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Commonwealth Museum   Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin

More of Gardner’s suggestions

Governor Gardner suggested many other things in his inaugural addresses, such as:


  • “Americanizing America”
  • Immigrants must wait until they had lived in America for 21 years, as the native-born American voting age was 21.
  • Naturalized citizens could not hold public office.
  • Shipping the poor immigrants back to Liverpool.
  • Immigrants were stereotyped as alcoholics, so Gardner suggested prohibition of the sale of alcohol.
  • Removing the Latin inscription at the speaker’s podium in the Massachusetts House of Representatives (because it was not in English).
  • Reading the Protestant King James Bible in public schools.