January 4, 1932 - Moses Alexander - a podcast by Stephen Hammond

United States’ first Jewish governor, Moses Alexander, dies. Moses Alexander was born in 1853 in Bavaria, the youngest of eight children. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1867, settling in with two sisters before moving on to Missouri, where he got involved in the retail clothing business and politics. In 1891 he moved to Boise, Idaho to open a number of clothing stores. There, he was instrumental in opening Boise’s first synagogue and getting elected as mayor. After two mayoral terms and several attempts at the governorship, Alexander became governor of Idaho in 1914 – the first Jewish person to hold such a post in the United States. During his two terms as governor, he strongly supported giving women the vote and instituting prohibition. He chose not to run after his second term, focusing instead on his businesses and family. But he remained actively involved in the National Democratic Party, where he was a sought-after speaker until his death of a heart attack on January 4, 1932.

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