Credit: Courtesy of Capitol Preservation Committee:http://cpc.state.pa.us and John Rudy Photography:http://www.johnrudy.com
Selected by Republican party leaders as the ideal candidate in the 1866 governor's election, war hero John Geary soon proved an independent-minded reformer. During his six years in office, Geary vetoed 390 laws, most of them special interest bills, supported mine safety over the opposition of the coal barons, tried to reduce the railroads' influence with the state legislature, and led the movement for a new state constitution, ratified in 1874 to reduce political corruption.
