Frank Church
Frank Church | |
---|---|
United States Senator from Idaho | |
In office January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1981 | |
Preceded by | Herman Welker |
Succeeded by | Steve Symms |
Personal details | |
Born | Frank Forrester Church III July 25, 1924 Boise, Idaho, U.S. |
Died | April 7, 1984 Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. | (aged 59)
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Forrest |
Education | Stanford University (BA, LLB) |
Occupation |
|
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Years of service | 1942–1946[a] |
Rank | Second Lieutenant |
Battles/wars |
|
Frank Forrester Church III (July 25, 1924 – April 7, 1984) was an American politician and lawyer. A member of the
Born and raised in
As a senator, he was a
In 1976, Church belatedly sought the
Early life
Youth, family, and early education
Frank Forrester Church III was born on July 25, 1924, in Boise, Idaho. He traced his ancestry from the
His father co-owned a
Military service and education
Church left university in 1942, at the age of 18, and enlisted in the Army following the
In June 1947 he married
Frank and Bethine had two sons, Frank Forrester Church IV, who died in 2009, and Chase Clark Church,[18] who lives in Boise. Both boys were named for their grandfathers.
Career
1956 election
Following his return to Idaho, he became active in
When the primary came, Church won the nomination, with only 37.75% of the vote, narrowly edging out Taylor by 200 votes. Though Church won the democratic nomination, Taylor refused to concede, and claimed a number of voting irregularities in the canvassing of the primary.[20] During the general election campaign, Church and his campaign hit the road. Church shook around 75,000 hands over the entire course of the campaign.[2] Church also conducted an astute campaign, by contrasting his fitness with that of Welker's. His slogan, "Idaho Will Be Proud of Frank Church", was a major asset to his campaign. Church also campaigned on an internationalist plank, gave mild support to a high Hell's dam, and was conservative on money matters.[21]
This was in stark contrast to that of Welker's campaign, which campaigned heavily on
First term (1957–1963)
Upon entering the Senate in January 1957, Church voted against a procedural motion on the
Church was reelected in 1962, defeating former state representative Jack Hawley. To date, he is the only Idaho Democrat to be popularly elected for more than one term in the Senate.
Attempted recall and election of 1968
In 1967, a recall campaign was waged against Church by Ron Rankin, a Republican county commissioner in the northern Idaho county Kootenai who co-founded the Victory in Vietnam Committee to coordinate the recall.[27] Rankin unsuccessfully sued Idaho's secretary of state to accept recall petitions. The U.S. District Court for Idaho ruled that the state's recall laws did not apply to U.S. senators and that such a recall would violate the U.S. Constitution. Allan Shepard, Idaho's attorney general at the time, agreed with the court's decision.[28]
In the 1968 Senate election, Church won with over 60 percent of the vote against Republican challenger and U.S. Representative George V. Hansen, in contrast with the concurrent presidential election where Republican candidate Richard Nixon got nearly 57 percent of the popular vote in Idaho.[29][30] James Risen attributes Church's victory to the 1967 recall effort backfiring: "Most Idaho voters were angered by the recall effort, and it generated sympathy for church throughout the state."[31]
Third term (1969–1975): Vietnam War and Church Committee
Church was a key figure in
In September 1970, Church announced on television and in speeches across the country that "the
So the last service the doves can perform for their country, is to insist that
Indochina.
Church argued that the opponents of the Vietnam War needed to prevent the corruption of the nation and its institutions. To Church, the anti-war opposition was the "highest concept of patriotism—which is not the patriotism of conformity—but the patriotism of Senator Carl Schurz, a dissenter from an earlier period, who proclaimed: 'Our country right or wrong. When right, to be kept right: when wrong, to be put right."[33]
Church gained national prominence during his service in the Senate through his chairmanship of the U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities from 1975 through 1976, more commonly known as the Church Committee, which conducted extensive hearings investigating extra-legal
In the need to develop a capacity to know what potential enemies are doing, the United States government has perfected a technological capability that enables us to monitor the messages that go through the air. These messages are between ships at sea, they could be between units, military units in the field. We have a very extensive capability of intercepting messages wherever they may be in the airwaves. Now, that is necessary and important to the United States as we look abroad at enemies or potential enemies. We must know, at the same time, that capability at any time could be turned around on the American people, and no American would have any privacy left such is the capability to monitor everything—telephone conversations, telegrams, it doesn't matter. There would be no place to hide.
If this government ever became a tyranny, if a dictator ever took charge in this country, the technological capacity that the intelligence community has given the government could enable it to impose total tyranny, and there would be no way to fight back because the most careful effort to combine together in resistance to the government, no matter how privately it was done, is within the reach of the government to know. Such is the capability of this technology.
Now why is this investigation important? I'll tell you why: because I don't want to see this country ever go across the bridge. I know the capacity that is there to make tyranny total in America, and we must see to it that this agency and all agencies that possess this technology operate within the law and under proper supervision so that we never cross over that abyss. That is the abyss from which there is no return.[39][40][41][42]
NSA monitoring of Senator Church's communications
In a secret operation code-named "
Environmental record and other issues
Church is also remembered for his voting record as a strong progressive and environmental legislator, and he played a major role in the creation of the nation's system of protected wilderness areas in the 1960s. In 1964, Church was the floor sponsor of the national
Church also was instrumental in the creation of Idaho's
Frank Church was considered a progressive (remarkable considering that he represented one of the most conservative states in the nation), though he was a strong opponent of gun control and was pro-life.
In late 1975 and early 1976, a sub-committee of the
Church also sponsored, along with
Late political career
In 1976, Church belatedly sought the
By June, Carter had the nomination sufficiently locked up and could take time to interview potential vice-presidential candidates. The pundits predicted that Church would be tapped to provide balance as an experienced senator with strong liberal credentials. Church promoted himself, persuading friends to intervene with Carter in his behalf. If a quick choice had been required as in past conventions, Carter later recalled, he would probably have chosen Church. But the longer period for deliberation gave Carter time to worry about his compatibility with the publicity-seeking Church, who had a tendency to be long-winded. Instead, Carter invited Senators Edmund Muskie, John Glenn, and Walter Mondale to visit his home in Plains, Georgia, for personal interviews, while Church, Henry M. Jackson, and Adlai Stevenson III would be interviewed at the convention in New York. Of all the potential candidates, Carter found Mondale the most compatible. As a result, Carter selected Mondale as his running mate.
In the late 1970s, Church was a leading congressional supporter of the
Church lost his bid for a fifth term to Symms by less than one percent of the vote. His defeat was blamed on the activities of the Anybody But Church Committee and the national media's early announcement in Idaho of Republican presidential candidate
Election results
Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1956 | Frank Church | 149,096 | 56.2% | Herman Welker (inc.) | 102,781 | 38.7% | Glen H. Taylor | Write-In | 13,415 | 5.1% | ||||
1962 | Frank Church (inc.) | 141,657 | 54.7% | Jack Hawley | 117,129 | 45.3% | ||||||||
1968 | Frank Church (inc.) | 173,482 | 60.3% | George V. Hansen | 114,394 | 39.7% | ||||||||
1974 | Frank Church (inc.) | 145,140 | 56.1% | Bob Smith | 109,072 | 42.1% | Jean L. Stoddard | American | 4,635 | 1.8% | ||||
1980 | Frank Church (inc.) | 214,439 | 48.8% | Steve Symms | 218,701 | 49.7% | Larry Fullmer | Libertarian | 6,507 | 1.5% |
Following his 24 years in the Senate, Church practiced international law with the Washington, D.C., firm of Whitman and Ransom, specializing in Asian issues.
Death
Three years after leaving the Senate, Church was hospitalized for a pancreatic tumor on January 12, 1984.[54][55] Less than three months later, he died at his home in Bethesda, Maryland, on April 7 at age 59.[8][56] A memorial service was held at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.,[57] and then his body was flown home to Idaho, where he lay in state beneath the rotunda of the Idaho State Capitol.[58][59] His funeral was held in downtown Boise at the Cathedral of the Rockies on April 12 and televised throughout Idaho. Church was buried at Morris Hill Cemetery near his boyhood hero, Senator William Borah.[60][61][62]
Legacy
Church received an honorary doctorate from Pennsylvania's Elizabethtown College in 1983 to honor his work for the American people during his career in public office. His papers, originally given to his alma mater Stanford University in 1981, were transferred to Boise State University at his request in 1984.[63]
As of 2023[update], Church remains the last Democrat to serve in the U.S. Senate from Idaho; his final election victory was in 1974, 50 years ago.
Warning about the NSA
Church was stunned by what the Church Committee learned about the immense operations and electronic monitoring capabilities of the National Security Agency (NSA), an agency whose existence was unknown to most Americans at the time. Church stated in 1975:
That capability at any time could be turned around on the American people, and no American would have any privacy left, such is the capability to monitor everything: telephone conversations, telegrams, it doesn't matter. There would be no place to hide.[39][64]
He is widely quoted as also stating regarding the NSA:
I don't want to see this country ever go across the bridge... I know the capacity that is there to make tyranny total in America, and we must see to it that this agency and all agencies that possess this technology operate within the law and under proper supervision, so that we never cross over that abyss. That is the abyss from which there is no return.[39][64]
Commentators such as
See also
- Cooper–Church Amendment
- Case–Church Amendment
- Frank Church High School – an alternative high school in Boise
- Frank Church—River of No Return Wilderness
Notes
References
Citations
- ^ a b Campbell 1983, p. 5B.
- ^ a b c d Encyclopedia 2008.
- ^ Geni (2019). "Frank Forrester Church I". Geni. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c Hogan 1999.
- ^ Prentice 2013.
- ^ a b Lardner 1976, p. A12.
- ^ Ashby 1990.
- ^ a b House 1984.
- ^ a b Sterrett 1976, p. 24.
- ^ Dieter, Alice (Spring 1973). "The Robinson Bar". Skiing. p. 57.
- ^ "Musician Carole King's Stanley ranch re-listed". Idaho Mountain Express. Ketchum. July 2, 2010. Archived from the original on July 5, 2010.
- ^ "Robinson Bar Ranch". Hall and Hall. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
- ^ "Bethine Church dies at age 90". Spokesman.com. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
- ^ "Milestones: Jan. 23, 1984". Time. January 23, 1984. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
- ^ Petrow, Steve (July 16, 2012). "New Cancer Threat Lurks Long After Cure". Well. New York Times Company. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "Church, Frank Forrester". US Congress. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ Hunter, Marjorie (April 8, 1984). "Frank Church of Idaho, who served in the Senate for 24 years, dies at 59". The New York Times. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "Sen. Church's son sentenced to prison". Spokane Chronicle. Washington. March 25, 1987. p. A3.
- ^ a b Martin 1957, p. 123.
- ^ a b c Martin 1957, p. 124.
- ^ a b c Martin 1957, p. 125.
- ^ Martin 1957, p. 122.
- ^ Risen & Risen 2023, pp. 54–55.
- ^ Risen & Risen 2023, pp. 65–66.
- ^ Risen & Risen 2023, pp. 23, 66–67.
- ^ Bumiller, Elizabeth (14 July 2010). "Records Show Doubts on '64 Vietnam Crisis". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
- ^ Risen & Risen 2023, pp. 87–88.
- ^ Risen & Risen 2023, p. 93.
- ^ "1968". The American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1968" (PDF). Washington: Government Printing Office. July 1, 1969. p. 11. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ Risen & Risen 2023, p. 92.
- ^ Frank Church, the Senate, and the Emergence of Dissent on the Vietnam War, by David F. Schmitz, Natalie Fousekis, Pacific Historical Review, Vol. 63, No. 4 (Nov., 1994), pp. 561-581.
- ISBN 0-521-86133-0. p. 121. Schmitz uses the example of "The Doves Have Won and Don't Know It" September 6, 1970 on CBS television, 2.2/32/IS, FCP; "The Doves Have Won," September 11, 1970 (Source of the "highest concept of patriotism..." quote), speech at Mills College of Education; "The Doves are Winning — Don't Despair," September 26, 1970, speech at Colorado State Universityand "The Unsung Victory of the Doves," December 1970, 10.6/8/8 FCP.
- ^ Knott, Stephen F (November 4, 2001). "Congressional Oversight and the Crippling of the CIA". History News Network.
- ^ Mooney, Chris (November 5, 2001). "Back to Church". The American Prospect. Archived from the original on 2006-12-05.
- ^ Burbach, Roger (October 2003). "State Terrorism and September 11, 1973 & 2001". ZMag. 16 (10). Archived from the original on January 11, 2006.
- ^ "Debate: Bush's handling of terror clues". CNN. May 19, 2002. Archived from the original on April 29, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
- ^ Ellsberg, Daniel (June 10, 2013). "Edward Snowden: saving us from the United Stasi of America". The Guardian.
- ^ a b c "The Intelligence Gathering Debate". NBC. August 18, 1975. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
- ^ Popkey, Dan (5 August 2013). "Idaho's Frank Church has posthumous TV debate with Rick Santorum". Idaho Statesman. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ "Sen. Frank Church Warns of How Easily Government Can Abuse Expanding Surveillance Capabilities". Grabien – The Multimedia Marketplace. 17 August 1975. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ Bamford, James (13 September 2011). "Post-September 11, NSA 'enemies' include us". Politico. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Declassified NSA files show agency spied on Muhammad Ali and MLK". the Guardian. 2013-09-26. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
- ^ "Idaho acts to rename area after Frank Church". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. UPI. February 28, 1984. p. 10B.
- ^ "Reagan signs bill naming area after Frank Church". Spokane Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. March 15, 1984. p. 3.
- ^ "Frank Church: Respect for life of all ages". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). (advertisement). November 2, 1980. p. 7B.
- ^ Mouat, Lucia (October 16, 1980). "It's 'Frank' vs. 'Steve' as Idaho's Church seeks re-election to Senate". Christian Science Monitor: 6. Archived from the original on January 31, 2008.
- ^ "National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization: History of Hospice". Archived from the original on 2020-10-18. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
- ^ "Wie gestalteten sich die sogenannte "Lockheed-Affäre" und die "Abhöraffäre"?". Franz Josef Strauß - Leben und Wirken des bayerischen Politikers.
- ^ "Scancals: Lockheed's Defiance: A Right to Bribe?". Time. August 18, 1975. Archived from the original on November 17, 2007.
- ^ Shelledy, Jay (March 19, 1976). "Church joins race for White House". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1A.
- ^ Weaver Jr., Warren (June 15, 1976). "Church Withdraws; Endorses Carter". The New York Times. p. 27.
- ^ Lindsay, John J (June 30, 1980). "Endangered Liberals". Newsweek. p. 20. Archived from the original on January 31, 2008.
- ^ "Frank Church in hospital; described as 'gravely ill'". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 11, 1984. p. 1.
- ^ "Former Sen. Church will undergo surgery at N.Y. cancer center". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). Associated Press. January 11, 1984. p. A3.
- ^ "Frank Church dies of cancer". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (from The Washington Post). April 8, 1984. p. 1.
- ^ "Church's body returned for funeral rite at Boise". Spokane Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. April 11, 1984. p. 36.
- ^ "Church's body comes home to Idaho". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. April 12, 1984. p. 1.
- ^ "Hundreds of Idahoans mourn". Spokane Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. April 12, 1984. p. 1.
- ^ "Frank Church will rest near boyhood hero". Spokane Chronicle. Associated Press. April 9, 1984. p. 3.
- ^ Sher, Jeff (April 13, 1984). "Last tribute paid to Church". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1.
- ^ Gallagher, Susan (April 13, 1984). "Church remembered as man of compassion". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. p. 1A.
- ^ "Church's papers headed for BSU". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). wire reports. March 2, 1984. p. 21.
- ^ a b Bamford, James (December 25, 2005). "The Agency That Could Be Big Brother". The New York Times.
- ^ Greenwald, Glenn (June 25, 2013). "Liberal Icon Frank Church on the NSA - Almost 40 Years Ago, the Idaho Senator Warned of the Dangers of Allowing the NSA to Turn Inward". The Guardian.
Bibliography
- Campbell, Thomas W. (March 5, 1983). "Mother of former Sen. Church dies in Boise". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. p. 5B.
- Prentice, George (February 13, 2013). "Dave Bieter". Boise Weekly. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
- Lardner, George Jr. (April 25, 1976). "Frank Church running 'happy campaign,' relaxed about future". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. WP. p. A12.
- House, Robert E. (April 8, 1984). "Idaho Ex-Sen. Frank Church Dies of Cancer". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. p. 1.
- Encyclopedia (2008). "Frank Forrester Church III". Encyclopedia of World Biography. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
- Hogan, Mary Jane (1999). Church, Frank. American National Biography. ISBN 978-0-19-860669-7. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
- Ashby, LeRoy (1990). "Church and Borah, Idaho's premier statesmen had nothing and yet, everything in common". The Lewiston Tribune. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
- Risen, James; Risen, Tom (2023). The Last Honest Man: The CIA, the FBI, the Mafia and the Kennedys—and One Senator's Fight to Save Democracy. New York: Little, Brown and Company. OCLC 1378020002.
- Sterrett, Noel (1976). Collection: Records of the 1976 Campaign Committee to Elect Jimmy Carter ; Subject File; Folder: Frank Church; Container 70 (PDF). Jimmy Carter Presidential Library. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- Martin, Boyd A. (1957). "The 1956 Election in Idaho". The Western Political Quarterly. 10 (1). University of Utah, Sage publication Inc.: 122–126. JSTOR 444248. Accessed 18 November 2021.
Further reading
- Ashby, LeRoy. "Frank Church Goes to the Senate: The Idaho Election of 1956". Pacific Northwest Quarterly 78 (January–April 1987): 17–31.
- Ashby, LeRoy, and Rod Gramer. Fighting the Odds: The Life of Senator Frank Church. Pullman: Washington State University Press, 1994.
- Church, F. Forrester. Father and Son: A Personal Biography of Senator Frank Church of Idaho by His Son
- Dant, Sara. "Making Wilderness Work: Frank Church and the American Wilderness Movement". Pacific Historical Review 77 (May 2008): 237–272.
- Ewert, Sara E. Dant. The Conversion of Senator Frank Church: Evolution of an Environmentalist. Ph.D. dissertation, Washington State University, 2000.
- Ewert, Sara E. Dant. "Evolution of an Environmentalist: Senator Frank Church and the Hells Canyon Controversy". Montana: The Magazine of Western History 51 (Spring 2001): 36–51. JSTOR 4520297.
- Ewert, Sara E. Dant. "Peak Park Politics: The Struggle over the Sawtooths, from Borah to Church". Pacific Northwest Quarterly (Summer 2000): 138–149.
- Hall, Bill. Frank Church, D.C., and Me. Pullman, Washington: Washington State University Press, 1995. ISBN 978-0-87422-119-0
- Johnson, Marc C. Tuesday Night Massacre: Four Senate Elections and the Radicalization of the Republican Party (U of Oklahoma Press, 2021). 1980 Senate races saw bitter defeats of Frank Church, Birch Bayh, John Culver, and George McGovern and weakened moderates in GOP.
External links
- United States Congress. "Frank Church (id: C000388)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Encyclopedia of World Biography – Frank Forrester Church III
- Boise State University -The Frank Church Institute
- BSU Library: Special Collections - The Frank Church Papers
- BSU Library – tribute to Bethine Church
- Frank Church—River of No Return Wilderness (PDF) - user's guide
- Boise High School's Hall of Fame
- Morris Hill Cemetery - Boise, ID - Walking Tour
- Frank Church at Find a Grave
- Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt Institute – Frank and Bethine Church
- Frank Church for President – 1976 campaign brochure
- Appearances on C-SPAN