Millard Tydings

Millard Tydings
Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates
In office January 1920 – September 1920
Preceded by	Herbert R. Wooden
Succeeded by	John L. G. Lee
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the Harford County district
In office 1920–1920 Serving with Frederick Lee Cobourn and J. Fletcher Hopkins
In office 1916–1917 Serving with Frank E. Baker and Thomas H. Ward
Personal details
Born	Millard Evelyn Tydings (1890-04-06)April 6, 1890 University of Maryland
Profession	Civil engineer, lawyer, politician, author
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1917–1919
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Battles/wars	World War I

Millard Evelyn Tydings (April 6, 1890 – February 9, 1961) was an American attorney, author, soldier, state legislator, and served as a Democratic Representative and Senator in the United States Congress from Maryland, serving in the House from 1923 to 1927 and in the Senate from 1927 to 1951.

Early life and education

Tydings was born in

In 1922, Tydings was elected as a Democrat to the 68th session of the U.S. Congress, and was re-elected to the 69th session, representing the second district of Maryland (March 4, 1923 – March 3, 1927) in the House of Representatives. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1926, having become a candidate for the United States Senate.

He was elected to the Senate in 1926, 1932, 1938 and 1944, and served from March 4, 1927, to January 3, 1951. With Alabama Representative John McDuffie, he co-sponsored the Philippine Independence Act, commonly known as the Tydings–McDuffie Act, which established an autonomous 10-year Commonwealth status for the Philippines. It was planned to culminate in the withdrawal of American sovereignty and the recognition of Philippine Independence.

In January 1934, Tydings introduced a resolution "condemning

In 1936, Senator Tydings introduced a bill in Congress calling for independence for Puerto Rico, but it was opposed by Luis Muñoz Marín, an influential leader of Puerto Rico's pro-independence Liberal Party.^[5] Tydings did not gain passage of the bill.^[5] (The U.S. senator had co-sponsored the Tydings–McDuffie Act, which provided independence to the Philippines after a 10-year transition under a limited autonomy.)

Following the end of World War II, when the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, Tydings sponsored a bill calling for the U.S. to lead the world in

In the 1950 election, Tydings was defeated by John Marshall Butler. In 1956, he was nominated as the Democratic candidate for the United States Senate but withdrew before election due to ill health.^[12]

During his congressional service, Tydings was chairman of the

Controversies

During his time in the Senate, Tydings was well known for taking principled, controversial, often unusual stands on various issues. As a centrist Democrat, Tydings cautiously backed the

Tydings in 1937 broke with President Franklin Roosevelt, by opposing the president's "court packing" proposal.^[13] In retaliation Roosevelt campaigned against him in 1938, speaking in Eastern Maryland on behalf of his opponent, Congressman David J. Lewis. The state's newspapers overwhelmingly supported Tydings and denounced Roosevelt's interference. Tydings easily won re-election.^[15] According to Philip A. Grant Jr.:^[16]

Tydings' solid victory was interpreted as a serious political blow to the president, yet Roosevelt's 1940 performance in Maryland was creditable, suggesting that state Democrats, while resenting the assault on Tydings, nevertheless favored the New Deal and FDR's leadership. The equation of newspaper opinion with public opinion, in this case, is erroneous. Tydings won on his own record and merits, and the impact of the President's politicking was probably negligible.

Biographer Caroline H. Keith is sympathetic in general, but concludes that Tydings' intense vitriol, harshness and arrogance left him an isolated politician with few friends.^[17]

Death and legacy

Millard E. Tydings died on February 9, 1961, at his farm, "Oakington", near Havre de Grace, Maryland. He was buried in Angel Hill Cemetery.^[18] Tydings' gravestone incorrectly gives his Senate election year (1926) as the start of his Senate service, which began in 1927.^{[citation needed]}

• The Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge, which carries Interstate 95 across the Susquehanna River, is named in his honor.
• Millard E. Tydings Hall at the University of Maryland, College Park, which houses the departments of Government & Politics and Economics, is also named for him.

Tydings' adopted son,

His wife was Eleanor Tydings Ditzen.^[19] Her father was Joseph E. Davies, who served as U.S. Ambassador to the USSR, Belgium and Luxembourg.^[20][21]

Tydings' granddaughter Alexandra Tydings is an actress.

The law firm which Millard Tydings formed with Morris Rosenberg continues its law practice today in Baltimore, Maryland.^[22]

Notes