First Term As Governor of Pennsylvania
Following the disbandment of the Progressive Party, Pinchot returned to the Republican Party, and focused on Pennsylvania state politics. Governor William Sproul appointed him state Commissioner of Forestry in 1920. Pinchot's aim, however, was to become governor. His 1922 campaign for the office concentrated on popular reforms: government economy, enforcement of Prohibition and regulation of public utilities. He won by a wide margin. In 1924, Pinchot considered challenging President Calvin Coolidge for the Republican nomination, but ultimately declined to run for the presidency.
In 1926, Governor Pinchot proposed his quasi-public "Giant Power" scheme for the state of Pennsylvania – which was very similar to Charles Steinmetz's plan to transmit electricity by high-voltage lines from power plants located adjacent to Pennsylvania coal mines – critics dismissed it as socialism. Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt such a scheme materialized in the shape of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
Pinchot retired at the end of his term January 18, 1927, as Pennsylvania Governors were, at the time, prohibited from seeking a second consecutive term in office.
Read more about this topic: Gifford Pinchot
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