Clayton, Powell

Clayton, Powell

(1833–1914) governor, U.S. senator; born in Bethel County, Pa. A civil engineer, he fought with Kansas regiments during the Civil War (1861–65), buying a plantation in Arkansas afterward. As Arkansas governor (Rep., 1868–71), he attacked the Ku Klux Klan and issued $6,900,000 in bonds for railroad construction. Indicted for corruption, but never convicted, he served in the U.S. Senate (Rep., Ark.; 1871–77), later becoming U.S. ambassador to Mexico (1897–1905).