Ruffin Pleasant
Encyclopedia
Ruffin Golson Pleasant was the 36th Governor of Louisiana from 1916–1920, who is remembered for having mobilized his state for World War I. Prior to his governorship, Pleasant was the Louisiana attorney general
from 1912–1916 and the city attorney of Shreveport from 1902–1908.
, the seat of Lincoln Parish, from 1885–1886. He then attended Mount Lebanon College, the forerunner of Baptist
-affiliated Louisiana College
from 1887–1889. He attended the Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge, where he was Captain of the LSU football
squad in 1893 and played in the LSU's first match against the Tulane Green Wave
. He graduated in 1894. Thereafter, he studied law at both Harvard College
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, and Yale College
in New Haven, Connecticut
. He was admitted to the bar in 1899.
Pleasant served in the Spanish-American War
in 1898 as a lieutenant-colonel of the First Louisiana Regiment of Infantry. After the war, he launched his law practice in Shreveport, a large city by Louisiana standards which is the seat of Caddo Parish in the northwestern corner of the state. On Valentine's Day
1906, Pleasant married the former Anne Ector, the daughter of Matthew Duncan Ector and the former Sarah "Sallie" Parish Chew.
's John M. Parker
. Pleasant prevailed with 80,807 votes (62.5 percent) to Parker's 37.2 percent. Parker, a friend of Theodore Roosevelt
's until their political split in 1916, thereafter returned to the Democratic Party and won the 1920 gubernatorial election with Pleasant's support. At the time Louisiana governors could serve only one four-year term and could not seek a second term until four years had lapsed since the end of a previous term.
As governor, Pleasant encouraged volunteers and contributions for the war effort. Louisiana's support for the war was considered to have been among the strongest in the nation. He named Lee Emmett Thomas
, a banker and a former Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives, as the chairman of the Louisiana Tax Commission and then the state banking examiner. Thomas thereafter served as mayor of Shreveport from 1922–1930. Oddly, Thomas was born in Marion
, Louisiana, and educated in Union Parish at Pleasant's birthplace of Shiloh.
After leaving the governorship, Pleasant resumed his law practice in Shreveport. Pleasant broke with Parker over tax policy and supported Huey Pierce Long, Jr.
Not long afterward, he broke with Long too and became a leading spokesman for the anti-Long faction
of the Louisiana Democratic Party.
Pleasant was elected as a member of the Louisiana Constitutional Convention of 1921. That particular constitution produced by the delegates was superseded in 1974 by a newer governing document.
Pleasant was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention of 1916, which renominated Woodrow Wilson
for president and Thomas Marshall
of Indiana
for vice president. He was also a delegate to the Democratic convention in 1924, which took 103 ballots to nominate John W. Davis
of West Virginia
as the party's compromise
presidential nominee.
Anne Ector Pleasant died in 1934 after accidentally drinking a poisonous antiseptic
in a dark bathroom in their Shreveport home. She was the founder and headmistress of Pleasant Hall, a coed private school in Shreveport. She had sued then U.S. Senator Huey Long for having caused her to be arrested on false charges and for having demeaned her as a "drunken cursing woman" when she sought to examine state public records in the Capitol in Baton Rouge.
Pleasant died in Shreveport four years later. He was Presbyterian. The couple is interred at Forest Park Cemetery off St. Vincent Avenue in Shreveport.
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
from 1912–1916 and the city attorney of Shreveport from 1902–1908.
Early years and education
Pleasant was born in the community of Shiloh in Union Parish in north Louisiana to Benjamin Franklin Pleasant and the former Martha Washington Duty. An earlier governor, Ruffin Pleasant, who served from 1900–1904, was also born near Shiloh. His parents' names hence evoked the spirit of patriotism that Pleasant extolled in his public life. He was educated at the former Ruston College in RustonRuston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
, the seat of Lincoln Parish, from 1885–1886. He then attended Mount Lebanon College, the forerunner of Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
-affiliated Louisiana College
Louisiana College
Louisiana College is a private institution of higher education located in Pineville, Louisiana, affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention, serving a student body of approximately 1,300 students. The college operates on a semester system, with two shorter summer terms...
from 1887–1889. He attended the Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge, where he was Captain of the LSU football
LSU Tigers football
The LSU Tigers football team, also known as the Fighting Tigers or Bayou Bengals, represents Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States in NCAA Division I FBS college football. Current head coach Les Miles has led the team since 2005. Since 1999 when Nick Saban took over as...
squad in 1893 and played in the LSU's first match against the Tulane Green Wave
Tulane Green Wave football
The Tulane Green Wave football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents Tulane University in New Orleans. The team is a member of Conference USA and is led by interim head coach Mark Hutson, who took over on October 18, 2011, when fifth-year head coach Bob Toledo resigned...
. He graduated in 1894. Thereafter, he studied law at both Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, and Yale College
Yale College
Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...
in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
. He was admitted to the bar in 1899.
Pleasant served in the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The 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...
in 1898 as a lieutenant-colonel of the First Louisiana Regiment of Infantry. After the war, he launched his law practice in Shreveport, a large city by Louisiana standards which is the seat of Caddo Parish in the northwestern corner of the state. On Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
1906, Pleasant married the former Anne Ector, the daughter of Matthew Duncan Ector and the former Sarah "Sallie" Parish Chew.
Moving up the political ladder
Pleasant was first city attorney in Shreveport, then state attorney general, and finally governor. In the 1916 general election, Pleasant, as the Democratic nominee, faced the Progressive PartyProgressive Party (United States, 1912)
The Progressive Party of 1912 was an American political party. It was formed after a split in the Republican Party between President William Howard Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt....
's John M. Parker
John M. Parker
John Milliken Parker was an American Democratic politician from Louisiana, who served as the state's 37th Governor from 1920–1924. He was a friend and admirer of President Theodore Roosevelt....
. Pleasant prevailed with 80,807 votes (62.5 percent) to Parker's 37.2 percent. Parker, a friend of Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
's until their political split in 1916, thereafter returned to the Democratic Party and won the 1920 gubernatorial election with Pleasant's support. At the time Louisiana governors could serve only one four-year term and could not seek a second term until four years had lapsed since the end of a previous term.
As governor, Pleasant encouraged volunteers and contributions for the war effort. Louisiana's support for the war was considered to have been among the strongest in the nation. He named Lee Emmett Thomas
Lee Emmett Thomas
Lee Emmett Thomas was an attorney and banker who served as the mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, from 1922–1930. He was also from 1912–1916 the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives.-Background:...
, a banker and a former Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives, as the chairman of the Louisiana Tax Commission and then the state banking examiner. Thomas thereafter served as mayor of Shreveport from 1922–1930. Oddly, Thomas was born in Marion
Marion, Louisiana
Marion is a town in Union Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 806 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Marion is located at ....
, Louisiana, and educated in Union Parish at Pleasant's birthplace of Shiloh.
After leaving the governorship, Pleasant resumed his law practice in Shreveport. Pleasant broke with Parker over tax policy and supported Huey Pierce Long, Jr.
Huey Long
Huey Pierce Long, Jr. , nicknamed The Kingfish, served as the 40th Governor of Louisiana from 1928–1932 and as a U.S. Senator from 1932 to 1935. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. Though a backer of Franklin D...
Not long afterward, he broke with Long too and became a leading spokesman for the anti-Long faction
Political faction
A political faction is a grouping of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. The individuals...
of the Louisiana Democratic Party.
Pleasant was elected as a member of the Louisiana Constitutional Convention of 1921. That particular constitution produced by the delegates was superseded in 1974 by a newer governing document.
Pleasant was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention of 1916, which renominated Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
for president and Thomas Marshall
Thomas Marshall
Thomas Marshall may refer to:*Thomas Marshall , abbot of Colchester*Thomas Marshall , English scholar...
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...
for vice president. He was also a delegate to the Democratic convention in 1924, which took 103 ballots to nominate John W. Davis
John W. Davis
John William Davis was an American politician, diplomat and lawyer. He served as a United States Representative from West Virginia , then as Solicitor General of the United States and US Ambassador to the UK under President Woodrow Wilson...
of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
as the party's compromise
Compromise
To compromise is to make a deal where one person gives up part of his or her demand.In arguments, compromise is a concept of finding agreement through communication, through a mutual acceptance of terms—often involving variations from an original goal or desire.Extremism is often considered as...
presidential nominee.
The later years
Antiseptic
Antiseptics are antimicrobial substances that are applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putrefaction...
in a dark bathroom in their Shreveport home. She was the founder and headmistress of Pleasant Hall, a coed private school in Shreveport. She had sued then U.S. Senator Huey Long for having caused her to be arrested on false charges and for having demeaned her as a "drunken cursing woman" when she sought to examine state public records in the Capitol in Baton Rouge.
Pleasant died in Shreveport four years later. He was Presbyterian. The couple is interred at Forest Park Cemetery off St. Vincent Avenue in Shreveport.