Samuel A. Baker (R)

Overview

At a Glance

• Attempted to create a permanent school fund supported by inheritance, amusement and tobacco taxes
• Attempted to establish teachers' pension fund
• Helped broker a compromise for a $75 million highway bond issue

Personal History

Sam A. Baker was born in Patterson, Missouri, to Samuel Aaron Baker, who died shortly before his son was born, and Mary Amanda Baker. He attended school in the village of Mill Springs, Missouri, and taught for a short time in various country schools. Baker worked as a railroad section hand and in a planing mill to financially pay for his college education. After graduating in 1887 with a bachelor's degree in pedagogy from the state teacher’s college at Cape Girardeau (now Southeast Missouri State University), he later earned an A.B. degree at Missouri Wesleyan College.

Baker's career as a Missouri school administrator began with his appointment as superintendent of schools in Piedmont in 1897. His next assignment was as principal of high schools at Jefferson City in 1899 and at Joplin in 1910. After completing a three-year stint as superintendent of schools at Richmond, he returned to Jefferson City in 1913 and lived there for the rest of his life. As superintendent of schools in Jefferson City, Baker led a $100,000 bond issue campaign to improve facilities, provide students with free textbooks, and expand the curriculum to include commercial studies, manual training, and teacher training.

Baker received an honorary degree from Missouri Valley College in 1922. He was elected president of the Missouri State Teachers Association and vice president of the National Education Association. His staff members and aides in the governor's office, many of whom had been students when he was superintendent in Jefferson City, called him "Professor" rather than "Governor."

Baker was an elder of the Presbyterian Church of Jefferson City, where he and his wife, Nelle R. Tuckley, were members. The Bakers had one child, Mary Elizabeth.

Baker's health began to decline during the last year of his governorship. A few months after he left office in January 1929, he suffered two strokes that left him partly paralyzed and bedridden for most of the remaining years of his life. He died in Jefferson City and was buried in Riverview Cemetery in Jefferson City.

Political History

Baker's accomplishments as the superintendent of Jefferson City schools led to his election in 1918 as state superintendent of schools on the Republican ticket. During Baker's four-year term as Missouri's school chief, the state's public schools made important gains including increased funding for rural schools that had fallen behind academically and financially; vocational and rehabilitation education; teacher training facilities and programs; and a doubling of teachers' salaries. Despite this record of achievement, Baker was defeated in his reelection bid.

In 1923, Baker set his sights on the governor's office. Without funds or organizational backing, he had enough name recognition and statewide support to gain the endorsement of the outgoing Hyde administration. Baker won the gubernatorial election in 1924 over Democratic opponent, Arthur W. Nelson.

Despite the general prosperity of the mid-1920s, when Gov. Baker took office the state's operating costs exceeded anticipated revenues, forcing a strict economy upon his administration. Baker pursued the establishment of a permanent public education fund created through taxes on inheritance, amusements, and tobacco, but it wasn’t supported by the legislature, along with his recommendations for the establishment of a teachers' retirement fund and a statewide school redistricting plan to eliminate costly and substandard school districts. The legislature approved Gov. Baker's call for a worker’s compensation law, but showed no interest in his request for an additional state prison for hardened criminals. Gov. Baker secured a compromise for a $75 million bond issue that voters approved during his term for a bond issue for highway construction and road improvements.

Historical Significance

As governor, Baker was a strong advocate for improving public education statewide. Governor Baker's term was heavily influenced by his time as a school administrator, based on the education legislation he championed. Because of Missouri's budget constraints, he was unable to accomplish his major goals: establishing a permanent funding mechanism for public education and a teachers' pension fund. The teacher's pension fund was not created until May 1945 under Governor Forrest C. Donnell. Missouri was the 47th state to adopt legislation leading to a statewide teacher retirement system. Today, with approximately $29.2 billion in assets and serving over 220,000 active and retired members, Missouri's Public School and Education Employee Retirement System is one of the largest retirement systems in the nation.