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21st Vice President of the United States | |
| Predecessor | Daniel W. Voorhees |
| Successor | Arthur Sewall |
| President | William McKinley |
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54th Governor of Connecticut | |
| Predecessor | Phineas C. Lounsbury |
| Successor | Luzon B. Morris |
| Born | December 26, 1837 East Haddam, Connecticut, US |
| Died | November 6, 1922 (aged 84) Hartford, Connecticut, US |
| Spouse | Fannie Bulkeley |
| Political Party | Republican (until 1871), American (1875-79), National American (1879-1922) |
Morgan Gardner Bulkeley (December 26, 1837 – November 6, 1922) was an American politician, businessman, and sports executive who served as the 21st Vice President of the United States.
Early Life[]
Business Career[]
Bulkeley was a prominent business man in Hartford, serving as the president of the United States Bank of Hartford and also serving on the board of Aetna Life Insurance Company. In 1876, he helped form baseball's National League, serving as its first president for a year.
Political Career[]
Bulkeley was elected Mayor of Hartford in 1880 and served until 1888. He then ran for Governor of Connecticut, winning in a closely-contested race. He did not run again in 1890, but a close and greatly disputed election led to him remaining in office for two more years. His name was put into contention for the 1892 National American vice presidential nomination, and he won by acclamation, making him William McKinley's running mate for the 1892 United States Presidential Election. Like McKinley, he did not do much active campaigning, and his home state voted for the National American ticket by a 10% margin.
As vice president, Bulkeley served a dutiful four years, fulfilling the office's responsibilities and successfully working with Congress on several issues. He mostly was forced to deal with the Panic of 1893, an economic crisis which marred his and McKinley's entire term in office. After a tied election in 1896, Bulkeley lost his job in the vice presidential contingent election in the Senate, where Democratic candidate Arthur Sewall solidly defeated him.
Post-Vice Presidency[]
After a busy and stressful term as vice president, Bulkeley decided to distance himself from politics and return to business ventures in the Hartford area. Political unrest eventually reached him again, though, as workers in the early 1920's began to strongly organize and protest for expanded rights. Bulkeley, still president of Aetna, struck back firmly against labor agitators. He died in 1922, three years before the outbreak of the Second American Revolution which marked the start of socialist rule in the United States.
Legacy[]
In a time of such labor unrest and coming change, Bulkeley was not seen as much more than a corrupt business leader by those on the left, which is how his legacy remained under the new United States government. His earlier accomplishments in baseball and as vice president were honored by some, but by 1928 he had been almost entirely forgotten.
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