George Hunt: Arizona’s Crusading Seven-Term Governor by David R. Berman (review)

The first book-length treatment of George W. P. Hunt to appear in more than forty years, David R. Berman’s biography provides a detailed account of the political life of Arizona’s progressive first state governor. Drawing on the resources of a dozen archives, numerous government documents, and a wealth of recently digitized newspapers, Berman pieces together the campaign issues, party platforms, and personal rivalries that defined the political career of Governor Hunt.

After leaving his dysfunctional home in Missouri, Hunt settled in the small mining town of Globe, Arizona. With a limited education and poor grammar, Hunt seemed an unlikely politician. But his firm convictions about workers’ rights and the need for corporate accountability and regulation made him a fixture among the Democrats in the territorial legislature throughout the 1890s and early 1900s. Jaded by the power of special interests over the legislative process, Hunt threw his efforts into creating a state constitution that would protect democratic power through initiative, referendum, and recall. As president of the constitutional convention, he was a frontrunner for the governorship following statehood in 1912. Hunt won that and six subsequent elections over the next twenty years.

Hunt’s success resulted from his friendly relationship with organized labor and his use of patronage to build a political machine. His support of unions and workers’ rights led him into dangerous territory when he defended striking Hispanic workers and refused to condemn the anti-war Industrial Workers of the World during World War I. Miners and other workers in Arizona reciprocated his loyalty, consistently supporting his gubernatorial campaigns. A proponent of internal improvements, Hunt pushed for greater expenditures on state highways; the resulting state highway department became his mechanism for rewarding loyal friends.

Berman argues that Hunt was an active-negative politician, meaning that he was motivated by his principles, took little pleasure in his work, and believed that others were conspiring against him. The portly governor saw himself as a noble crusader grudgingly battling the forces of evil for the sake of Arizona. Berman’s emphasis on politics illuminates the many enemies that Hunt faced—corporations, mine operators, Republicans, conservative Democrats, and third-party hopefuls. Hunt became expert at collecting enough votes from these foes to build a winning coalition. But Hunt’s active-negative personality made him a sore loser and prompted him to repeatedly run for office, even when he did not really want to.

An admittedly political biography, George Hunt leaves the reader wondering about the governor’s personal life as well as his contribution to the larger constellation of American progressivism. However, a concluding chapter offers Berman’s insight into the mind and character of his subject, an unusual man who could be courageous yet anxious, idealistic yet calculating, and generous yet unforgiving. This well-documented biography opens a window into Arizona politics through the life of Hunt. His association with women’s suffrage, the anti-capital punishment campaign, water conservation, and workers’ rights make this book a valuable resource to those interested in these topics, particularly their application to Arizona and the Southwest.