Gatewood Lincoln

{{Short description|Naval officer and Governor of American Samoa (1875–1957)}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Gatewood Sanders Lincoln | honorific_suffix = | image = Gatewood Sanders Lincoln.PNG | alt = A black and white pen outline of a young man from the shoulders up with neat hair which stops right above his ears. He is looking sternly at the viewer, and wears a military style buttoned coat. A small "W" in a box is seen in the very bottom right corner of the image. | caption = A sketch of Lincoln in 1896, recently graduated from the Naval Academy. | office = [[Governor of American Samoa]] | term_start = July 17, 1931 | term_end = May 12, 1932 | term_start2 = August 2, 1929 | term_end2 = March 24, 1931 | predecessor = [[Arthur Emerson]] | successor = [[George Landenberger]] | predecessor2 = [[Stephen Victor Graham]] | successor2 = [[James Sutherland Spore]] | birth_date = {{birth date|1875|8|5}} | birth_place = [[Liberty, Missouri|Liberty]], [[Missouri]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1957|10|15|1875|8|5}} | death_place = | party = | spouse = Enfield "Enna" Caryl Stogdale | alma_mater = [[William Jewell College]]<br>[[United States Naval Academy]] | occupation = Naval officer | signature = | signature_alt =  | nickname = | allegiance = {{flag|United States|1912}} | branch = {{nowrap|[[File:United States Department of the Navy Seal.svg|30px|United States Navy Seal]]}} [[United States Navy]] | service_years = | rank = [[File:US-O6 insignia.svg|30px]] [[Captain (United States)#U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Public Health Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|Captain]] | unit = | commands = [[USS Powhatan (ID-3013)|USS Powhatan]]; Department of Electrical Engineering and Physics at the United States Naval Academy | battles = World War I, World War II | awards = [[Navy Cross (United States)|Navy Cross]] }}

'''Gatewood Sanders Lincoln''' (August 5, 1875 – October 15, 1957) was a [[United States Navy]] officer who served as the [[governor of American Samoa]]. With Nathan Woodworth Post, Lincoln was one of only two [[American Samoa]]n governors to serve non-consecutive terms.<ref>Shaffer, Robert J. (2000). ''American Samoa: 100 Years Under the United States Flag''. Island Heritage. Page 161. {{ISBN|978-0-89610-339-9}}.</ref> He commanded a supply ship during [[World War I]] and was an instructor at the [[United States Naval Academy]], serving as Department Head of the College of Electrical Engineering and Physics.

Between Governor Lincoln's first and second terms, there were two acting governors.<ref name="Sunia, Fofō Iosefa Fiti 2001 Page 75">Sunia, Fofō Iosefa Fiti (2001). ''Puputoa: Host of Heroes - A record of the history makers in the First Century of American Samoa, 1900-2000''. Suva, Fiji: Oceania Printers. Page 75. ISBN 9829036022.</ref>

==Biography== Gatewood Lincoln was born in [[Liberty, Missouri]], to James Edwin and Margaret Lincoln, natives of [[Lexington, Kentucky]].<ref>US Census, 1880, Liberty, Clay County, Missouri, 379A</ref> His father, a cousin of [[Abraham Lincoln]], was probate judge of Clay County.<ref name=star>{{cite news|title=Gatewood Lincoln of Liberty Will Go for a Cruise on the Philadelphia|date=23 May 1896|work=[[The Kansas City Star]]|publisher=Nelson|pages=8|volume=16|issue=248}}</ref> Gatewood was James Lincoln's mother's maiden name. Lincoln studied at [[William Jewell College]] in Liberty, before he was appointed to the [[United States Naval Academy]] in 1892.<ref name=star/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/books/callahan/reg-usn-l.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060623174647/http://www.history.navy.mil/books/callahan/reg-usn-l.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 June 2006 |title=US Navy Officers: 1798-1900 -- "L" |date=7 April 2006 |work=Officers of the Continental and U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, 1775-1900 |publisher=[[Naval History & Heritage Command]] |access-date=25 February 2010}}</ref>

===Naval career=== Lincoln graduated from the Naval Academy in 1896, having been trained as a [[naval engineer]].<ref>{{cite book|last=United States Naval Academy|author-link=United States Naval Academy|title=Annual Register of the U.S. Naval Academy|publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]]|location=[[Washington, D.C.]]|year=1899|pages=47|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3HoYAQAAIAAJ&q=Gatewood+Sanders+Lincoln&pg=PA47|access-date=12 February 2010}}</ref> He ranked second in his class and received his first assignment by request of the captain of the ''[[USS Philadelphia (C-4)|USS Philadelphia]]''.<ref name=star/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C02E3DB1E3FE432A25753C2A96E9C946395D6CF|title=Miss Lincoln a Bride; Daughter of U.S. Naval Captain Weds Ensign William Sinton|date=20 August 1922|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=23 February 2010}}</ref> He was awarded the [[Navy Cross (United States)|Navy Cross]] for his conduct as captain of the ''[[USS Powhatan (ID-3013)|USS Powhatan]]'' on convoy duty during [[World War I]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.homeofheroes.com/members/02_NX/citations/01_wwi-nc/nc_02_WW1_Navy-CDY.html|title=Full Text Citations For Award of The Navy Cross to Members of the US Navy: World War 1|year=2010|work=Home of the Heroes|publisher=[[Military Times]]|access-date=23 February 2010|archive-date=3 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100803170502/http://www.homeofheroes.com/members/02_NX/citations/01_wwi-nc/nc_02_WW1_Navy-CDY.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Lincoln served on the [[United States Shipping Board]] advisory board during the 1930s<ref>{{cite news|title=Shippers Confer on Drafting Code|date=8 September 1933|work=[[The New York Times]]|pages=2}}</ref> and also at the [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]].<ref>{{cite book|last=United States Congress|author-link=United States Congress|title=United States congressional serial set|publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]]|location=[[Washington, D.C.]]|year=1912|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-cZZ3OA5qTEC&q=%22Gatewood+Sanders+Lincoln%22&pg=PA22|access-date=11 February 2010}}</ref> During World War I, he saw active duty in command of a supply ship in the Atlantic.<ref>{{cite book|last=Booker|first=Edna Lee|title=News Is My Job - A Correspondent in War Torn China|publisher=The Macmillan Company|year=1940|pages=160|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_kCJUTYLMhIC&q=gatewood+lincoln&pg=PA160|access-date=12 February 2010|author-link=Edna Lee Booker | isbn=978-1-4067-4093-6}}</ref> After the war, as a [[Commander (United States)#Naval rank|Commander]], Lincoln was department head of Electrical Engineering and Physics at the Naval Academy.<ref>{{cite book|last=United States Naval Academy|author-link=United States Naval Academy|title=Annual Register of the U.S. Naval Academy|publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]]|location=[[Washington, D.C.]]|year=1915|pages=20|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7HsYAQAAIAAJ&q=gatewood+lincoln&pg=RA1-PA20|access-date=12 February 2010}}</ref> In 1943, he was called back to active duty to take command of the Naval Ammunition Depot in Fallbrook, California.

==Governorship== Lincoln served two terms as [[Governor of American Samoa]], from 2 August 1929 to 24 March 1931 and from 17 July 1931 to 12 May 1932.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://americansamoa.gov/governors/lieutenant-nathan-woodworth-post |title=Lieutenant Nathan Woodworth Post |last=Government of American Samoa |author-link=Government of American Samoa |year=2010 |publisher=American Samoa |access-date=11 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527143258/http://americansamoa.gov/governors/lieutenant-nathan-woodworth-post |archive-date=27 May 2010 }}</ref> He separated the responsibilities of the Chief Justice and the Attorney General, and he started a Samoan-led judicial commission to deal with matters involving land ownership, thereby granting the Samoan people more autonomy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dardani |first=Ross |date=September 2020 |title=Citizenship in Empire: The Legal History of U.S. Citizenship in American Samoa, 1899-1960 |url=https://docs.house.gov/meetings/II/II00/20210512/112617/HHRG-117-II00-20210512-SD3043.pdf |journal=American Journal of Legal History |volume=60 |issue=3 |pages=342}}</ref>

During Governor Lincoln's first term, the long-awaited Congressional commission, appointed by the President under the Bingham Bill, arrived.<ref name="Sunia, Fofō Iosefa Fiti 2001 Page 75"/> The congressional commission's visit from September to October 1930, and the subsequent release of its findings, led to a near halt in political unrest in the islands. Based on the commission's recommendations, a Bill of Rights was incorporated into the Codification of the Regulations and Orders for the Government.<ref>Shaffer, Robert J. (2000). ''American Samoa: 100 Years Under the United States Flag''. Island Heritage. Page 162. {{ISBN|978-0-89610-339-9}}.</ref>

In the 1920s, it became clear that the swift Americanization efforts were not benefiting Samoans. By 1927, the [[American Samoa Fono]]'s attempt to limit educational reforms highlighted two major concerns: the disruptive effects of new knowledge and behaviors on students, and the diminishing respect for [[Samoan culture]] due to the influence of foreign teachers. This cultural disconnect led to a sense among Samoans that their children were becoming estranged from their traditional values and family ties. In response, Governor Lincoln proposed a shift in educational focus in a 1929 letter to the Board of Education, suggesting that Samoan history and customs should be taught, and that education should prioritize practical skills like agriculture over preparing students for government roles. This approach aimed to align education more closely with Samoan needs and values. This shift gained momentum in 1933 with significant changes introduced by a committee of educators from the [[University of Hawaiʻi]], funded by the Barstow Foundation, who further adapted the curriculum to better serve local needs.<ref>Darden, Thomas F. (1952). ''Historical Sketch of the Naval Administration of the Government of American Samoa''. U.S. Government Printing Office. Page 29.</ref>

In its final years, the [[Mau movement in American Samoa|Mau movement]] in American Samoa assumed a [[Watchdog journalism|watchdog]] role, diligently scrutinizing the actions of the U.S. Navy. By 1930, the movement's executive committee sought to become advisors to Governor Lincoln on all matters to ensure smooth governance. However, Governor Lincoln declined their request.<ref>Chapell, David A. (2000). "The Forgotten Mau: Anti-Navy Protest in American Samoa, 1920–1935". [[Pacific Historical Review]]. 69 (2): Pages 251-252. ISSN 0030-8684.</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln, Gatewood}} [[Category:1875 births]] [[Category:1957 deaths]] [[Category:People from Liberty, Missouri]] [[Category:Governors of American Samoa]] [[Category:United States Navy captains]] [[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]] [[Category:United States Naval Academy faculty]] [[Category:American engineers]] [[Category:William Jewell College alumni]] [[Category:Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States)]] [[Category:Lincoln family|Gatewood]]