Joseph Ritner

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Joseph Ritner (March 25, 1780 – October 16, 1869)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> was the eighth governor of Pennsylvania,<ref>"The Governors of Pennsylvania." Mount Union, Pennsylvania: The Mount Union Times, January 27, 1911, p. 1 (subscription required).</ref> and was a member of the Anti-Masonic Party.<ref>"Governor Joseph Ritner" (biography). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, retrieved online December 30, 2022.</ref><ref>Hamilton, A. Boyd. "City Saw First Inauguration in 1812 at Gay Fete." Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Harrisburg Telegraph, January 17, 1939, pp. 20, 26 (subscription required).</ref> Elected governor during the 1835 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, he served from 1835 to 1839.<ref>"A Daily Lesson in History: Joseph Ritner, Governor of Pennsylvania in the 'Buckshot War.'" Boston, Massachusetts, The Boston Globe, May 31, 1907, p. 16 (subscription required).</ref>

Controversy surrounding his defeat in the 1838 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election sparked the Buckshot War.<ref>Egle, William Henry. "The Buckshot War," in The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 23, No. 2 (1899), pp. 137-156. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press.</ref><ref>Hamilton, "City Saw First Inauguration in 1812 at Gay Fete," Harrisburg Telegraph, January 17, 1939.</ref>

In 1856, Governor Ritner served as a delegate to the first Republican National Convention in Philadelphia.<ref>Hamilton, "City Saw First Inauguration in 1812 at Gay Fete," Harrisburg Telegraph, January 17, 1939.</ref>

Early lifeEdit

Ritner was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, on March 25, 1780. His parents were of German heritage, and Ritner was primarily self-educated, including learning to read and write in English, while also acquiring a working knowledge of German.<ref>Hamilton, "City Saw First Inauguration in 1812 at Gay Fete," Harrisburg Telegraph, January 17, 1939.</ref> He moved to Cumberland County as a teenager, where he worked as a farm hand and laborer until he purchased a farm of his own in Washington County. In 1801, Ritner married Susan Alter,<ref name="state.pa.us">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and they were the parents of 10 children.<ref name="state.pa.us"/> The Washington County farm had been owned by Ritner's wife's uncle, and included a large library, which enabled Ritner to continue his efforts at self-study.<ref name="state.pa.us"/>

During the War of 1812, Ritner served first as commander of a Washington County militia company, the Rifle Rangers. He later served as a private with his regiment in western Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Political careerEdit

In 1820, Ritner was elected road supervisor in Washington County. Later that year he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives as a Democratic-Republican. He was reelected five times, and was Speaker in his final two terms.<ref>"Joseph Ritner—1835-1839" (brief bio with photo). Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania: Semi-Weekly Record, November 23, 1909, p. 2 (subscription required).</ref><ref>Hamilton, "City Saw First Inauguration in 1812 at Gay Fete," Harrisburg Telegraph, January 17, 1939.</ref>

Ritner became involved with the Anti-Masonic movement in the late 1820s, and after two defeats by George Wolf in his bids to become governor,<ref>"Joseph Ritner—1835-1839," Semi-Weekly Record, November 23, 1909.</ref> he was finally successful during the 1835 election. A large crowd attended his inaugural ceremonies on December 15, 1835.<ref>Sheridan, Leo W. "Great Crowds Attended Ceremonies of Inaugurals As Capitol Was Filled." Lock Haven, Pennsylvania: The Express, November 30, 1934, p. 4 (subscription required).</ref>

When the Second Bank of the United States lost its federal charter in 1836, Ritner signed legislation giving it a state charter. As a supporter of public education, Ritner prevented repeal of Pennsylvania's Public School Law of 1834, and succeeded in passage of an enhanced public school measure in 1836.<ref>Hamilton, "City Saw First Inauguration in 1812 at Gay Fete," Harrisburg Telegraph, January 17, 1939.</ref>

An ardent opponent of slavery, Ritner was the inspiration for an abolitionist poem by John Greenleaf Whittier, 1836's Ritner, in which Whittier praised the anti-slavery sentiment of the governor's annual message to the state legislature.<ref>Hamilton, "City Saw First Inauguration in 1812 at Gay Fete," Harrisburg Telegraph, January 17, 1939.</ref>

Toward the end of his tenure as governor, major changes were effected in Pennsylvania's system of state governance. The Pennsylvania State Constitution was amended, all White freemen over the age of twenty-one were given the right to vote, and the practice of awarding official positions as "life offices" was abolished.<ref>"A Daily Lesson in History: Joseph Ritner, Governor of Pennsylvania in the 'Buckshot War,'" The Boston Globe, May 31, 1907.</ref>

Ritner's reputation, however, was negatively affected by Anti-Masonic efforts to gerrymander state legislative districts for their benefit. In addition, as Anti-Masons attempted to expand their support by taking positions on other issues, including expanded construction of public works. During this time, Ritner was criticized for allegedly using public rail and canal projects as a source of patronage.

When he ran for a second term as a Whig Party-supported, Anti-Masonic candidate during the controversial 1838 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, which grew increasingly heated as anti-Masonic and anti-abolitionist rhetoric rose,<ref>"To the Democratic Freemen of the City and County of Lancaster." Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Lancaster Intelligencer, August 14, 1838, p.2 (subscription required).</ref> he narrowly lost to Democratic nominee David Rittenhouse Porter, who, as a Grand Master of the Huntingdon Lodge of the Freemasons, had risen to the level of Deputy Grand Master of his Masonic district.<ref>"Remarkable Coincidence," in "Young Men's Convention." Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Examiner & Herald, May 3, 1838, p. 3 (subscription required).</ref> Ritner and his supporters then unsuccessfully attempted to contest the election, including an effort by Ritner to mobilize the state militia, which sparked the Buckshot War. (The militia were to be armed with buckshot, thus giving the event its name.)<ref>Egle, "The Buckshot War" in The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 23, No. 2 (1899), pp. 137-156.</ref><ref>Hamilton, "City Saw First Inauguration in 1812 at Gay Fete," Harrisburg Telegraph, January 17, 1939.</ref>

File:Joseph Ritner William W. Stoey Daguerreotype Crop Edit.jpg

Daguerreotype by William W. Stoey Template:Circa 1840s

After leaving office, Ritner settled on a farm in Cumberland County. He suffered from cataracts, and surgery in 1839 restored the sight in his right eye, though he remained blind in his left.<ref>Hamilton, "City Saw First Inauguration in 1812 at Gay Fete," Harrisburg Telegraph, January 17, 1939.</ref>

With the end of the Anti-Masonic Party, Ritner actively supported the Whigs. In 1849 newly elected Whig President Zachary Taylor nominated Ritner for the post of Director of the United States Mint, then in Philadelphia. Taylor died before the nomination was acted on, so Ritner was never confirmed.

Ritner joined the Republican Party when it was founded in the mid-1850s, and was a delegate to the 1856 Republican National Convention.

Death and intermentEdit

He died on October 16, 1869,<ref>"Joseph Ritner—1835-1839," Semi-Weekly Record, November 23, 1909.</ref><ref>Hamilton, "City Saw First Inauguration in 1812 at Gay Fete," Harrisburg Telegraph, January 17, 1939.</ref> and was buried at Mount Rock Cemetery in Mount Rock, Pennsylvania.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

LegacyEdit

Governor Ritner has a residence hall named in his honor on the University Park campus of Penn State. Ritner Street in Philadelphia is also named in his honor.

In 1938, the state of Pennsylvania dedicated the Governor Ritner Highway, which connects Carlisle and Shippensburg along Route 11 in Cumberland County.

ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

"Joseph Ritner" (biography). Washington, D.C.: National Governors Association, retrieved online December 30, 2022.
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