John F. Shafroth


John Franklin Shafroth was a representative, member of the United States Senate, and Governor of Colorado.

Early life

Born in Fayette, Missouri, he attended the common schools and graduated from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1875. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1876 and began practice in Fayette. He moved to Denver, Colorado, in 1879 and continued the practice of law. Beginning in 1889, one of the attorneys he practiced in partnership with for several years was Charles W. Waterman, later a US Senator.
His son, John F. Shafroth Jr., later a vice admiral in the US Navy during World War II, was born on 31 March 1887.

Political career

He was city attorney from 1887 to 1891 and was elected as a Republican to the 54th Congress as a representative. He then joined other Colorado officials, such as Senator Henry M. Teller, in leaving the Republicans to join the Silver Republican Party, the third party on whose ticket he was re-elected to the 55th, 56th, and 57th Congresses. To the 58th Congress, he presented credentials as a Democratic member-elect. Thus, he served in the House from March 4, 1895 to his resignation on February 15, 1904, when he declared that fraud in 29 electoral precincts made him unable to assert that he had legitimately won the election and requested for his opponent, Robert W. Bonynge, to replace him. Subsequently, Shafroth was often referred to as "Honest John."
Shafroth was Governor of Colorado from 1909 to 1913 and was instrumental in bringing in Colorado's ballot initiative institutions. In 1912, he was elected as a Democrat to the Senate, where he served one term, from March 4, 1913, to March 3, 1919; he was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1918. While a Senator, Shafroth was chairman of the Committee on Pacific Islands and Puerto Rico ; the leading Senate sponsor of the Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917, which granted citizenship to Puerto Ricans; and a member of the Committee on the Philippines.

Later life and death

After leaving the Senate, he served as chairman of the War Minerals Relief Commission from 1919 to 1921.
He died in 1922 and was interred in Fairmount Cemetery in Denver. His personal and official papers are archived at several locations including the Colorado State Archives, the Colorado Historical Society Library, and the Denver Public Library's Western History and Genealogy Department.