John Whiteaker - Governorship

Governorship

Oregon was preparing for statehood in 1857, as voters had just approved a state constitution. Whiteaker was selected as a Democratic faction's nominee in the first state gubernatorial election, held in June 1858. Whiteaker won by a margin of 1,138, and was inaugurated July 8, 1858. He did not assume office until word that Congress had passed Oregon's statehood bill on February 14, 1859. Technically, Oregon had two governors in the interim, as Territorial Governor George Law Curry, was legally in charge until the state government-in-waiting was legally empowered to take control.

Once in office, the new governor set out to untangle the large amounts of land claims and counter claims on public lands. He also promoted economic policies favoring home industries, products that Oregonians could make self-sufficiently. Although nicknamed "Honest John", this did not deflect his controversial stands on issues of national importance. Whiteaker held pro-slavery views which did not sit well with a population mostly in the abolitionist camp. Opponents often used this to attack him as a traitor as the United States descended into the Civil War.

Prior to 1864 individual states were responsible for picking their own date to celebrate Thanksgiving. In 1859 Governor Whiteaker proclaimed the fourth Thursday of December as the Thanksgiving holiday for Oregon.

During his final year as Governor in 1861, Republican U.S. Senator Edward Baker was killed in the Battle of Ball's Bluff and Whiteaker appointed Democratic Party stalwart Benjamin Stark to fill the remainder of Baker's term.

Whiteaker was not nominated again by the Democrats in the 1862 election, and thus left office. He stayed in local politics, winning three terms as a state representative (1866–1870), and election to the State Senate in 1876. During the 1868 session he served as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives. He also was President of the Oregon Senate during the 1876 and 1878 sessions.