Harrison Reed

Governor of Florida

Harrison Reed (August 26, 1813 – May 25, 1899) was an American editor and politician who had most of his political career in Florida.He was elected in 1868 as the ninth Governor of Florida, serving until 1873 during the Reconstruction era.

Born in Littleton, Massachusetts, he moved as a youth with his family to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he had a grocery store and started farming.

He also owned and edited the Milwaukee Sentinel for several years.Reed became active in the Republican Party and in 1861 he began his political career, moving to Washington, DC for a patronage job in the Treasury Department.

In 1863 he was appointed as the Tax Commissioner of Florida, to oversee confiscation and sales of Confederate properties in Union-occupied areas.

In 1865 he was appointed as Postal Agent for the state.In 1868 he was elected as Governor under the new constitution, which enfranchised freedmen.

He served one term, with challenges by factions of the Republican Party resulting in two attempts in the state senate at impeachment.

He strongly supported public education, where the growth in new schools served one-quarter of the children by 1872.

Related People

Abraham K. Allison

Governor of Florida

Sidney Johnston Catts

Governor of Florida

Lawton Chiles

Governor of Florida