Alexander Cummings (November 17, 1810 – July 16, 1879) was an American newspaper publisher and Republican politician from Pennsylvania who served as the third Governor of the Territory of Colorado from 1865 to 1867.
The World operated as a semi-religious newspaper but did not prosper under Cummings and in 1862 came under control of other owners who dropped the religious character and changed the politics from Republican to Democratic.
A committee on contracts assigned by the United States House of Representatives investigated Cummings financial expenditures and were never able to account for $140,000.
[3] After leaving the War Department, Cummings recruited the Nineteenth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry and became Colonel in October 1863.
[5] President Johnson appointed Cummings the new Governor of the Territory of Colorado on October 17, 1865, to replace John Evans who resigned following the Sand Creek Massacre.
President Johnson vetoed Colorado admission to statehood as the "state" constitution allowed only white males older than twenty-one the right to vote.
Cummings accused Elbert of attempting to use the seal to illegally reverse the 1864 vote to reject Colorado statehood and break up the territorial government.
Pro statehood newspapers such as the Rocky Mountain News took up Elbert's cause and published negative stories about Cummings including his past record with the War Department.
[10] In the 1866 election for territorial delegate to Congress, Cummings backed Alexander Cameron Hunt, an anti-statehood candidate over George Chilcott.
[13] Cummings political enemies launched a campaign to discredit him and accused him of paying his daughter for work not performed and for grossly overpaying for the shipment of goods for the Department of Indian Affairs.
[14] Cummings resigned as territorial governor on April 27, 1867 upon learning that President Andrew Johnson had appointed Hunt to succeed him.
[1] Cummings died in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in 1879 while conducting consular activities [1] and was interred in an unmarked grave in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.