Editing David Sholtz

{{Short description|American politician (1891–1953)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name                = David Sholtz
|image               = David Sholtz.jpg
|caption             = Sholtz in 1936
|office1              = 26th [[Governor of Florida]]
|term_start1          = January 3, 1933
|term_end1            = January 5, 1937
|predecessor1         = [[Doyle E. Carlton]]
|successor1           = [[Fred P. Cone]]
|office2              = President of the [[Florida Chamber of Commerce]]
|term_start2          = 1928
|term_end2            = 1929
|predecessor2         = 
|successor2           = 
|office3              = [[State Attorney]] for the [[Circuit court (Florida)|Seventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida]]
|term_start3          = 1919
|term_end3            = 1921
|predecessor3         = 
|successor3           = 
|office4              = Member of the <br/> [[Florida House of Representatives]]
|term4          = 1917
|predecessor4         = 
|successor4           = 
|birth_date          = {{birth date|1891|10|6}}
|birth_place         = [[New York City]], U.S.
|death_date          = {{death date and age|1953|3|21|1891|10|6}}
|death_place         = [[Key West]], [[Florida]], U.S.
|party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|spouse              = Alice Agee
|children            = 3
|education           = [[Yale University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[Stetson University]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])
|allegiance          = {{flag|United States}}
|branch              = {{flag|United States Navy}}
|battles             = [[World War I]]
}}
'''David Sholtz''' (October 6, 1891 – March 21, 1953) was the [[List of governors of Florida|26th Governor]] of [[Florida]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=David Sholtz|url=https://dos.myflorida.com/florida-facts/florida-history/florida-governors/david-sholtz/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-29|website=Florida Department of State|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141121222419/http://dos.myflorida.com:80/florida-facts/florida-history/florida-governors/david-sholtz/ |archive-date=November 21, 2014 }}</ref> Prior to serving as Governor he would be a state attorney serving Florida's 7th Judicial Circuit Court and previously as a member of the Florida House of Representatives.

==Early life and education==

Sholtz was born on October 6, 1891, in [[Brooklyn|Brooklyn, New York]], to Michael and Annie (Bloom) Sholtz who were both described as being [[History of the Jews in Russia|Russian Jewish]]<ref>{{Cite news|date=November 13, 1932|title=Florida's Governor-elect of Jewish Parentage|work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|url=https://www.jta.org/1932/11/13/archive/floridas-governor-elect-of-jewish-parentage|access-date=July 7, 2021}}</ref> David was one of three siblings in his family. His father, Michael immigrated to the United States when he was 15.<ref name=":3">[http://www.floridatrend.com/article.asp?aID=49122 "Florida's Dark Horse, New Deal Governor"]. ''[[Florida Trend]]''.</ref>

Sholtz attended Public School #41 in Brooklyn and graduated from [[Boys High School (Brooklyn)|Boys High School]] in 1910. When David was in high school he was the editor of the school's publication and the manager of its baseball team. He was a member of the [[Arista (honor society)|Arista honor society]] and was the founder of a fraternity there.<ref>{{Cite news|date=December 20, 1925|title=Native Brooklynite May Be Next Governor of Florida|work=[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20644547/brookly-paper-announcing-sholtz-running/|access-date=July 7, 2021|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

After graduating from high school he attended [[Yale University]]. After graduating from Yale, where he was a member of the [[Acacia Fraternity|Acacia fraternity]], he earned a law degree from [[Stetson University College of Law|Stetson University Law School]] in 1914. This enabled him to become a Florida lawyer without having to take the bar examination, as Florida then adhered to the [[diploma privilege]].<ref name=":1">Cox, Merlin G. (1964) "David Sholtz: New Deal Governor of Florida". ''The Florida Historical Quarterly'': Vol. 43 : No. 2, Article 5.</ref>

==Career==

=== Early career ===
With his law degree, he started a law practice in [[Daytona Beach, Florida]]. Sholtz entered politics when he became a one-term member of the [[Florida House of Representatives]] in 1917,<ref name=":1" /> however Sholtz ended up resigning as he enlisted to serve in the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] when the United States entered [[World War I]].<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=March 21, 1953|title=Ex-Governor David Sholtz Dies At 63|work=[[Orlando Evening Star]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15142710/orlando-evening-star/|access-date=July 27, 2021}}</ref> During the war he had the rank of ensign and served under the Censorship Board being stationed in [[Key West]] and [[Havana|Havana, Cuba]].<ref name=":1" />

After that, he was a [[State Attorney]] from 1919 to 1921 serving for the 7th Judicial Circuit, becoming the city judge of Daytona Beach in 1921. After serving as Daytona Beach's city judge he was the president of the [[Florida Chamber of Commerce]] from 1928 to 1929.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|date=November 10, 1932|title=FLORIDA'S NEXT GOVERNOR|volume=8|page=4|work=[[Sarasota Herald-Tribune]]|issue=33|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1787&dat=19321110&id=SEscAAAAIBAJ&sjid=M2QEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2797,3174607}}</ref> His experiences meeting Floridians from a variety of different backgrounds as the president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce convinced him that he could be elected as governor.<ref name=":1" />

=== 1932 gubernatorial campaign ===
When Sholtz [[1932 Florida gubernatorial election|ran for Governor]], his platform included increasing government services, free school textbooks, 9-month school terms, back pay for teachers, workers compensation, increasing banking regulations, and more funding for the public welfare.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fsu.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/fsu:253845/datastream/PDF/view|title = Diginole: FSU's Digital Repository &#124; DigiNole}}</ref> Sholtz had no money for campaign advertisements apart from mailing a few campaign letter, which required him to go door-to-door for donations. He mainly used a flatbed truck with 2 loudspeakers mounted on it while driving across the state.<ref name=":3" /> A dynamic public speaker, he rarely used notes for speeches and was his speaking abilities were comparable to [[Huey Long]] and while speaking he often gave an impression of authenticity.<ref name=":1" />

His primary election opponent [[John W. Martin]] played up the fact that Sholtz was of Jewish ancestry<ref name=":1" /> in an [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]] attack on him. It eventually became one of the most significant aspects of the campaign season. Martin even wrote to Germany in an attempt to get sworn depositions proving he was Jewish. Sholtz ended up ignoring the attacks that Martin made on him .<ref name=":3" /> In reality, Sholtz was an active member of an Episcopal Church in Daytona Beach. Sholtz's victory in the primary was unexpected at the time as most political analysts were expecting either [[Cary A. Hardee]] or [[John W. Martin]], both former governors of Florida, to win the primary.<ref name=":1" /> The Florida Democratic primary was held on June 7, 1932. In the primary, Sholtz ended up in 2nd place out of 7 candidates.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Our Campaigns - FL Governor - D Primary Race - Jun 07, 1932|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=384838|access-date=2021-08-12|website=www.ourcampaigns.com}}</ref>

Sholtz advanced to the runoff election for the primary that was held on June 28. In the runoff he faced off against former Governor Martin and Sholtz ended up winning the election.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Our Campaigns - FL Governor - D Runoff Race - Jun 28, 1932|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=384839|access-date=2021-08-12|website=www.ourcampaigns.com}}</ref>

During the general election in November he ran against Republican candidate [[William John Howey|William J. Howey]], the mayor of [[Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida|Howey-in-the-Hills]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Our Campaigns - FL Governor Race - Nov 08, 1932|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=131887|access-date=2021-08-12|website=www.ourcampaigns.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Our Campaigns - Candidate - William J. Howey|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=61225|access-date=2021-08-12|website=www.ourcampaigns.com}}</ref> David Sholtz ended up receiving 286,270 votes or 66.62% of the vote. Sholtz also ended up winning a majority of the vote in every county. While William J. Howey received 93,323 or 33.38% of the vote.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" />

=== Governorship ===

==== Overview ====
Taking the oath on January 4, 1933, he became governor during the [[Great Depression]]. During his tenure as governor, he established the Florida Park Service and Florida Citrus Commission, passed a [[workers' compensation]] law, mandated free [[textbooks]] in [[Public school (government funded)|public schools]], and funded salaries for public school teachers. While in office, he was a strong advocate of governmental restructuring.

Sholtz is considered to be a [[New Deal coalition|New Deal Democrat]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rosser |first1=Ezra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UJlFDwAAQBAJ |title=The Poverty Law Canon: Exploring the Major Cases |last2=Failinger |first2=Marie |publisher=University of Michigan Press |year=2016 |pages=18 |isbn=9780472121977 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

==== Lynching of Claude Neal ====
During Sholtz's tenure as governor, the [[lynching of Claude Neal]] occurred and there was national attention surrounding the incident. Walter Francis White, the NAACP Secretary sent a telegram to Schultz on October 26, 1934, telling him that the mob who had abducted him was planning on burning him at a stake and that he rescue him and put him in a safe location. Sholtz responded saying that he couldn't send [[Florida National Guard]] troops to [[Greenwood, Florida|Greenwood]] without the Jackson County Sheriff, Flake Chambliss asking for the National Guard first; which Chambliss hadn't asked up until that point.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Montgomery|first=Ben|date=October 23, 2011|title=Spectacle: The lynching of Claude Neal|work=[[Tampa Bay Times]]|url=https://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/article1197360.ece|access-date=June 5, 2021}}</ref> After Neal's body was removed from where it was located, most of the mob surrounding him had left but a smaller mob had formed at close to noon during that day. The mob tried targeting local African-Americans that day and the police did not intervene because the mob threatened to beat anyone in the police force it came into contact with. The mayor of Marianna called Sholtz asking for assistance which he granted sending in the [[Florida National Guard]] to restore order and the mob dispersed.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-09-14|title=Claude Neal – Notice to Close File|url=https://www.justice.gov/crt/case-document/claude-neal-notice-close-file|access-date=2021-06-05|website=The United States Department of Justice|language=en}}</ref>

==== Other events ====
During his first message to the state legislature he commended President Franklin D. Roosevelt, saying:<ref name=":1" />

{{Blockquote|text=President Roosevelt has boldly shown the way to the nation and Congress has worked with him for the solution of national problems. I can only ask that you, within all Constitutional grounds, work with me in the solution of our state problem.}}

Also during his first state legislature message, Sholtz recommended reducing the cost of license tags to what he saw as a reasonable price of $5 along with a "conservation department for the state" to be established. He also wanted to have a balanced and well made budget for the state. Sholtz proposed that income received from car license taxes and a one mill school tax from construction along with the state's share of pari-mutuel betting could be used as a way to pay for the school fund allowing for teachers to be paid in regular money instead of [[scrip]]. He thought that the money generated from these 3 sources be enough to pay for teacher salaries and textbooks.<ref name=":1" />

Sholtz managed to overcome the strong opposition publishers had to providing free public school textbooks. Publishers thought his plan was "socialistic" and tried to persuade members of the legislature to their side. Despite the publisher's resistance he managed to get it. Sholtz countered it successfully and managed to get it passed.<ref name=":1" />

The relief programs he created did end up being popular. Towards the end of his administration, accusations of bribery along with in corruption in the gaming and racing commissions circulated, which hampered his reputation with Floridians.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nelson|first=David|date=Fall 2005|title=A New Deal for Welfare: Governor Fred Cone and the Florida State Welfare Board|url=https://ucf.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/ucf%3A25558/datastream/OBJ/view/The_Florida_historical_quarterly.pdf|journal=[[The Florida Historical Quarterly]]|volume=84|pages=188}}</ref>

=== Later life ===
After leaving the Governor's Mansion on January 5, 1937, Sholtz unsuccessfully ran for the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] in 1938, losing the [[Democratic party (United States)|Democratic]] [[Partisan primary|primary]] to [[Claude Pepper]]. He spent most of his time in New York after his term as governor, but he retained his residency in Florida. He died while visiting Key West, Florida in 1953 and is buried at the Cedar Hill Memory Gardens in [[Daytona Beach, Florida]].

== Personal life ==
Sholtz was involved in freemasonry being a [[York Rite|York]] and [[Scottish Rite]] Mason. Along with freemasonry, he was a [[Shriners|Shriner]] and a member of [[Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks|the Elks]]. He was involved with the [[American Legion]] as well.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Florida Governor David Sholtz with US President Franklin D Roosevelt in Jacksonville, Florida.jpg|center|thumb|Sholtz with President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] (FDR) and Jacksonville Mayor [[John T. Alsop]] when FDR visited the city sometime during 1933–34.]]
David Sholtz married Alice May Agee in 1926 and had three children with her. Sholtz was a personal friend of President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. He was described by those who knew him as having a kind, warm hearted and projecting personality.<ref name=":1" /> Sholtz was known to have had a summer home in [[Henderson County, North Carolina]]. During visits to his North Carolina summer house, Sholtz and his wife liked to keep a low profile.<ref>{{Cite news|date=July 22, 1935|title=GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA HERE ON BRIEF STAY|work=The Times-News|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86063811/1935-07-22/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1777&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=David+Sholtz&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=7&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=David+Sholtz&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=4|access-date=November 10, 2021|via=Chronicling America}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[http://dhr.dos.state.fl.us/museum/collections/governors/about.cfm?id=33 Official Governor's portrait and biography from the State of Florida]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930032915/http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=f1cb224971c81010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e449a0ca9e3f1010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD National Governors Association]
*[https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,848880,00.html "Florida: Pepper v. Sholtz v. Wilcox"]. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. May 2, 1938.
* {{Find a Grave|6814821}}

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{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Doyle E. Carlton]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[List of Governors of Florida|Governor of Florida]]|years=[[1932 Florida gubernatorial election|1932]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Fred P. Cone]]}}
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{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Doyle E. Carlton]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Governors of Florida|Governor of Florida]]|years=1933–1937}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Fred P. Cone]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Governors of Florida}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sholtz, David}}
[[Category:1891 births]]
[[Category:1953 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:American people of German-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Democratic Party governors of Florida]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Florida lawyers]]
[[Category:Jewish state governors of the United States]]
[[Category:Jews from Florida]]
[[Category:Jews from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Politicians from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Politicians from Daytona Beach, Florida]]
[[Category:State attorneys in Florida]]
[[Category:Stetson University College of Law alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Florida Legislature]]
[[Category:Acacia members]]