Speaker of the House Champ Clark (D-Mo.), who retained his majority, although considerably shrunken from what it had been at the start of the Wilson Administration.

The 1914 midterms were rather peculiar. They were one of the midterms in which the president’s party lost seats in the House but gained in the Senate. Furthermore, this was the first election in which senators were popularly elected, and as I have covered before this impacted the makeup of the Senate. The Progressive Party remained a factor in a number of crucial elections which arguably resulted in Democratic wins. This election saw a future president get elected to the Senate in Warren G. Harding in Ohio, as well as the election of the first and only Prohibitionist member of Congress as well as the election of the second Socialist member of Congress. This would also be the first election won by James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. of New York, whose career was rather unusual in that he had his national start in the Senate, and then later served in the House. He would be a consistent voice for arch-conservatism on domestic issues and his advocacy for military preparedness but would notably differ with his party in his support for FDR’s foreign policy.

Republicans ran in the 1914 election on the platform of the economic policies of the Taft Administration producing prosperity seen at the time, and this saw big gains in their traditional stronghold of New England. In the Midwest, the Republican performance was a bit spottier. They did very well in Illinois and Iowa, but were only able to regain two seats from their complete wipe-out in the 1912 election in Indiana, gained a House seat in Kansas, lost a House and a Senate seat in South Dakota, and lost a Senate seat in Wisconsin. Democrats managed to keep a number of seats or make gains in the West, where Wilson was maintaining or gaining in popularity. An interesting example was in Utah, in which the state’s second district flipped from Republican to Democrat, and this would presage Wilson’s big win there in 1916 as well as Republican Senator George Sutherland’s loss and the loss of the first district. By stark contrast, the state had been one of only two to stick with William Howard Taft in 1912. It should be noted that a significant part of why Republicans made big gains in the House was because the 1912 split in the GOP had produced major gains in the House that year, Democrats having won seats they normally would not win. In Philadelphia, at the time a Republican stronghold in part thanks to its corrupt machine, Democrats had managed to snag two of the city’s Congressional districts, which came back under Republican control in this election. Republicans overall gained 62 seats in the House, a “shellacking” but not enough to win a majority, even though they did win the popular House vote. The Progressive Party loses a net of four seats; they were but a minor contender in national politics although as noted earlier, they ate away at Republican votes in some critical places. The Progressive Party’s influence would come to an end when Theodore Roosevelt decided to back Republican Charles Evans Hughes in the 1916 presidential election.

Republican Gains, House

In Colorado’s 2^nd district, Republican Charles Timberlake defeated Democrat Harry Seldomridge for reelection.

In Connecticut, Republicans had a clean sweep, with Democrats Augustine Lonergan, Bryan F. Mahan, Thomas Reilly, Jeremiah Donovan, and William Kennedy losing reelection to Republicans P. Davis Oakey, Richard Freeman, John Tilson, Ebenezer Hill, and James Glynn respectively.

In Delaware, Republican Thomas W. Miller defeated Democratic incumbent Franklin W. Brockson.

In Illinois, Republicans gained a whopping net of 11 seats. Republican Ira Copley switched to Progressive for his reelection and won. The most notable victor was former Speaker Joe Cannon regaining his seat in the 18^th district over Democrat Frank O’Hair. Progressives Charles Thomson and William Hinebaugh lose reelection to George Foss and Charles Fuller in the 10^th and 12^th districts respectively, while Democrats Louis FitzHenry, Charles Borchers, James Graham, William Baltz, H. Robert Fowler, Robert Hill, and Lawrence Stringer lose reelection to John Sterling, William B. McKinley, Loren Wheeler, William Rodenberg, Thomas Williams, Edward Denison, and Burnett Chiperfield respectively. Republican William Wilson would win an open seat in the 3rd district.

In Indiana, Republicans Merrill Moores and William Wood defeated Democratic incumbents Charles Korbly and John Peterson in the 7^th and 10^th districts respectively.

In Iowa, Republicans Harry Hull, Burton Sweet, and C. William Ramseyer win in the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 6^th districts respectively. They all win open seats.

In Maryland, Republican Sydney Mudd wins an open seat in the 5^th district.

In Massachusetts, Republican George Tinkham wins an open seat in the 11^th district while Republicans William H. Carter and Joseph Walsh defeat incumbents John Mitchell and Thomas Thacher in the 13^th and 16^th districts respectively.

In Michigan, Republicans George Loud and W. Frank James defeat Progressive incumbents Roy Woodruff and William J. MacDonald in the 10^th and 12^th districts respectively.

In Minnesota, Republican Franklin Ellsworth wins an open seat in Minnesota’s 2^nd district.

In Nebraska, Republican C. Frank Reavis defeats Democrat John Maguire for reelection in the 1^st district.

In New Hampshire, Democrat Eugene E. Reed of the 1^st district loses reelection to Republican Cyrus Sulloway and Democrat Raymond B. Stevens of the 2^nd district runs for the Senate (he loses) and is succeeded by Republican Edward Wason.

In New Jersey, Republicans gain five seats. At the start of the 63^rd Congress, William J. Browning of the 1^st district was initially the only Republican, but Dow Drukker won a special election during the Congress. Democrats J. Thompson Baker, Allan B. Walsh, William Tuttle, and Edward Townsend lost reelection to Isaac Bacharach, Elijah Hutchinson, John Capstick, and Frederick Lehlbach respectively. Republican Richard Parker wins an open seat.

In New Mexico, Republican Benigno Hernandez defeats Democrat Harvey B. Fergusson for reelection. Hernandez is the first Hispanic American in Congress.

In New York, Republicans gain eleven seats. Democratic incumbents Lathrop Brown, James O’Brien, Jacob Cantor, Benjamin Taylor, George McClellan, Peter Ten Eyck, Charles Talcott, John Clancy, and Robert Gittins lose to Frederick Hicks, Oscar Swift, Isaac Siegel, James Husted, Charles Ward, Rollin Sanford, Homer Snyder, Walter Magee, and S. Wallace Dempsey respectively.

In North Carolina, Republican James J. Britt defeats Democrat James M. Gudger Jr. for reelection in the 10^th district.

In Ohio, Republicans gain ten seats. Most notably, future Speaker Nicholas Longworth regains his seat from Democrat Stanley Bowdle in the 1^st district. Democrats George White, William Francis, and Elsworth Bathrick lose reelection to William Mooney in the 15^th district, Roscoe McCulloch of the 16^th district, and John Cooper of the 19^th district respectively. Republicans Joshua Russell, Nelson Matthews, Charles Kearns, Seward Williams, David Hollingsworth, and Henry Emerson win open seats.

In Pennsylvania, Republicans gain a net of eight seats, with Democrats Michael Donohoe, J. Washington Logue, Robert E. Lee, Franklin Dershem, Andrew Brodbeck, and Wooda Carr losing reelection to Peter Costello, George Darrow, Robert Heaton, Benjamin Focht, C. William Beales, and Robert F. Hopwood. Progressives Henry Temple and Willis Hulings lose reelection to Republicans William M. Brown and Samuel H. Miller.

In Rhode Island, Republican Walter Stiness defeats Democrat Peter Gerry for reelection in the 2^nd district.

Democratic Gains, House

In Iowa, Democrat Thomas Steele defeats Republican George Scott for reelection in the 11^th district.

In Kansas, Republican Victor Murdock steps down to run for the Senate as a Progressive and Democrat William Ayres wins an open seat in the 8^th district.

In Minnesota, Democrat Carl Van Dyke defeats Republican Frederick Stevens for reelection.

In Nebraska, Democrat Ashton Shallenberger defeats Republican Silas Barton for reelection in the 5^th district.

In Oklahoma, Democrat James Davenport wins an open seat in the 1^st district from retiring Republican Bird McGuire.

In Pennsylvania, Democrat Michael Liebel defeats Republican Milton Shreve for reelection. It is a three-way race in which a Progressive candidate gets 23.5% of the vote.

In South Dakota, Democrat Harry Gandy wins the open seat in the 3^rd district.

In Utah, Democrat James Mays wins the open seat in the 2^nd district.

In West Virginia, Democrat Adam Littlepage defeats Republican Samuel B. Avis for reelection in the 3^rd district.

In Washington, Democrat Clarence Dill wins in the 5^th district.

Democratic Gains, Senate

In California, Democrat James Phelan wins the election to succeed retiring Republican George Perkins.

In South Dakota, Republican Coe Crawford loses renomination to Congressman Charles Burke, but Burke loses the election to Democrat Edwin Johnson.

In Wisconsin, Democrat Paul Husting narrowly wins the election to succeed retiring Republican Isaac Stephenson.

Progressive Gains:

In California’s 6^th district, Republican Joseph Knowland retires and is succeeded by John A. Elston.

In Illinois’ 11^th district, Ira C. Copley switches from Republican to Progressive and wins.

In Louisiana’s 3^rd district, Progressive Whitmell P. Martin wins an open seat.

In Minnesota, Progressive Thomas Schall wins an open Republican seat in the 10^th district.

Other Gains:

In California, Prohibitionist Charles Randall defeats Progressive Charles W. Bell for reelection in the 9^th district.

In New York, Socialist Meyer London defeats Democrat Henry Goldfogle for reelection in the 14^th district.

Renomination Losses:

In Alabama’s 6^th district, Democrat Richmond P. Hobson lost renomination to William B. Oliver.

In Florida’s at-Large District, Claude L’Engle, who barely voted, lost to William J. Sears.

In Louisiana, Democrat James W. Elder lost renomination to Riley J. Wilson in the 5^th district.

In Maryland, Democrat Frank Smith lost renomination to Richard A. Johnson in the 5^th district, who loses to Republican Sydney Mudd.

In Missouri’s 12^th district, Democrat Michael Gill loses renomination, and the seat is won by Republican Leonidas C. Dyer.

In New York, Democrats Frank Wilson, Jefferson Levy, and Henry George Jr. lose renomination to Joseph Flynn in the 3^rd district, Michael Farley in the 14^th district, and G. Murray Hulbert in the 21^st district respectively, all who win the election. Democrats Herman Metz and Edwin Underhill lose renomination in the 10^th and 37^th districts respectively, and the victors lose the election to Republicans. Republican Samuel Wallin loses renomination to William Charles in the 30^th district, who wins his election.

In Ohio, Democrat J. Henry Goeke lost renomination in the 4^th district, and the victor lost the seat.

In Oklahoma, Democrat Claude Weaver loses to Joseph B. Thompson.

In Oregon, Republican Walter Lafferty of the 3^rd district ran for reelection as an Independent and lost to Republican Clifton MacArthur.

In Pennsylvania, Democrat Robert Difenderfer loses renomination to Harry E. Grim in the 8^th district, who loses the election. Democrat John Rothermel loses renomination to Arthur Dewalt, who wins the election in the 13^th district.

In Washington, Progressive James W. Bryan loses renomination to Austin E. Griffith, who loses the election in the 1^st district.

This election resulted in a Democratic House majority of 230-196 and 7 third party members, which would place Republicans in a good position in 1916, but they fell short in enough places so that a coalition of Democrats and third party members would retain a majority in the succeeding Congress. The Senate had a 56-39 Democratic majority, which was a bit of a tougher hurdle for Republicans to come back from.

References

1914 United States House of Representatives elections. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1914_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections

1914 United States Senate elections. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1914_United_States_Senate_elections

For people who make it into positions of great power, having a mentor is vital. The man I am writing about today, Winthrop Murray Crane (1853-1920), was not only a politician of great significance in his own right, but he also mentored a president. Born to family in the paper mill business, the Crane Paper Company, Crane went to work for his father upon completing school at 17, and worked his way up through the company, serving in multiple roles so he could fully understand the business. In 1872, Crane had his first major success in obtaining a wrapping paper contract for the Winchester Repeating Arms Company and seven years later he followed up by securing an exclusive contract for the Crane Paper Company to provide paper for the currency of the U.S. government, a role it still has today. After Crane’s father’s death in 1887 he took the reins of the business and managed to significantly increase his family’s wealth through wise investments.

In 1892, Crane entered politics when he served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention, and would take part in subsequent conventions. He was notably not big on public speaking and disliked the process of campaigning. Indeed, Crane never made a speech in his years campaigning for office (can you guess who he mentored?). His reticence did not hurt him in Massachusetts, and in 1897, he was elected lieutenant governor, followed up by his election in 1899 as governor, serving from 1900 to 1903. As governor, Crane practiced fiscal conservatism, succeeded in getting an asylum constructed, and mediated a strike by the Teamster’s Union. His success in resolving that strike got him national recognition, including from President Theodore Roosevelt, who brought him on to be among the negotiators to successfully mediate the national Anthracite Coal Strike in 1902. Crane also advised Roosevelt to publicly state that he would not seek a third term when running for reelection (Bent). Although Roosevelt asked him to be Secretary of the Treasury, he declined.  Crane was described thusly by author Carolyn W. Johnson, “This Governor of Massachusetts, deep in public service, was by temperament a private man. In public reticent and unwilling to speak, he conversed constantly in closed meetings, in quiet conferences, and on the telephone….he never said more than he had to, and he said it once…His program was not one of sweeping changes, but one of small steps toward his goals: curtailed expenditures, reduced indebtedness, and increased legislative self-discipline…His administration was unspectacular and widely praised; he had not been expected, or elected to introduce grand reforms…He was the classic man-behind-the-scenes. Avoiding limelight and applause, he was a man who ‘knew,’ a collector of information, an acute observer who had many sources…With an easy private approach to individuals, he won their confidence; with sound perceptions, he gained their respect. His colleagues knew that he could keep a secret. He was honest, not extravagantly frank, and eminently sensible, with a deep knowledge of men and a wide grasp of affairs” (24, 29, 39). Crane chose not to run again for governor, but public office would again call to him.

In 1904, Senator George Frisbie Hoar, a longtime institution in Massachusetts and on Capitol Hill, died after several months of illness. Crane was appointed his successor by Governor John L. Bates, and the legislature elected him to a full term in 1907. In the Senate, he was known as a capable behind-the-scenes leader of the conservative wing of the GOP. This was attested to by his colleague, Chauncey Depew of New York, who wrote that he “never made a speech. I do not remember that he made a motion. Yet he was the most influential member of that body” (Abrams, 38). Crane also would often advise people not to act in certain situations. As he would tell people, “Do nothing” (Abrams, 39). Even though he was one of the Senate’s most conservative members in his day, he was known for his skills in persuasion and in bridging differences between the conservative and progressive wings of the party. Crane also could be direct in a way that his colleagues hesitated to be. For instance, after numerous Republicans had tried all sorts of indirect ways to divine how a fellow senator was going to vote on a crucial bill, Crane told his colleagues to “wait a minute”, strolled over to the senator and conversed with him briefly, then walked back and telling his fellow Republicans that “he’ll vote for the bill”, and when asked how he found out, he simply stated, “I asked him” (The Buffalo News). He was also inherently a high-tariff man, in line with traditional Republican economic philosophy, and voted for the Payne-Aldrich Tariff. However, Crane was also willing to vote for President Taft’s push for reciprocal trade relations with Canada, something that wouldn’t come to pass until the Reagan Administration. Crane was opposed to many reform proposals of his day, including publicizing campaign contributions, direct election of senators, and abolishing the electoral college. He could also engage in some behind-the-scenes maneuvering, possibly including Democratic Governor William L. Douglas not running for reelection. According to politician Charles Hamlin, Republicans had uncovered that Douglas had obtained by fraud an honorable discharge during the War of the Rebellion, and that Crane and Senator Lodge agreed to keep this a secret if he did not run again (Abrams, 120). Active at the Republican National Convention, Crane feared that William Howard Taft would be not be a sufficiently strong candidate, but he would fully back his reelection effort in 1912. By this point, Crane had declined to be a candidate for reelection and was succeeded by the also strongly conservative John W. Weeks. Crane’s DW-Nominate score stands at a 0.669, making him the second most conservative senator by that scale in all the time he was in office.

Mentoring a President

Crane took some interest in the career of a young state legislator who he saw as possessing great potential, this being none other than Calvin Coolidge. Although Coolidge was naturally a quiet person around strangers, Crane told him that this was the right path, advising that silence “avoids creating a situation where one would otherwise not exist” (Tacoma). Thus, Coolidge’s silence was both natural and political strategy. Coolidge noted about his mentor, “his influence was very great, but that it was of an intangible nature” (Abrams, 38). Both Crane and Coolidge were similar politically, as Coolidge was also a backer of high tariffs and both men were opposed to inflationary currency.

Crane’s Last Cause: The Versailles Treaty

Although Murray Crane had a long history of being a strong partisan, he nonetheless saw the establishment of the League of Nations and the US’s participation in it as vital. His position would be that of a mild reservationist, being for including some modest Republican reservations to the treaty before enacting it. This placed him at odds with his old colleague, Henry Cabot Lodge, who was for strong reservations to the treaty, and it is debatable whether Lodge would have really accepted a treaty in any form. Crane advocated for the adoption of a plank for the Republican Party to endorse the creation of the League of Nations with “proper reservations”, which was interpreted by journalist Mark Sullivan (1920) of the Des Moines Register to be as strong as Wilson’s as “proper” was a word that had a lot of room for interpretation (1). By this time, Crane’s health was fragile, and the hot summer of New England pushed him over the edge. On July 31, 1920, he collapsed in Northampton, Massachusetts prior to an event notifying Coolidge of his nomination for vice president, having been in the hot sun throughout the day. Although Crane recovered enough to be taken home, he found himself having several more collapses when he tried to work in subsequent days. As he himself said about the situation, “something gave out” (The Franklin Repository). The last two months of Crane’s life would be of increasing lethargy, and despite his family seeking the help of specialists he died on October 2^nd of brain inflammation at his family home.

References

Abrams, R. (1964). Conservatism in a progressive era: Massachusetts politics 1900-1912. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Bent, S. (1926, March 28). Murray Crane Was a Master of Politics. The New York Times.

Retrieved from

Crane, Whispering Giant of G.O.P., Dies. (1920, October 3). The Commercial Appeal, 1

Retrieved from

https://www.newspapers.com/image/768138336/

Crane, Winthrop Murray. Voteview.

Retrieved from

https://voteview.com/person/2147/winthrop-murray-crane

Ex-Sen. Crane Died Following Heart Attack. (1920, October 2). The Franklin Repository, 2.

Retrieved from

https://www.newspapers.com/image/853770856/

Johnson, C.W. (1967). Winthrop Murray Crane: a study in Republican leadership, 1892-1920. Northampton, MA: Smith College.

Memorial to Crane Unveiled at Dalton. (1925, October 3). The New York Times.

Murray Crane. (1920, October 4). The Buffalo News, 8.

Retrieved from

https://www.newspapers.com/image/846060620/

On Great Examples. (2013, April). The Importance of the Obvious.

Retrieved from

https://salientcal.com/2013/04/

Shlaes, A. (2013, May 12). Amity Shlaes: Irony of a Coolidge coin. Orange County Register.

Retrieved from

Amity Shlaes: Irony of a Coolidge coin

Sullivan, M. (1920, June 10). Sullivan Declares Crane’s League Plank As Strong As Wilson’s. The Des Moines Register.

Retrieved from

https://www.newspapers.com/image/129056493/

Tacoma, T. (2019, July 4). Calvin Coolidge’s Birthday Is The Perfect Time To Dispel Popular Myths About Him. The Federalist.

Retrieved from

https://thefederalist.com/2019/07/04/calvin-coolidges-birthday-perfect-time-dispel-popular-myths/

Winthrop Murray Crane Papers. Massachusetts History.

Retrieved from

https://www.masshist.org/collection-guides/view/fa0218

Although by 1916, Woodrow Wilson is a solid figure in the progressive era, particularly given his support of legislation aimed at the working man, such as the Adamson Act for maximum hours for railroad workers, this is still the era in which Republicans are dominating the presidency so he will have a tough fight. Although Republicans didn’t win majorities in the 1914 midterm, they did well nonetheless and established that they remained a force to be reckoned with. Wilson keeps his vice president, former Indiana Governor Thomas R. Marshall, while the Republicans select Justice Charles Evans Hughes, this being the one time that a party has nominated a justice of the Supreme Court and that a justice has resigned to run for president. Unlike Salmon P. Chase in the 1860s and 1870s, Hughes had not seen the Supreme Court as a steppingstone to the presidency. The candidate for vice president was again Indiana’s Charles W. Fairbanks, who had served as Theodore Roosevelt’s vice president and was known as a conservative stalwart. Although there were thoughts that the Progressive Party would run a candidate, Theodore Roosevelt was fully behind Hughes and refused to accept the party’s nomination for president, thus the Progressive Party was effectively hobbled, and although many Progressives went along with Roosevelt there were several prominent ones who went with Wilson. Wilson campaigned on having kept the United States out of war and for the measures he had gotten into law for working class Americans, while Hughes criticized Wilson’s intervention in Mexico, called for military preparedness, and voiced opposition to the Adamson Act.

Hughes campaigned considerably more to the conservative side of the GOP than the progressive side, and this approach may have been the difference between victory and loss in California. Hughes campaigned with party conservatives in California and thought he could pass on meeting with progressive Governor Hiram Johnson, who opted not to give an endorsement, and afterwards very narrowly lost the state. Indeed, Wilson’s performance west of the Mississippi was strong; of those states only Oregon and South Dakota voted for Hughes. This plus the Solid South won Wilson a second term. Hughes performed strongly in the Northeast with Wilson only pulling off New Hampshire and won 7 of the 11 Midwestern states.  Although by the popular vote, Wilson had won by three points, if Hughes had won California he would have won the electoral vote and it would thus become the fourth time in the nation’s history that the candidate who got the highest popular vote didn’t win the election (that would have to wait until Bush v. Gore!). This would also be the last election in which North Dakota and South Dakota voted differently (seriously guys they’re not the same!). This election did prove something important; Democrats could win an election on Wilson himself given the lack of the Republican split.

The Senate

Democrats lose a net of two Senate seats in this election. Republicans gain some seats but lose others, and this leaves Democrats with a still comfortable 54-42 majority.

Republican Gains

In Indiana, Majority Leader John W. Kern lost reelection to Republican Harry S. New, part of the Republican sweep of the state.

In Maine, Charles F. Johnson lost reelection to Republican Frederick Hale, the son of Eugene Hale, the man he had defeated in 1910. The state had reverted back to its traditionally Republican politics.

In Maryland, Republican Joseph I. France defeated Democratic Congressman David J. Lewis, the latter who would later play a key role in crafting Social Security.

In New Jersey, James E. Martine, a Democrat who had been a bit of a thorn in the side of President Wilson, lost reelection by 16 points to Republican Joseph Frelinghuysen. Indeed, New Jersey was a bit of a disappointment for Wilson.

In New York, Republican William M. Calder defeats Democrat William F. McCombs for the open Senate seat.

Democratic Gains

In Delaware, Republican Henry du Pont lost reelection to Democrat Josiah Wolcott despite Wilson losing the state.

In New Mexico, Republican Thomas B. Catron lost renomination to the younger Frank A. Hubbell, who lost the election to Democrat Andrieus A. Jones.

In Rhode Island, Republican Henry F. Lippitt lost reelection to Democrat Peter G. Gerry, the first time a Democrat has been elected to the Senate since before the Republican Party’s existence. It is also the first time that Rhode Island had a vote of the people for their senator. Gerry ran considerably ahead of Wilson, who lost the state.

In Utah, Republican George Sutherland lost reelection to Democrat William H. King by 17 points. Wilson ran two points ahead of King. President Warren G. Harding would place Sutherland on the Supreme Court. Wilson had won the state, in contrast to it being one of President Taft’s two victories in 1912.

In West Virginia, Democrat William Chilton lost reelection to Republican Congressman Howard Sutherland. Wilson had lost the state.

In Wyoming, Republican Senator Clarence Clark lost reelection to Democrat John B. Kendrick by 6 points. Wilson had won the state.

Lost Renominations

In Minnesota, Progressive Republican Moses Clapp lost renomination to the more establishment-friendly Frank B. Kellogg, who won the election.

In Tennessee, Democrat Luke Lea lost renomination to Congressman Kenneth McKellar. McKellar was the junior partner of the powerful Crump machine in Memphis, and he would have a long career, being involved in secretly securing funding for the atomic bomb project and staying in office until 1953. The man who would defeat him in his primary in 1952? Albert Gore Sr.

House

The House provided a rather interesting situation, as Republicans overall made gains and they actually won one more seat than the Democrats. However, there were more than two parties in the House. Socialist Meyer London of New York, Progressives John Elston of California, Whitmell Martin of Louisiana and Melville Kelly of Pennsylvania, and the Prohibitionist Charles Randall of California caucused with the Democrats, giving them the majority.

Democratic Gains

In California, Democrats gain one seat in the 1^st district as Clarence F. Lea succeeds the retiring Independent William Kent.

In Connecticut’s 1^st district, future Senator Augustine Lonergan unseats Republican incumbent P. Davis Oakey.

In Delaware, Democrat Albert Polk very narrowly edges out incumbent Thomas W. Miller. Miller would later become one of the corrupt officials in the Harding Administration.

In New Mexico, Republican Benigno Hernandez loses reelection to Democrat William B. Walton.

In New York, Democrat Daniel C. Oliver defeated Republican incumbent William S. Bennet in the 23^rd’ district. In the 28^th district, Democrat George Lunn succeeded retiring Republican William Charles in the 30^th district. Lunn had previously been the Socialist mayor of Schenectady and had been persuaded to switch to run for Congress.

In North Carolina’s 10^th district, Republican James J. Britt loses reelection to Democrat Zebulon Weaver. The election is challenged, and Britt does win the challenge, but only serves the last two days of the term as Weaver indisputably wins the 1918 election.

In Ohio, Republican representatives J. Edward Russell, Edwin Ricketts, Seward Williams, and William C. Mooney are defeated for reelection by Benjamin Welty, Horatio Claypool, Elsworth Bathrick, and George White in the 4^th, 11^th, 14^th, and 15^th districts respectively.

In Pennsylvania, retiring Republican C. William Beales is succeeded by Democrat Andrew Brodbeck in the 20^th district while Republicans Robert Hopwood and Andrew Barchfeld are defeated for reelection by Democrats Bruce F. Sterling and Guy Campbell in the 21^st and 32^nd districts.

In Utah, Republican Joseph Howell of the 1^st district retires and Democrat Milton Welling succeeds him.

Republican Gains

In California, Republican Henry Z. Osborne wins the election to succeed Progressive William P. Stephens in the 10^th district.

In Illinois’ 7^th, 14^th, 16^th, and one of the at-Large districts, Democrats Frank Buchanan, Clyde Tavenner, Claude Stone, and William E. Williams lose to Republicans Niels Juul, William Graham, Clifford Ireland, and William E. Mason respectively.

In Indiana’s 2^nd, 5^th, 6^th, 8^th, 9^th, 11^th, and 12^th districts Democrats lose seats. In the 2^nd, 5^th, 6^th, 11^th, and 12th William Cullop, Ralph Moss, Finly Gray, George Rauch, and Cyrus Cline lose to Republicans Oscar Bland, future secretary to Calvin Coolidge Everett Sanders, Daniel W. Comstock, Milton Kraus, and Louis Fairfield. In the 8^th and 9^th incumbents John Adair and Martin Morrison retire and are succeeded by Republicans Albert Vestal and Fred Purnell.

In Iowa, the only Democratic incumbent, Thomas J. Steele of the 11^th district, loses to Republican George Scott.

In Kansas, Democrat Joseph Taggart of the 2^nd district loses reelection to Republican Edward C. Little.

In Maine, Democrat Daniel McGillicuddy of the 2^nd district loses reelection to Republican Wallace White. White would sponsor the first major radio regulation legislation in 1926 and he would serve as Senate Majority Leader from 1947 to 1949.

In Maryland, Republican Frederick Zihlman succeeds Democrat David J. Lewis, who lost the Senate election.

In Michigan’s 2^nd district, Republican Mark Bacon defeats Democrat Samuel Beakes. However, Beakes successfully contests the election and the House seats him in the middle of the session.

In one of Montana’s at-Large districts, Republican Jeanette Rankin succeeds Democrat Tom Stout. She is the first woman to ever be elected to Congress and she would gain a deserved reputation as anti-war.

In New Jersey’s 6^th district, Republican John Ramsey succeeds retiring Democrat Archibald Hart.

In New York’s 14^th, 18^th, 24^th, and 42^nd districts, Democratic incumbents Woodson Oglesby, and Daniel Driscoll lose reelection to Fiorello La Guardia, George Francis, Benjamin Fairchild, and William F. Waldow. Interestingly, of these three districts, the first four were in New York City, a bit of a subversion of expectations I would say! La Guardia would become one of New York City’s most famous and many historians argue, the best of their mayors.

In Ohio’s 2^nd district, Republican Victor Heintz succeeds retiring Democrat Alfred G. Allen.

In Oklahoma’s 1^st district, Republican Thomas Chandler defeats Democrat James Davenport for reelection. Tulsa is in this district and it is a strong swing district; until the 1932 election it would repeatedly change parties.

In Pennsylvania’s 12^th and 19^th districts, Republicans Thomas Templeton and John Rose defeat Democrats John Casey and Warren Bailey respectively. In the 25^th district, Republican Henry Clark succeeded retiring Democrat Michael Liebel.

In West Virginia, Republican Stuart F. Reed gained the open seat of the 3^rd district.

In Wisconsin’s 2^nd, 6^th, and 9^th districts, Republicans Edward Voigt, James H. Davidson, and David Classon would defeat Democratic incumbents Michael Burke, Michael Reilly, and Thomas Konop, making the state’s House delegation all-Republican.

Other Gains

In Massachusetts, 9th district Republican Ernest W. Roberts lost reelection to Independent Alvan T. Fuller, who would later be a controversial Massachusetts governor over his handling of the Sacco and Vanzetti case.

In Pennsylvania, Progressive Melville Kelly defeated Republican incumbent William Coleman in the 30^th district.

Lost Renominations

In Florida’s 3^rd’ district, Democrat Walter Kehoe prevails over Emmett Wilson.

In Georgia’s 12^th district, Democrat William Larsen defeats Dudley M. Hughes.

In one of Idaho’s two at-Large seats, Republican Robert McCracken is defeated for renomination by Burton French.

In Michigan’s 10^th district, Republican George Loud is defeated for renomination by Gilbert Currie.

In Minnesota’s 5^th district, conservative incumbent George R. Smith loses renomination to Progressive Republican Ernest Lundeen.

In New York’s 39^th district, Republican Henry Danforth loses renomination to Archie Sanders.

In Pennsylvania’s 22th district, Republican incumbent Abraham Keister would lose renomination to Edward Robbins. Robbins would be one of three members of Congress who would die from the influenza pandemic. Republican S. Taylor North would also lose renomination in the 27th district to Nathan Strong.

In South Carolina’s 3^rd district, Democrat Wyatt Aiken lost renomination to Frederick Dominick.

In Texas, Oscar Callaway, John Stephens, William Smith, and James Davis of the 12^th, 13th, 16^th, and At-Large districts lost renomination to James Wilson, J. Marvin Jones, Thomas Blanton, and Daniel Garrett respectively. Jones would sponsor the Agricultural Adjustment Act during the Roosevelt Administration and would be a champion of overall New Deal farm policy. Blanton would, as mentioned in a previous post, be a controversial figure and was even considered for expulsion from Congress for putting foul language in the Congressional Record.

President Wilson and the next Congress would have to contend with World War I and all the difficulties that arose from it, including taking control of railroads, the Espionage and Sedition Acts, and the influenza pandemic.  

References

1916 United States House of Representatives elections. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1916_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections

1916 United States presidential election. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1916_United_States_presidential_election

1916 United States Senate elections. Wikipedia.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1916_United_States_Senate_elections

Vice President John Nance Garner and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the winners.

Every once in a while if things go badly for the GOP, some columnist will predict the end of the party. It turns out that Republicans are highly resilient, a lesson that should have been learned by the 1936 election, in which after they were at their lowest level of power since their foundation. The most obvious demolishing was FDR over Alf Landon. Landon, who ran on the slogan of “Life, Liberty, and Landon” and really had no issues to campaign on to effect save for critiquing government inefficiency and calling for less spending. FDR and his New Deal were so popular that he won over 60% of the vote and even defeated him in his home state of Kansas, winning every state except Maine and Vermont. Vermont at the time was the most Republican state in the nation and Maine had been strongly Republican save for a brief Democratic surge in the early 1910s. Many people had bad memories of the Hoover presidency and the Republicans were just not presenting an alternative that appealed to many at the time. As Virginia Senator Carter Glass quipped after the result, “It is well nigh impossible to beat a five billion dollar campaign fund”, referencing work relief spending (Hill). What’s more, money was short. What they could achieve was largely thanks to money provided from wealthy American Liberty League members. RNC chairman John D.M. Hamilton attested to this when after the election he said, “Without Liberty League money, we wouldn’t have had a national headquarters” (Pietrusza).

Democratic Gains:

In California, Republicans lost three seats. The 4^th district’s (San Francisco) Florence Kahn was defeated by Progressive Franck Havenner, Sam Collins of the 19^th district was defeated by Democrat Harry Sheppard, and the Democrats gained the open 20^th district with Edouard Izac.

In Connecticut, down went both of the state’s House Republicans, William Higgins of the 2^nd district to Democrat William Fitzgerald and Republican Schuyler Merritt of the 4^th district to Democrat Alfred Phillips. However, the octogenarian Merritt had chosen not to campaign as he wasn’t that interested in reelection.

In Delaware, Republican Senator Daniel Hastings, definitely the most staunchly anti-New Deal of the senators, lost reelection to Democrat James Hughes. Republican freshman John G. Stewart also lost reelection to Democrat William F. Allen. Delaware’s sole seat would swing between the parties throughout the Roosevelt presidency.

In Michigan, Democrats picked up a seat, as Republican James Couzens, who had endorsed FDR for his reelection, had lost renomination in 1936 and then died. Democratic Congressman Prentiss Brown was elected. Republicans also incurred losses in the 6^th and 13^th districts, with Republicans William W. Blackney and Clarence G. McLeod losing reelection to Democrats Andrew Transue and George O’Brien. Blackney and McLeod would return in 1938.

In Minnesota, the Farmer-Labor Party’s Dewey Johnson picked up the open 5^th district from the GOP, and Republican William Pittenger lost reelection in the 8^th district to the Farmer-Labor Party’s John Bernard. Pittenger would return in 1938.

In New Hampshire, Democrat Alphonse Roy lost an election to the 1^st district, which was open, to Republican Arthur B. Jenks, but this election was contested and the Democratic majority House voted to seat Roy towards the end of the 75^th Congress. Jenks would win in 1938.

In New Jersey, Republican Senator William Barbour would lose reelection to Democrat William Smathers. However, Barbour would return in the 1938 election. House Republicans Isaac Bacharach of the 2^nd district, Peter Cavicchia of the 11^th district, and Frederick Lehlbach of the 12^th district lost reelection to Democrats Elmer H. Wene, Edward O’Neill, and Frank Towey respectively.

In New York, Vito Marcantonio of the 20^th district lost reelection to Democrat James Lanzetta. However, Marcantonio would make a comeback in 1938 as a member of the American Labor Party.

In Ohio, Republican representation in the House was reduced to two, as Republicans John Hollister of the 1^st district, William Hess of the 2^nd district, Leroy Marshall of the 7^th district, John Cooper of the 19^th district, and Chester Bolton of the 22^nd district lost reelection to Democrats Joseph Dixon, Herbert Bigelow, Arthur Aleshire, Michael Kirwan, and Anthony Fleger respectively. Hess and Bolton would return in the 1938 election.

In Oregon, Portland’s Republican Congressman William Ekwall of the 3^rd district would lose reelection to Democrat Nan Honeyman.

In Pennsylvania, a significant development occurred in Philadelphia: with the loss of all its Republican representatives, the city of brotherly love became represented entirely by Democrats! Republicans Harry Ransley of the 1^st, William H. Wilson of the 2^nd district, Clare G. Fenerty of the 3^rd district, and George Darrow of the 7^th district lost reelection to Democrats Leon Sacks, James McGranery, Michael Bradley, and Ira W. Drew respectively. Only Darrow would return in the 1938 election. Also losing in Pennsylvania were Charles Turpin of the 12^th district and Isaac Doutrich of the 19^th district to Democrats J. Harold Flannery and Guy J. Swope respectively.

In Rhode Island, Republican Senator Jesse Metcalf lost reelection to Democrat Theodore Green as did the 1^st district’s Republican Charles Risk to Democrat Aime J. Forand. Risk would return in the 1938 election, but after 1940 no Republican would win a Senate seat from Rhode Island until 1976, and no Republican would get a House seat until 1980.

In Wyoming, Republican Senator Robert Carey lost reelection to Democrat Harry Schwartz. It was just as well, as he died only two months later.

Republican Gains

Not all was bad for Republicans in this election, although the wins they had far from made up for their big losses.

In Iowa, Republican Cassius C. Dowell, who had lost reelection in 1934, came back in winning the open 6^th district.

In Kansas, Republican Edward H. Rees won the open 4^th district.

In Maine, Republican James C. Oliver defeated Democrat Simon Hamlin for reelection in the 1^st district, while Republican Clyde H. Smith won the open 2^nd district. Yep, the Republicans did well in Maine!

In Massachusetts, Republicans scored their only Senate seat pickup: Republican Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. defeated Democrat James M. Curley. Roosevelt had come to despise Curley and his corrupt machine ways and refused to lift a finger for him. Republicans also picked up the open 2^nd district with Charles R. Clason and Republican Robert Luce came back in the 9^th district after his defeat by Democrat Richard Russell in 1934.  

In New York, Democrat Fred Sisson of the 33^rd district lost reelection to Republican Fred Douglas.

In Ohio, Democrat William Fiesinger of the 13th district lost renomination, and Republican Dudley White won the seat.

 In Pennsylvania, Democrats Charles Dietrich of the 15^th district and Denis J. Driscoll of the 20^th district lost reelection to Republicans Albert Rutherford and Benjamin Jarrett respectively.

In South Dakota, Democrat Theodore Werner of the 2^nd district was defeated for reelection by Republican Francis Case.

Renomination Losses

In Alabama’s 9th district, George Huddleston, who had served since 1915 and had become a critic of the New Deal, lost renomination to staunch New Deal liberal Luther Patrick. Since Alabama was a one-party state at the time, this was tantamount to election victory.

Multiple Democrats in Louisiana lost renomination, including Numa Montet in the 3rd district to Robert Mouton, Riley Wilson of the 5th district to Newt Mills, and Jared Y. Sanders Jr. in the 6th district to John K. Griffith.

In Michigan, Republican Verner Main of the 3rd district lost renomination to Paul Shafer, who won the seat.

In Missouri, Democrat James Claiborne of the 12th district, one of the least loyal Democrats, lost renomination to Charles Anderson, who won the seat.

In New York, Democrat Richard Tonry of the 8th district lost renomination to Donald O’Toole, who won the seat.

In Ohio, Democrat Warren Duffey of the 9th district lost renomination to John F. Hunter, who won the seat.

In Oklahoma, Democrat Percy Gassaway of the 4th district lost renomination to Lyle Boren, who won the seat.

In Pennsylvania, multiple Democrats lost renomination. Democrat William Richardson of the 14th district went down to Guy Moser, who won the seat. William Berlin of the 28th district also lost renomination to Robert G. Allen as did J. Twing Brooks of the 30th district to Peter De Muth. In Pennsylvania’s 32nd district, Theodore L. Moritz opted to run for reelection as a Progressive after losing renomination, but lost to Democratic nominee Herman P. Eberharter. In the prior two cases, the winners would turn out to be considerably more conservative than their predecessors.

In Texas, the voters of the 17th district finally had enough of Democrat Thomas Blanton being a lightning rod of controversy and dumped him for Clyde Garrett, who won the election.

In Virginia, Democrat Colgate Darden of the 2nd district, who had voted against Social Security, lost renomination to Norman Hamilton, but he would return in the 1938 election.

This election had significance not only as a public endorsement of the New Deal overall, but also as a signal to the Supreme Court that the laws they were striking down were part of what the public supported. After this election, Roosevelt would be able to replace retiring justices, changing the ideological landscape of the court in the direction of broad interpretation of the Commerce Clause. The New Deal programs would continue and the federal minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act among other measures would be enacted.

References

1936 United States House of Representatives elections. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections

1936 United States presidential election. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_United_States_presidential_election

1936 United States Senate elections. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_United_States_Senate_elections

Adler, B.S. (1951, February 25). Then and Now; Alf Landon, the G.O.P.’s hope (deferred) in 1936, is today a busy, contented man. The New York Times.

Retrieved from

Hill, R. (2013, January 27). Carter Glass of Virginia. The Knoxville Focus.

Retrieved from

http://knoxfocus.com/archives/carter-glass-of-virginia/

Pietrusza, D. (1978, January 1). New Deal Nemesis. Reason Magazine.

Retrieved from

https://reason.com/1978/01/01/new-deal-nemesis/

Among the states, I wouldn’t say that Maine was particularly known for making waves with the politicians its voters have sent to the Senate in the 20^th century…that is, save for Ralph Owen Brewster (1888-1961). Brewster was, to put it bluntly, considered ugly, one of the ugliest men to have made it big in American politics and perhaps the ugliest since Benjamin Butler. Time Magazine (1935) would describe him as “toothy, slack-jawed” and journalist Jack Anderson in 1979 described him as “billiard-bald on top, cheerless-eyed, meaty-lipped, an appearance dark and gloomy” (Simkin). However, what he lacked in looks he made up for in hard work, diligence, and intelligence. Brewster’s success helped him get married to the daughter of one of Maine’s most prominent citizens. Although in his obituary Brewster would be most noted for his conservatism and opposition to FDR, in his earlier career he was more open to reform and change. He backed both Prohibition and women’s suffrage and initially even endorsed public ownership of water power generation in Maine. Brewster would after call for reform and would battle with holding company magnate Samuel Insull.

The 1924 Gubernatorial Election

In 1924, a rising force in American politics that had factions in both parties was the Ku Klux Klan. This was the second incarnation of the “invisible empire” and this one was the most popular. This Klan was in truth many things; it was of course racist, but it was also anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic, nativist, Prohibitionist, and Protestant group that engaged in numerous activities. These included multi-level marketing, summer camps, charity, political lobbying, and most notably in the South, exacting their brand of vigilante justice (usually night whippings) against those they regarded as violating their moral tenets. Unlike the first KKK which was seen only in the South, this Klan was nationwide, and even reached up to Maine, in which their primary prejudice was against French Canadian Catholics. Against what the Republican establishment of the state wanted, a 36-year-old Owen Brewster ran for governor with Klan support. Brewster played a bit of a game on this one; he would maintain a golden silence on the subject of the Klan unless it was to deny he was a member. Indeed, it has never been proven that Brewster was a member. He was supported by the Klan for two reasons: 1. He never condemned them when the press prompted him to do so, and 2. He supported cutting all government aid to parochial schools (which were primarily Catholic). The latter stance Brewster came to independent of the Klan, believing that this was too much government involvement in religion. He had introduced such a measure in the State Senate but it failed as its president, Frank Farrington, was opposed and convinced the Senate to vote it down (Syrett, 218). The GOP establishment of the state, represented most prominently by Governor Percival Baxter, Farrington, Senator Frederick Hale, and Representative Wallace White, were strongly against the Klan for its racial and religious bigotry. However, many white Protestant Americans at the time saw the Klan as a means for social advancement as well as a patriotic and Protestant organization. Although some state Klans had had ugly incidents of vigilantism (particularly in the South), Maine’s was not one of them. Brewster managed to win the nomination narrowly after Governor Baxter found that voter fraud had occurred in an Irish-American ward in Portland (The New York Times). At the time, winning the Republican nomination for a statewide office was tantamount to election in the strongly Republican Maine.

Brewster’s means of rising to power was something of a scarlet letter that could always be used against him. In 1925, he was the second governor to climb Mt. Katahdin (the first was his predecessor). In 1926, ever ambitious, Brewster attempted to win the special election to the Senate after the death of Bert Fernald but lost to the anti-Klan Arthur Gould. In 1928, he again attempted to win a Senate seat by trying to defeat the anti-Klan incumbent Frederick Hale in the primary, but Hale was retained with 63% of the vote. This marked the end of Klan influence in Maine, which had already been declining since the rape and murder conviction of Indiana Klan Grand Dragon D.C. Stephenson. Maine’s Klan leader, DeForest Perkins, resigned in the aftermath of the election. However, the Great Depression, although quite bad for Republican prospects, brought opportunity for Brewster.

Brewster and the Great Depression

In 1932, Brewster defeated Congressman Donald F. Snow for renomination, and this was for the best in truth as Snow would later be sent to the penitentiary for embezzlement. However, he narrowly lost the election to Democrat John Utterback. Brewster would try again in 1934, running on a platform of supporting the Townsend Plan for old age insurance, and this time he would win despite the midterm resulting in net Democratic gains. As a representative, despite his later reputation he would be far from the most conservative of Republicans, and he would support more popular measures such as Social Security and the Fair Labor Standards Act. A few of his diversions from conservatism could be seen as him looking out for his district. For instance, in 1935, he was one of five House Republicans to vote to add potatoes to the crops covered under the Agricultural Adjustment Act. One of the counties in his district, Aroostook, was one of the leading potato growers in the nation, and Brewster called them the “forgotten crop” especially since 36 million pounds of potatoes were in storage and their market value had declined from $1.37 a bushel in 1930 to $0.37 a bushel in 1935, which depressed the county (Hill). Brewster did sustain the party line on certain other subjects, such as housing policy. He also made his displeasure known about Roosevelt’s reciprocal trade policy, which most Republicans opposed, denouncing it as “Alice in Wonderland” economics (Standard-Speaker). In Brewster’s first term, he quickly stirred up controversy when in the aftermath of his conflict with the Roosevelt Administration the Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Project was canceled. He alleged that Maine representatives were pressured by brain truster Thomas Corcoran to support the “Death Sentence” clause of the Public Utilities Holding Company Act in exchange for the Roosevelt Administration’s support of the project; Brewster voted to strike the clause. This was a vote that surprised people given his efforts against holding company baron Samuel Insull as Maine’s governor. Brewster claimed his vote against was a protest against “unethical lobbying” (Hill). However, Corcoran had a witness. His side of the story, in which the “threat” was him telling Brewster that if the administration can’t count on him for the “death sentence” clause of the public utilities bill that they can’t count on him for the Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Project, was backed almost to the exact detail by witness Dr. Ernest Gruening, which made it most likely that Corcoran’s story was the accurate version of events (Time Magazine). Some constituents in Lubec were angry as they regarded Brewster as imperiling funds for the project and hung him in effigy with a sign reading, “our double-crossing Congressman” (Kansas City Journal). Nonetheless, he proved popular in his area of Maine and he was reelected in 1936. Joining him in Congress were Republicans James C. Oliver of the 1^st district and Clyde Smith of the 2^nd, both supporters of the Townsend Plan. Maine was one of the few places in which the 1936 election was good for Republicans.  

On to the Senate

In 1940, Senator Frederick Hale opted to retire, and this time Brewster won the nomination and succeeded him. Although generally known as a conservative, in truth, as previously noted, his career was a bit more complicated than that, as demonstrated by his support of the Townsend Plan and his interventionist record on foreign policy. Brewster largely supported FDR’s foreign policy before World War II, voting to end the arms embargo in 1939, voting for the peacetime draft in 1940, and Lend-Lease in 1941, but stopped short of supporting permitting merchant ships to enter belligerent ports. While an observer may look at his support from the KKK as evidence of bigotry, there are aspects of his record that defy this characterization; in 1950 he voted to end debate on the Fair Employment Practices bill and voted to kill a Southern effort to undermine army desegregation. Furthermore, Brewster backed increasing the number of refugees admitted to the United States, and this would include a fair number of Jews. During World War II, he was one of the senators selected by Senator Truman to serve on his committee to investigate wartime expenditures. The committee was non-partisan and won great acclaim for its successes in saving taxpayer money and uncovering corrupt practices, thus elevating Truman’s profile enough for him to be nominated vice president in 1944. In 1943, at the age of 55, Brewster decided that he would change the name he would be known by from “Ralph O. Brewster” to “Owen Brewster”. There were two possible reasons for this change; first, to honor his son who had died ten years earlier of the flu at the age of 15, and second, so that people would no longer think of “R.O.B.” when they thought of him. In 1946, Brewster sat on a joint House-Senate committee investigating the attack on Pearl Harbor. The committee concluded that the Roosevelt Administration had not failed to prepare and rather placed the blame on Admiral Husband E. Kimmel and General Walter Short. Brewster along with Michigan’s Homer Ferguson dissented, with the former writing that the late president “was responsible for the failure to enforce continuous, efficient, and appropriate co-operation” in Washington “in evaluating information and dispatching clear and positive orders to the Hawaiian commanders” (The Journal Herald, 1). Both Brewster and Ferguson believed that the inquiry was incomplete. In 1946, the Senate flipped from Democrat to Republican and Brewster was now chairing this committee.

Brewster vs. Howard Hughes

Owen Brewster has not fared well in the court of historical opinion; he was portrayed by Alan Alda in the Leonardo DiCaprio film The Aviator as a villain. As chairman of the committee, he was investigating Hughes and TWA for alleged misspending in government contracts. Hughes proved a tough opponent for Brewster and although journalist Drew Pearson, a staunch New Deal liberal, was not typically inclined to back businessmen like Hughes, he did back him against Brewster, who along with Wisconsin’s Joseph McCarthy and Tennessee’s hot-tempered Kenneth McKellar ranked among his favorite political targets in the Senate. The mood of the committee on Hughes was that he was going to be easy to deal with as he had not too long ago recovered from a major plane accident that nearly killed him (Watt, 40). However, Hughes effectively played against Brewster by making Brewster himself the issue by accusing him of using this probe to try to pressure him into merging his company with Pan Am, which would be convenient for his community airline bill. Thus, the narrative became that Brewster was corruptly carrying water for Pan Am CEO Juan Trippe rather than him conducting a good government investigation on whether a big businessman had schmoozed his way into securing government contracts during wartime only to waste taxpayer money. Brewster waived his senatorial immunity to testify, and it was a bold move and one to try to convey the message that he was being honest. In the course he did admit that the subject of a potential merger with Pan Am had come up but denied that it was being used as leverage against Hughes. However, if he was the villain in this situation and this was a bluff, it didn’t pay off as he came off worse in the court of public opinion. Both men had testified under oath and thus this was yet another incident of Brewster’s word against another’s. Furthermore, the subcommittee chairman who took Brewster’s place in continuing the Hughes matter, Senator Homer Ferguson of Michigan, was not in the best state to regulate the situation as he had poison ivy all over his feet (Watt, 41). There was also another possible motive to target Hughes…as a means of targeting the Roosevelts. The Republican 80^th Congress was very keen on uncovering anything that possibly went wrong during the Roosevelt Administration and Hughes had a connection to Elliott Roosevelt, thus this was used to attack the old Roosevelt Administration (Watt, 42-43).

Campaign Financing Controversy

Republicans still thought of Brewster highly enough after the Hughes controversy to place him as  head of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee for the 1950 election. The results were good for the GOP, but there was a controversy regarding his neutrality in Republican primaries. Brewster was supposed to be neutral in primaries, and this meant that campaign money could not be used to fund anyone in the primaries. However, Brewster found a way to violate not the letter of the rule but the spirit of the rule by securing a $10,000 loan from the Liberty National bank in Washington and used shadowy middleman Henry Gruenwald to give $5000 each to candidates Richard Nixon of California and Milton Young of North Dakota (Quad-City Times). To his credit, it was Brewster who admitted this so this would not impact Gruenwald. Nixon did not have a contender in the primary who was actually a Republican as California at the time (and now) had an open primary, thus Democratic candidates Helen Gahagan Douglas and Manchester Boddy were also contenders. Young did have a Republican challenger in Thorstein H. Thoresen, formerly North Dakota’s lieutenant governor.

1952 Election

 In 1952, Hughes bankrolled Governor Frederick G. Payne’s primary challenge to Brewster. Payne and Brewster represented two different factions of the party. While Brewster was a strong supporter of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s anti-communist crusade and supported nominating Ohio’s conservative standard-bearer Robert Taft in 1952, Payne backed picking the more moderate and internationalist General Dwight Eisenhower. Like Eisenhower defeated Taft, Payne narrowly won the primary. The significance of Payne’s win is that this is the only time in Maine’s history that a Republican incumbent senator was defeated for renomination, further underscoring Brewster’s controversial reputation. Not only did the feud with Hughes harm him but also Drew Pearson’s charge of unseemly lobbying by Francoist Spain’s lobbyist Charles Patrick Clark to convince him as well as Rep. Eugene Keogh (D-N.Y.) to sponsor aid to Spain (Hill). Clark would beat up Pearson in retaliation. However, Brewster may have managed to deal a blow to Payne that would hang over his head as a wine bottler claimed that he paid $12,000 to a political influencer to give to Payne for his product to be placed on the shelves of government liquor stores (Hill). Brewster was alleged to be behind these accusations, but he denied it. Although as noted before, he was considered a staunch conservative, the metrics I use indicate that he had voted with the liberal Americans for Democratic Action from 1947 to 1952 20% of the time while his DW-Nominate score was a 0.271. This indicates overall moderate conservatism in his career with his later career being a bit more conservative. Brewster attempted to secure another position both in the Senate and in the White House, but neither effort was successful. In the former case this was particularly a stinging blow as it constituted a rebuke by his former colleagues. Brewster would spend the rest of his life in semi-retirement, and for the last three years of his life he went around advocating for Americans for Constitutional Action, a newly formed conservative organization that was established as a counterpart to the liberal Americans for Democratic Action. Brewster offered himself as a candidate for the Senate in 1958 should Payne have chosen not to run for reelection (Hill). However, Payne did opt to run for reelection, and he lost by over 20 points to Edmund Muskie for reasons that were described in my post last year about the Sherman Adams controversy.

A member of the Christian Science church, Brewster died suddenly while on a Christian Science retreat in Brookline, Massachusetts, on December 25, 1961. His death was unexpected, although he had been suffering from cancer.

My Opinion on Brewster

Owen Brewster was a figure who in many ways maintained a highly clean appearance. He neither smoked nor drank, no hint of scandal existed with his personal life, and he was strongly religious. However, he also had two incidents in which the issue became his word against someone else’s, and he came out on the wrong side of it, at least in the court of public opinion. Brewster also proved willing to use cunning and tricky methods to get things done, such as his underhanded using of the KKK to win public office and his usage of a shadowy middleman to funnel money to Senate candidates against the spirit of the rules of his position. He was also quite interested in taking advantage of causes that were rising in popularity, such as his surreptitious courting of the votes of KKK members, his public support for the fiscally infeasible Townsend Plan, and his support for Joseph McCarthy. Brewster’s conservatism also strikes me as perhaps a bit overly touted when his record gets examine. In all, he was a complicated figure whose personal morality sometimes contrasted with his political methods.

References

ADA Voting Records. Americans for Democratic Action.

Retrieved from

ADA Voting Records

Brewster Declared Winner in Maine. (1924, August 8). The New York Times.

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Brewster, Ralph Owen. Voteview.

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https://voteview.com/person/1021/ralph-owen-brewster

Former U.S. Senator Dies. (1961, December 26). Standard-Speaker, 1.

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https://www.newspapers.com/image/61225510/

Hill, R. (2024). Owen Brewster of Maine. The Knoxville Focus.

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https://www.knoxfocus.com/archives/this-weeks-focus/owen-brewster-of-maine/

Owen Brewster Dies; Former U.S. Senator. (1961, December 26). The Journal Herald, 1.

Retrieved from

https://www.newspapers.com/image/394350317/

Sen. Brewster Tells Trick in Using ‘Conduit’. (1952, March 21). Quad-City Times, 2.

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https://www.newspapers.com/image/299380913/

Simkin, J. (1997). Owen Brewster. Spartacus Educational.

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https://spartacus-educational.com/JFKbrewsterO.htm

Syrett, J. (2001). Principle and Expediency: The Ku Klux Klan and Ralph Owen Brewster in 1924. Maine History, 39(4).

Retrieved from

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1221&context=mainehistoryjournal

The Congress: Boomerang and Blackjack. (1935, July 22). Time Magazine.

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https://time.com/archive/6754199/the-congress-boomerang-blackjack/

Unpardonable Sin. (1935, August 17). Kansas City Journal, 11.

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https://www.newspapers.com/image/1024050087/

Watt, R.Y. (1979). Oral History Interview. Washington, D.C. United States Senate Historical Office.

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Click to access watt-ruth-young-full-transcript-with-index.pdf