cuts and increased taxation and with the support of the General Assembly, the government was able to pay off the entire state debt and create a $3.76 million surplus fund by the time he left office. World War I As the United States entered World War I, Ralston was called on by United States President Woodrow Wilson to help ready Indiana's levies. Numerous regiments, totaling more than 130,000 men, were mustered in Indiana and sent overseas in the state's largest deployment since the American Civil War. With most of the Indiana National Guard out of the state, Ralston reactivated the Indiana Legion, which had recently been renamed the Liberty Guard, an organization that had not seen action since the American Civil War. In 1916 tensions began to increase between the United States and Mexico and there was a possibility of war. The majority of the American forces were at that time in Europe, and Wilson requested Ralston to mobilize a full brigade of Hoosiers to defend the Mexican border. It was the largest single unit call the state had responded to, as the federal government typical only called out regiments. Several thousand men were quickly assembled and dispatched to the border. Historians note that Ralston had one of the most eventful terms in the state's history, and faced more challenges than any governor, except for Oliver Morton. The state constitution prevented him from seeking a second term as governor, and he left office on January 8, 1917 after delivering a farewell address and urging the General Assembly to adopt additional progressive legislation that he was unable to have passed during his term. U.S. Senator Ralston campaigned for the United States Senate beginning in 1922. Because of his friendly relationship with the Indiana branch of the Ku Klux Klan, he was able to get their endorsement. Ralston delivered a speech at St. Mary's of the Woods where he condemned religious interference in state affairs. The Klan's primary goals at the time were to remove all Catholic influence from the government and public schools, and to shut down Catholic private schools. His speech earned him considerable popularity among the group who said he "was not afraid to tell off the papists to their faces." The Klan was one of the most influential groups within the state at the time, and it reprinted and circulated his speech. The Klan's support of Ralston was