Alexander McKenzie (American politician)

Alexander John McKenzie (1851–1922) was a politician in early North Dakota. He preferred not to serve in public office, but was highly influential in North Dakota and in neighboring Montana and Minnesota. He was the Republican national committeeman from North Dakota, directed a highly successful political machine, and was known as the “senator-maker.”

McKenzie was born April 3, 1850 in Ontario, Canada, the son of Scottish immigrants. He attended public school in Toronto, but quit school at age 11 to seek his fortune.

At age 16 McKenzie arrived in Dakota Territory in the United States, and while still in his teens he became a scout in the US Army for George Armstrong Custer cavalry. He later worked in railroad construction, at a time when railroads were being extended throughout the Plains. He ran a factory that made carbonated beverages.

McKenzie served as the sheriff of Burleigh County, North Dakota from 1874 to 1886. He was later a deputy U.S. marshal. He became an influential figure in Dakota Territory, and later in the new state of North Dakota, where he personally selected many Republican candidates for the state legislature, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives. He was the Republican National Committeeman for North Dakota for 21 years.

McKenzie built and ran a powerful political organization in North Dakota. However, the “McKenzie machine” was widely accused of stealing votes, intimidating voters, and physically beating opponents.

In 1900, McKenzie secured the appointment of his hand-picked candidates for the federal judge, federal district attorney, and other government posts in the gold-rush boom town of Nome, Alaska. He then travelled to Nome with the federal law-enforcement apparatus at his command. His obedient judge took some gold mines from their rightful owners, and illegally appointed McKenzie as the receiver to operate the mines while the owners appealed.

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