Murphy J. Foster - Legacy

Legacy

Foster struggled to restore antebellum Louisiana. Despite thirty years, the State remained mirrored in poverty caused by the war, the summary nullification of its capital and wealth which had maintained its credit, and the subjugation of many upper-middle class and wealthy southerners under the heel of military despotism of Reconstruction. Despite the rebirth of agricultural production, the vast growth of northern and urban capital, concentration of power in middle men and speculators in commodities, had made agricultural wealth relatively less than previous generations. As a result, many white yeoman farmers and artisans and craftsmen no longer had the wealth to pay taxes whilst paying poll taxes was onerous. Given the losses many of these families had suffered as a result of the war, the loss of the franchise and with it the political power to protect what remained of their economic standing was causing serious stirrings of revolution. Thus, Foster not only struggled to restore antebellum wealth he had to manage the creation of a new system which would restore the rights of many whites, without targeting blacks solely on the basis of their class. Foster also had to deal with the vast growth of organized crime and racketeers which came with the arrival of carpetbaggers, the Union Army, Reconstruction and Immigration. At the forefront of his fight against racketeers, Foster led the campaign which succeeded in outlawing the Louisiana Lottery Co. Lastly, Foster fought economic development, mitigating the growing control of the Sugar trust by favoring the interest of sugar growers, and helping yeoman farmers with flood-control legislation and the regulation of railway rates.

Foster was the last governor of Louisiana to serve two consecutive 4-year terms until John J. McKeithen (who served from 1964 to 1972).

Foster was the last Democratic gubernatorial nominee prior to John J. McKeithen in the election cycle of 1963 to face a really serious challenge from a Republican (Charlton Lyons).

In 1997, Foster was posthumously inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield.

His grandson, Murphy J. Foster, Jr., served as a Republican governor of the state from 1996 to 2004. Mike Foster is technically Foster III, but he uses the term "Jr." instead.