Alexander Caldwell

Alexander Caldwell (March 1, 1830May 19, 1917) was a U.S. Senator from Kansas. Early years Born in Drakes Ferry, Pennsylvania, he attended public schools, and in 1847 enlisted as a private to serve in the Mexican–American War. He moved to Columbia, Pennsylvania, in 1848, where he was employed in a bank and subsequently went into business for himself. He then moved to Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1861 and engaged in the transportation of military supplies to the various posts on the plains. He then worked building railroads, especially the Missouri River and Kansas Central Railroad. Politics Caldwell was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate and had served just two years, from March 4, 1871, to March 24, 1873, when he resigned in the face of a movement to expel him for bribery and corruption. It was claimed that he had bribed his political opponents not to run, leaving the field clear for himself.