Background
Leslie Mortier Shaw was born on November 2, 1848, on a farm in Vermont, United States. He was the first son of Boardman Osias Shaw and Lavisa (Spaulding) Shaw.
Businessman lawyer politician statesman
Leslie Mortier Shaw was born on November 2, 1848, on a farm in Vermont, United States. He was the first son of Boardman Osias Shaw and Lavisa (Spaulding) Shaw.
Leslie Shaw graduated from the village academy. Two years later he entered the neighboring Cornell College, where, after supporting himself by farm labor, school-teaching, and selling fruit trees, he graduated in 1874. Meanwhile, his interest had shifted to the law, and in 1876 he completed the course at the Iowa College of Law, Des Moines.
Leslie Shaw taught school and frugally saved his money until he had several hundred dollars. Then in 1869, he headed for Iowa, where his aunt and uncle lived in Mount Vernon. Leslie Shaw settled in Denison to practice law in 1876. Starting out as an attorney, to pay office expenses he sold fruit trees on the side, which later earned him the nickname "Old Apple Tree." He had a gift for presenting his cases clearly and engaging the audience's attention and is said to have won most of his cases.
Leslie Shaw became interested in banking when he saw that farmers needed loans to operate their farms. In 1880 he and his law firm partner, Carl F. Kuehnle, established the Bank of Denison, a private mortgage loan business, after inducing capitalists in Vermont to invest money in Iowa. Later Kuehnle and Leslie Shaw started banks in Manilla and Charter Oak.
A popular orator on economic issues, particularly on his views of gold standard legislation, the Iowa Republican Party chose him to run for governor in 1897. Shaw's ability as a speaker was well known, and he often included a humorous story to bring his point home. Leslie Shaw incorporated homespun philosophy with a description of government finances in such a way that his audiences never lost interest.
Leslie Shaw became governor of Iowa in 1898 and served two terms, ending in 1902. As governor, he established the Board of Control for Iowa's state institutions. He laid the cornerstone of the building for the Memorial, Historical, and Art Department; created the Library Commission; and established free public libraries and school libraries throughout the state. He was the first governor of Iowa to drive a car.
While Leslie Shaw was governor, he gained national attention for his speeches during presidential campaigns on the nation's finances. He campaigned while Theodore Roosevelt was running for vice president, and Roosevelt was impressed with Shaw's ability to captivate his audience while explaining financial issues in an understandable manner. When President McKinley was shot in 1901 and Roosevelt became president, Leslie Shaw selected Shaw to be secretary of the treasury, where he served from February 1902 until March 1907.
After leaving the cabinet, Leslie Shaw was president of banks in New York and Philadelphia, ultimately returning with his family to Washington, D.C., where he wrote and gave lectures throughout the country on finances and economic issues for the American Bankers Association. Leslie Shaw wrote two books: Current Issues (1908) and Vanishing Landmarks (1919). He advised banks and campaigned for every Republican presidential candidate until his death at the age of 83.
Leslie Shaw was a leading layman in the local Methodist church and was superintendent of the Sunday school for 25 years.
His basic ideas on the political account were national dependence upon high protection and domestic laissez-faire.
As a speaker, Leslie Shaw had quaint, racy humor, and a fund of apt anecdotes, drawn largely from personal experiences, that made him effective on Chautauqua circuit and political stump.
In 1877 Leslie Shaw married Alice Crawshaw of Clinton County, the daughter of a pioneer farmer. They had three children, a son, and two daughters.