He had originally intended to establish a bank in Milan, Missouri, but a Chillicothe friend and business associate, Thomas Yates, urged him to go into partnership with him in Gallatin instead.

[5] Dr. Dockery served as cashier and treasurer of the Farmers Exchange Bank, developing money management skills that would later prove useful in his political career both in the U.S. House of Representatives and as Missouri governor.

Pursuing a more active role in Democratic politics, Dockery was chairman of the congressional committee of his district[1] In 1882 this led to him running for U.S. Congress.

[6] Congressman Dockery developed a reputation as a staunch fiscal conservative in the House, earning the sobriquet "Watchdog of the Treasury" during his ten years on the House Appropriations Committee,[1] once stating "Unnecessary taxation leads to surplus revenue, surplus revenue begets extravagance, and extravagance sooner or later is surely followed by corruption.

Dockery also served as Chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office[3] where he brought about more fiscal responsibility and urged changes that improved mail delivery, especially in rural areas.

The Missouri Gubernatorial election of November 1900 saw Alexander Dockery defeat Republican Joseph Flory and a divided field of four other candidates to win a narrow 51-percent victory.

[4] Through increased revenue and changes in fiscal management techniques, a Dockery hallmark, during his administration the state's bonded indebtedness was paid off.

Prohibited by the Missouri constitution from a second term as governor, Dockery left office in early January 1905 replaced by fellow Democrat Joseph W. Folk, a man he strongly disagreed with.

With Dockery's tepid support, Folk and his reformers won, marking a sea change in state politics as the "old guard" Democrats and their way of doing things began to fade.

It was not an uncommon sight around Daviess County's Union Township to find Dockery with a horse and wagon out patching potholes and fixing culverts.

Appointed the position of third assistant Postmaster General, Dockery helped put the agency's fiscal house in order.