting construction contracts. Lieutenant Governor Harold Handley used the situation to attack Craig, and accused him of being responsible for the scandal. Craig himself was not found to be personally involved in the plot, but was required to testify before a grand jury in 1957, after he left office. When he left the court building, he gave an interview to the press in which he attacked William Jenner and a number of other party leaders for having a political vendetta against him. The scandal and his interview were published around the state and significantly hurt his popularity. In his later years he said that he forgave Jenner for his actions while Craig was governor, and that the two never agreed on anything except the weather.

Death and legacy

In December 1957 Craig and his family left Indiana, largely because of his disgust with the state Republican Party, and moved to Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 where he opened a law office and later became president of an automotive company. In 1965 he moved again to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 and continued practicing law. Finally in 1967, he returned home again to Brazil, Indiana and retired. He resumed some activity in the Republican Party as a political adviser, but never made any significant public appearances. He continued practicing law until 1976, and was made a member of the State Board of Law Examiners that year and remained on the board for a decade. He retired in 1986 and lived relatively secluded until his death on December 17, 1992.

External links

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