Senator Samuel Moffett Ralston

Samuel Moffett Ralston served as a Senator from Indiana in the United States Congress from 1923 to 1925. A member of the Democratic Party, Samuel Moffett Ralston contributed to the legislative process during 1 term in office.

Samuel Moffett Ralston’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the Senate, Samuel Moffett Ralston participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

Samuel Moffett Ralston (December 1, 1857 – October 14, 1925) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as the 28th governor of the U.S. state of Indiana and a United States senator from Indiana. Born into a large impoverished family, he took many jobs as a child including working in a coal mine. He taught school and studied law, becoming a prominent state lawyer before becoming active in his local politics. Because he served during the state’s 100th anniversary he is sometimes called the Indiana’s “Centennial Governor”. During his tenure as governor, he was responsible for implementing many Progressive Era reforms in the state and put down the Indianapolis streetcar strike of 1913. He gained the support of the Indiana Ku Klux Klan for his anti-Catholic political positions, and with their support was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1922. Ralston had become popular among the national Democratic Party as an early front-runner for the presidential nomination in 1924, but he dropped out of the race because of his failing health, and died the next year.