What is Walter M. Pierce?
{{Infobox_Governor | name = Walter M. Pierce | image = Walter M. Pierce, Governor of Oregon - The Oregana - 1926 yearbook of the University of Oregon (page 26 crop).jpg | caption = | order = 17th | office = Governor of Oregon | term_start = January 8, 1923 | term_end = January 10, 1927 | lieutenant = <!--Oregon has no Lt. Gov. position--> | predecessor = [[Ben W. Olcott]] | successor = [[I. L. Patterson]] | birth_date = May 30, 1861 | birth_place = [[Morris, Illinois]] | death_date = March 27, 1954 | death_place = [[Salem, Oregon]] | spouse = Clara Rudio Pierce (died, 1890)<br>Laura Rudio Pierce (died, 1925)<br>Cornelia Marlin Pierce | profession = [[Lawyer]] | party = [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] | footnotes = }} '''Walter Marcus Pierce''' (May 30, 1861 - March 27, 1954) was an [[United States|American]] politician, a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], who served most notably as the 17th [[List of Governors of Oregon|Governor of Oregon]] and a member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] from Oregon's 2nd Congressional District. ==Early life== Pierce was born to Charles M. and Charlotte L. (née Clapp) Pierce, [[Jacksonian Democrat]] farmers in Morris, Illinois on May 30, 1861. At the age of 17, he began teaching school despite only having a secondary education. The ideas of [[Manifest Destiny]] as espoused by [[Horace Greeley]], influenced Pierce to move west in 1883. After arriving in [[Portland, Oregon]] in June of that year, he found no available work. After a time working the wheat fields of eastern [[Washington Territory]], he earned enough money to finally settle in [[Milton-Freewater, Oregon|Milton, Oregon]] in [[Umatilla County, Oregon|Umatilla County]]. There, he returned to a career in education, and established a successful farm. As an educator, Pierce was drawn i