Alexander Robey Shepherd Totally Explained

Everything about Alexander Robey Shepherd totally explained

Alexander Robey Shepherd (1835 – 1902), better known as Boss Shepherd, was one of the most controversial and influential civic leaders in the history of Washington, D.C., and one of the most powerful big-city political bosses of the Gilded Age. He was head of the DC Board of Public Works from 1871 to 1873 and Governor of the District of Columbia from 1873 to 1874. He is known, particularly in Washington, as "The Father of Modern Washington."

Early life and career

Born in southwest Washington on January 30, 1835, Shepherd dropped out of school at 13 and took a job as a plumber's assistant. Eventually, he worked his way up to becoming the owner of the plumbing firm. He then invested the profits from that firm in real estate development, which made him a wealthy socialite and influential citizen of the city. (One of his luxurious properties was Shepherd's Row, a set of rowhouses on Connecticut Avenue designed by Adolf Cluss; Cluss would later be the star witness at Shepherd's congressional investigation hearings.)
Two days after the Battle of Fort Sumter that initiated the U.S. Civil War, Shepherd and his brother each enlisted in the 3rd Battalion of the District of Columbia volunteers. The term of enlistment at that time was only three months, after which Shepherd was honorably discharged. Approximately six months afterwards, he was married to Mary Grice Young, with whom he'd seven surviving children.
He was an early member of the Republican Party and a member of the Washington City Councils from 1861 to 1871, during which time he was an important voice for D.C. emancipation, then for suffrage for the freed slaves. Frederick Douglass would later say of him, "I want to thank Governor Shepherd for the fair way in which he treated the colored race when he was in a position to help them."

City Boss

Shepherd's influence in the city and position in local government (particularly, his sterling reputation with the newly enfranchised black population) allowed him to build a Republican political machine in Washington, which he then allied with the Radical Republican contingent that dominated American politics after the U.S. Civil War — ensuring that he'd the support of the federal government as well as that of Washington at large.
By 1870, war and mismanagement had caused the finances and infrastructure of the city to deteriorate so badly that the Mayor of Washington, Sayles J. Bowen, had his furniture seized in an attempt to pay the city's debts; Democrats and Republicans were in a rare agreement that a drastic change was needed from Bowen's regime. As a solution, Shepherd and his allies began agitation for the abolition of the elected governments of Washington City and Georgetown, as well as the appointed justices of the peace for Washington County, to be replaced with a unified territorial government that would administer the entire District of Columbia. The Shepherd machine was easily able to sway popular support in favor of the notion.
In the following year, 1871, Shepherd was able to convince Congress to pass a bill

that established the territorial government he desired. The Territory Act of 1871 merged the various governments in the District of Columbia into a single eleven-member legislature, including two representatives for Georgetown and two for the County of Washington, to be presided over by a territorial governor; the legislature and governor would all be appointed by the President. The two front-runners for the governorship were initially Shepherd, from Washington, and Colonel Jason A. Magruder, from Georgetown; although popular support was behind Shepherd, President Grant feared that either appointment would cause a sectional divide that might make governorship of the full district impossible. Thus Grant's inaugural appointment to the governorship was his friend, the financier Henry D. Cooke, "a gentleman of unimpeachable integrity" — and, secretly, a close political ally of Shepherd's.
Shepherd was appointed vice-chair of the city's five-man Board of Public Works. The most powerful public entity in the District of Columbia, the Board of Public Works, was actually an independent entity from the territorial government, reporting directly to Congress, but kept within the territory's sphere of influence by making the governor its chairman. Cooke, however, rarely attended the Board's meetings (probably at Shepherd's urging), allowing Vice-Chair Shepherd to preside. He asserted himself as a leader to such an extent that he often didn't bother to consult the other members of the Board before making decisions and taking sweeping action. His abilities as a political operator, according to D.C. journalist Sam Smith, were formidable:
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Shepherd's city improvements

The war-worn condition of Washington City in the late 1860s and early 1870s — when it was little more than a hamlet of dirt roads, wooden sidewalks and open sewers, surrounded by farmland and large country estates — was such that Congress had for several years discussed relocating the seat of the Federal government westward to St. Louis — which would have led to ruin for the District of Columbia. Shepherd believed that if the government was to remain in Washington, the city's infrastructure and facilities must be modernized and revitalized. He filled in the long-dormant Washington Canal and placed of paved roads and sidewalks, of sewers, of gas mains, and of water mains. In 1872, Boss Shepherd was responsible for the demolition of the Northern Liberties Market. Two individuals, a butcher who was still on the premises at the time of the demolition and a young boy who had come with his dog to chase the rats who fled the structure, were killed in the process. Under his direction the city also planted 60,000 trees, built the city's first public transportation system in the form of horse-drawn streetcars, installed street lights, and had the railroad companies refit their tracks to fit new citywide grading standards for the District.

Governorship and fall from power

In 1873, Washington writer Mary Clemmer Ames wrote that "the majority of people believe that Governor Cooke would retain his position only until the fusion of irritated factions [for example,whites and blacks; Washington, Georgetown, and Washington County] was effected, and that in the event of his resignation, Mr. Shepherd would be appointed his successor. Whether Governor Cooke retires before the end of his term or not, it's the universal belief that Mr. Shepherd will be the second governor of the District of Columbia." Sure enough, that September, Cooke resigned as Governor of the District and Shepherd, having befriended Grant, was promoted by the President to the governorship.
   Once in office, Governor Shepherd engaged in a series of social reforms and campaigns that were progressive even by Radical Republican standards: he "integrated public schools, supported the vote for women, sought representation for D.C. in Congress and a Federal payment to the city." Generally, however, his gubernatorial term was "principally occupied in avoiding embarrassments in the conduct of the District's official business due to the inadequacy of the revenue which had been entailed by the demands for funds to meet the cost of executing street improvements."
   But despite the lack of finances, the massive public works project continued (and intensified) during Shepherd's term as governor of the District of Columbia. Although the Territorial Act of 1871 had given the governor power to issue construction bonds in the city, to the consternation of white landowners, Shepherd nonetheless put it to a referendum to demonstrate his widespread popular support in the city thanks to the black voters who backed him. (The referendum passed overwhelmingly — partly because Shepherd brought in blacks from Prince George's County to vote.)
   However, the cost of the modifications was excessive. Initially, Shepherd had estimated them at a $6.25 million budget, but by 1874, costs had ballooned to $9 million, despite a national panic that had befallen the nation the year before. District residents gathered 1,200 signatures to petition an audit from Congress; when the audit was conducted, the legislature discovered that the city was in arrears by $13 million and declared bankruptcy on its behalf. Shepherd was investigated for financial misappropriation and mishandling, during which time it was discovered that the project and its funding had been carried to absurd extremes. Shepherd had raised taxes to such a degree that citizens had to sell their own property to pay them. Street grading, too, had been executed such that some homes' front yards were as much as lower than the front door, while others found their homes standing in trenches with the street at second floor level. In addition, Congress discovered that Shepherd had given preference to neighborhoods and areas of the District in which he or his political cronies held financial interests.
   Although none of his actions were found to have violated any laws, Shepherd was summarily fired and the territorial government was abolished in favor of a three-member Board of Commissioners, which remained in charge of the District for over a century. Although President Grant nominated Shepherd to the first Board of Commissioners, the appointment was rejected by the Senate.
   The civic improvements, however, had sufficiently modernized the city that relocation of the capital was never again discussed as a serious option. It also created a decades-long real estate boom in Washington (until about the turn of the 20th century), with wealthy Americans coming from all over the United States to build large and expensive mansions, some for year-round residency and some for winter vacation only (leading Washington to be called "the winter Newport").

Last years

Shepherd remained in Washington for a further two years, still a real-estate magnate and a celebrated and influential member of Washington society In 1876, however, he declared personal bankruptcy and, once his accounts were settled, moved with his family to Batopilas, Mexico, where he made a fortune in silver mining and instituted many of the same reforms he'd championed in the District of Columbia.
He died in Batopilas on September 12, 1902, from complications of a surgery to remove his appendix. His body was returned to Washington and buried in a large personal (not family) vault in Rock Creek Cemetery.

Legacy - The Rehabilitation of Boss Shepherd's Reputation

Shepherd's legacy has been a matter of some debate since his death more than one hundred years ago. He has long been maligned as a corrupt, cronyist political boss, compared often to the Tammany Hall political machine of the same time period. The statue of Shepherd that had long stood on Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, in front of the John A. Wilson Building (which serves as Washington, D.C.'s City Hall) has served as a symbol of his fluctuating reputation.
   In 1979, the statue was removed from its perch on D.C.'s primary thoroughfare and banished into city storage. It reappeared in the mid-1980s near the obscure D.C. Public Works building in the blighted Anacostia section.
   However, in the 21st century, Washington historian Nelson Rimensnyder began strenuously arguing for the restoration of Shepherd's reputation, calling him an "urban visionary" who singlehandedly transformed Washington into a major American city and championed aggressive social reform. Largely as a result of Rimensnyder's (and others') efforts, the Shepherd statue was returned to its place in front of the Wilson Building in January 2005.
   The D.C. neighborhood of Shepherd Park, where Shepherd once lived, is named for him, as is Alexander Shepherd Elementary School in that neighborhood.

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