L. J. Dickinson
L. J. Dickinson | |
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| United States Senator from Iowa | |
| In office March 4, 1931 – January 3, 1937 | |
| Preceded by | Daniel F. Steck |
| Succeeded by | Clyde L. Herring |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 10th district | |
| In office March 4, 1919 – March 3, 1931 | |
| Preceded by | Frank P. Woods |
| Succeeded by | Fred C. Gilchrist |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 29, 1873 Derby, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | June 4, 1968 (aged 94) Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Cornell College (BA) University of Iowa (LLB) |
Lester Jesse ("L. J." or "Dick") Dickinson (October 29, 1873 – June 4, 1968) was a Republican
Personal background
Dickinson was born on a farm near Derby, Iowa in Lucas County, to Levi and Willimine Morton Dickinson.[2] When he was five, his family moved to another farm outside Danbury, Iowa, in Woodbury County.[2] As a boy, he worked on his father's farm, peddled milk from the dairy, practiced orations behind
the barn, and clerked in a hardware store.
In 1910, he made an unsuccessful run for the Republican nomination for a seat in the Iowa House of Representatives.[2]
He married Myrtle Call, daughter of Ambrose A. Call, one of the founders of Algona, in 1901.[2]
According to Time, he did not "drink, smoke, [or] take part in sports or society."[1]
U.S. Representative
In 1918, Dickinson ran for Congress, challenging incumbent Frank P. Woods in the Republican primary for the seat in Iowa's 10th congressional district in north-central Iowa (made up of Boone, Calhoun, Carroll, Emmet, Greene, Hamilton, Humboldt, Hancock, Kossuth, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Winnebago, and Webster counties). Woods was then Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, but had voted against the 1917 declaration of war on the German Empire,[3] creating a great political liability in 1918.[4] After defeating Woods in the primary,[5] Dickinson defeated the Democratic nominee (as did every Republican nominee in every general election race during the existence of that district, from 1882 to 1931).
Dickinson became the House's "leader of that body's first, historic Farm Bloc."
Dickinson was a
U.S. Senator
Democratic U.S. Senator
In 1932, he was chosen to deliver the keynote speech at the 1932 Republican National Convention, where fellow Iowa native Herbert Hoover was re-nominated for his failed re-election bid.[2]
Once Franklin D. Roosevelt replaced Hoover in 1933, Dickinson distinguished himself by coming out early and often against the New Deal.[1] In a 1934 speech, he argued that the only beneficiaries of the new Agricultural Adjustment Act were the "brain trusters" behind the new programs, sneering that, "taken from their dismal classrooms, chicken farms, editorial rooms and law offices, they now loiter behind mahogany desks solving problems of the world."[2] Time commented in 1936 that he "demands 'sane, honest industrial and agricultural programs' and a return 'to the ideas of our New England forefathers.'"[1]
Interest in the Presidency
In May 1936, Time reported that Dickinson was interested in the chance to run against President Roosevelt, speculating that "the buzzing in his large, well-shaped head" was the question, "'If
Like Harding, he would personify a return to
Harry Daugherty put on for his Dark Horse in 1920—unobtrusively making friends, taking care not to offend leading candidates, building up a man on whom irreconcilably opposed factions could unite after a convention deadlock.[1]
In the
1936 re-election loss
Meanwhile, in his race for re-election, Dickinson faced a strong primary challenge from a crowded field of other Republicans that included Brookhart. While Dickinson did not receive a majority of the vote, he won with a percentage great enough to automatically advance to the general election. His Democratic opponent was sitting Iowa Governor
1938 Senate election loss
After 1936, Iowans' support for Roosevelt and the New Deal noticeably faded, and a bitter split developed in the Iowa Democratic Party between New Dealers and independent-minded Democrats such as incumbent U.S. Senator Guy Gillette. In this setting, Dickinson ran for Gillette's seat. However, his experience in the 1938 election was much like his 1936 election experience. After a strong battle in the Republican primary (in which he defeated U.S. Representative Lloyd Thurston), Dickinson again lost in the general election, this time by fewer than 3,000 votes.
Private practice in Des Moines
After leaving the Senate, Dickinson initially returned to Algona.[2]
In June 1939, he joined a Des Moines firm that his son, L. Call Dickinson, had started in 1936.[2][8] The former senator's involvement bolstered the young firm's reputation, and it became one of the leading business law firms in Des Moines and the state. Known informally for decades as "the Dickinson firm," it is currently known as Dickinson, Mackaman, Tyler & Hagen, P.C.[8]
Dickinson died on June 4, 1968.
References
- United States Congress. "L. J. Dickinson (id: D000323)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- ^ a b c d e f g Fire v. Fire," Time, 1936-05-11.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Dickinson Dies at 94; a Senator," Des Moines Register, 1968-06-05 at 1.
- ^ "Congressmen Opposed to War," Oelwein Register, 1918-06-19 at 3.
- ^ Editorial, "The Fate of Frank Woods," The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, 1918-08-30 at 4.
- ^ "Woods is Only One Defeated," Waterloo Times-Tribune, 1918-06-05 at 1.
- ^ "Dawes Picked to Go With Coolidge on G.O.P. Ticket," Waterloo Evening Courier, 1924-06-19 at 1.
- ^ "Voters Choose Candidates in Primary Race," Oelwein Daily Register, 1930-02-03 at 1.
- ^ a b Firm Profile, Dickinson, Mackaman, Tyler & Hagen, P.C., accessed 2008-07-04.
External links
Media related to Lester J. Dickinson at Wikimedia Commons- The Lester Jesse Dickinson Papers are housed at the University of Iowa Special Collections & University Archives.
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