Rush Holt Sr.
Rush Holt Sr. | |
---|---|
United States Senator from West Virginia | |
In office June 21, 1935 – January 3, 1941 | |
Preceded by | Henry D. Hatfield |
Succeeded by | Harley M. Kilgore |
Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates | |
In office 1931–1935 1942–1950 1954–1955 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Rush Dew Holt June 19, 1905 Weston, West Virginia, U.S. |
Died | February 8, 1955 Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. | (aged 49)
Political party | Republican (1949–1955) |
Other political affiliations | Democratic (until 1949) |
Spouse | |
Children | Rush Holt Jr. |
Profession | Teacher |
Rush Dew Holt Sr. (June 19, 1905 – February 8, 1955) was an American politician who was a United States Senator from West Virginia (1935–1941) and a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates (1931–1935, 1942–1950,[1] 1954–1955).
Early life and family
Holt was born in
Rush Holt attended the public schools and West Virginia University at Morgantown; he graduated from Salem College in 1924. He became a high school teacher and athletic coach, then an instructor at Salem College.[2]
Political career
Holt was elected as a Democrat to the West Virginia House of Delegates, serving from 1931 to 1935.[2] In this office, he was described as "a champion of the common man and a critic of privately owned utility corporations."[4]
In November 1934, at 29, he was elected to the United States Senate, but because a Senator is
Holt was elected with the support of the
Throughout his Senate career, Holt was a staunch
These activities did not make Holt popular with his constituents; in his 1940 bid for renomination, Holt came in third. After his Senate term expired, on January 3, 1941, Holt continued living in Washington, D.C., supporting himself as a lecturer and author. He was an active antiwar lecturer, most often supported by the sponsorship of the America First Committee. He attended dozens of antiwar rallies across the United States, usually as the featured speaker. This speaking tour ended after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the America First Committee was dissolved. Holt's foreign policy views remained the same, writing in 1942: "Our fight is not over. We must stand guard to see that the internationalists ... are not allowed to determine the future of our great country. They would commit us to everlasting wars everywhere."[4]
Holt's reputation was damaged after his links to Nazi agent George Sylvester Viereck were uncovered. He'd knowingly tried to publish two isolationist books Who's Who Among the Warmongers and The British Network, was published by Flanders Hall, a small company with ties to registered Nazi agents. In an investigation of Viereck's links to Congress, Holt was singled out as one of four who'd knowingly collaborated.[7]
Holt received a high level of media attention during his Senate years and was the subject of hundreds of political cartoons from across America.[8]
Holt unsuccessfully sought the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1944 and the Democratic nomination for United States Senator in 1948. He switched to the Republican Party in 1949, and was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for election to the Eighty-second Congress in 1950.[2] In 1952, Holt again ran for governor, and earned 48% of the vote.[4] In 1954, he was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates. Holt's political career ended where it started, and he died of cancer while in office on February 8, 1955, at age 49. He was interred in Macpelah Cemetery in Weston, West Virginia.[2]
Family
Holt's widow, Helen F. Holt (1913–2015), filled Holt's unexpired term in the West Virginia House of Delegates (1955–1957). She was then appointed Secretary of State, serving from 1957 to 1959, becoming the first woman to hold high office in West Virginia.[9]
His son,
References
- ^ West Virginia Blue Book. Charleston, WV. 1943–1950.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c d e f Rush D. Holt Sr. at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- ^ "Holt". freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g Coffey, William E. "Isolationism and Pacifism: Senator Rush D. Holt and American Foreign Policy". West Virginia History, Volume 51 (1992), pp. 1–14.
- ^ Poole, Keith T. (2004-10-13). "Is John Kerry a Liberal?". Retrieved 2010-01-06. The two Democratic Senators who were rated as more conservative were Harry F. Byrd Sr. and Strom Thurmond.
- ^ "The Merchants of Death" (PDF). Mises Institute. 1934-06-15. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
- ^ "West Virginia History Volume 51". archive.wvculture.org. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
- ^ "Rush Dew Holt Collection". WVU Libraries. 1935-01-03. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
- Charleston Gazette, December 5, 1957. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
Bibliography
- "Unsworn Senators", Time, January 14, 1935. Article about Holt and Richard C. Hunter.
External links
- The Rush Dew Holt Political Cartoon Collection at the West Virginia & Regional History Center
- The West Virginia & Regional History Center at West Virginia University houses the Rush Dew Holt papers in two collections, A&M 873 and A&M 3943
- United States Congress. "Rush Holt Sr. (id: H000749)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.