A lawyer and veteran of World War I, he is credited with returning his party to power after the Ku Klux Klan scandal in the late 1920s that led to years of Democratic dominance of the state government during the Great Depression.

To earn an income as a boy, Gates delivered newspapers and became acquainted with Thomas R. Marshall, who later became Vice President of the United States.

The Ku Klux Klan dominated the state government during the 1920s and Gates, thanks to his father's advice, was among the few office holders in his region who did not become involved with the secret organization.

He was known as a "master politician" and soon began to cull from the party leadership the last vestiges of the old progressive movement and those willing to compromise with the Democrats.

At the same convention, by Gates' design, Homer E. Capehart and William E. Jenner were nominated to run for the U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate respectively.

Gates supported Jenners' position, and in his speech attacked the state Democratic Party, calling them puppets of the Roosevelt administration claiming they took their orders from Washington and not citizens of Indiana.

[4] Gates and his Democratic opponent, Samuel D. Jackson, did not hold any debates or travel to make joint appearances.

He promised not to abuse the executive authority, and the speech successfully ended what had become a fifteen-year battle between the legislature, the governor, and the Indiana Supreme Court over who held the final power to control the state bureaucracy.

Gates announced he would focus on three main areas while he served as governor; industrial growth, highway construction, and improved health care.

Using his connections in the American Legion, Gates was instrumental in influencing the organization to move its national headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Indianapolis and providing it office space in the World War Memorial building which was expanded to accommodate them.

Gates insisted that it was in the best interest of the state to accept the money and build the highways, but legislature failed to act on his recommendation.

The Constitution of Indiana prevented governors from serving consecutive terms, barring Gates from running for office again.

[6] Gates played a key role in the establishment of Chain O'Lakes State Park in Noble County.

He met with Robert A. Taft in 1952 and was offered the chance to run for Vice President of the United States, but he declined.

Only a private service was held after his death because of his request for only a simple ceremony where his favorite song, "Onward Christian Soldiers" was played.

[8] Indiana State Road 205, which runs from Garrett, through Churubusco and Columbia City, before ending in South Whitley, is called the Ralph F. Gates Memorial Highway.

As a governor, Gates was responsible for helping the state to successfully transition from a war to peace time economy.

[2] The Ralph F. Gates Nature Preserve at Crooked Lake near the Whitley - Noble county line was given to ACRES Land Trust, Inc. in 1977 by Phil and Patricia McNagny.