Governor of Iowa and U. S. Secretary of the Treasury. Having moved to Iowa from Vermont in 1869, he graduated from Cornell College in 1874 and the Iowa College of Law at Des Moines in 1876. He set up his legal practice in Denison, Iowa and paid some office expenses by selling fruit trees. Since money was scarce in rural America of the late 1870's, he set up a bank and mortgage loan business in 1880. During the 1896 Presidential campaign, William Jennings Bryan delivered a speech in Denison advocating the free coinage of silver. Shaw opposed Bryan's views and ably presented the "sound money" position. He became a popular orator on economic issues and was nominated to run for Governor of Iowa in 1897. His two terms as Governor of Iowa from 1898 to 1902 were hallmarked by his expertise in the field of public finance. He was selected as permanent chairman of the International Monetary Convention in 1898. While Theodore Roosevelt was campaigning for the Vice Presidency in Nebraska in 1900, he heard a speech delivered by Governor Shaw on the subject of monetary policy. Roosevelt was so impressed by the clarity of the presentation that he asked Shaw to become his Secretary of the Treasury when TR succeeded to the Presidency a few months later. He served Theodore Roosevelt as Secretary of the Treasury from January 9, 1902 until March 3, 1907. During his tenure, he took actions to make the money supply more elastic so that it could meet the needs of the market. He resigned in 1907 to become a banker in New York and Philadelphia. He moved to Washington, D.C. in 1913 to write and lecture.
Governor of Iowa and U. S. Secretary of the Treasury. Having moved to Iowa from Vermont in 1869, he graduated from Cornell College in 1874 and the Iowa College of Law at Des Moines in 1876. He set up his legal practice in Denison, Iowa and paid some office expenses by selling fruit trees. Since money was scarce in rural America of the late 1870's, he set up a bank and mortgage loan business in 1880. During the 1896 Presidential campaign, William Jennings Bryan delivered a speech in Denison advocating the free coinage of silver. Shaw opposed Bryan's views and ably presented the "sound money" position. He became a popular orator on economic issues and was nominated to run for Governor of Iowa in 1897. His two terms as Governor of Iowa from 1898 to 1902 were hallmarked by his expertise in the field of public finance. He was selected as permanent chairman of the International Monetary Convention in 1898. While Theodore Roosevelt was campaigning for the Vice Presidency in Nebraska in 1900, he heard a speech delivered by Governor Shaw on the subject of monetary policy. Roosevelt was so impressed by the clarity of the presentation that he asked Shaw to become his Secretary of the Treasury when TR succeeded to the Presidency a few months later. He served Theodore Roosevelt as Secretary of the Treasury from January 9, 1902 until March 3, 1907. During his tenure, he took actions to make the money supply more elastic so that it could meet the needs of the market. He resigned in 1907 to become a banker in New York and Philadelphia. He moved to Washington, D.C. in 1913 to write and lecture.
Bio by: Thomas Fisher
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