Sheridan Downey
Sheridan Downey | |
---|---|
United States Senator from California | |
In office January 3, 1939 – November 30, 1950 | |
Preceded by | Thomas M. Storke |
Succeeded by | Richard Nixon |
Personal details | |
Born | Laramie, Wyoming, U.S. | March 11, 1884
Died | October 25, 1961 San Francisco, California, U.S. | (aged 77)
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Helen Symons |
Children | 5 |
Alma mater | University of Michigan Law School |
Sheridan Downey (March 11, 1884 – October 25, 1961) was an American lawyer and a Democratic U.S. Senator from California from 1939 to 1950.
Early life
He was born in
Politics
In 1913, Downey moved to
In October 1933, Downey announced that he was running for governor of California. After a series of meetings with the writer
Before long, more than 2,000 grassroots EPIC clubs sprouted throughout the state, and the most popular EPIC anthem, "Campaign Chorus for Downey and Sinclair," was made into a phonograph record by Titan Records for mass distribution. It featured the speaking voice of Downey, announcer Jerry Wilford, and the singing of three men calling themselves the "Epic Trio." While EPIC was defeated by Republican Frank Merriam in November 1934. Downey, who had been subjected to less vitriol than Sinclair during the campaign, remained a viable political force in the state. Downey actually garnered 123,000 votes more than his running mate. Downey gained a statewide reputation as a champion of progressive politics.
After Sinclair's defeat, Downey became an attorney involved with Dr.
U.S. Senate
In 1938 Downey was elected to the United States Senate where he served until his resignation in November 1950.[1] He ran as a supporter of the proposed "Ham and Eggs" government pension program and defeated incumbent Senator William Gibbs McAdoo in the Democratic primary by more than 135,000 votes. Despite the strong backing McAdoo received from the White House and a personal campaign appearance by President Franklin Roosevelt to endorse McAdoo, Downey won the primary and went on to win the general election, defeating Republican Philip Bancroft 54%-46%. On October 24, 1938, Downey appeared on the cover of Time magazine.
Though he had been considered a staunch
He took an early stand supporting a
During his years in the Senate, Downey often represented the interests of California's powerful motion picture industry. His shift from a liberal New Dealer to a conservative Democrat would become officially recognized after the war ended.[6]
Re-election
After his narrow reelection to the Senate in 1944, defeating Republican Lieutenant Governor Frederick F. Houser by 52 percent to 48 percent, Downey began a push for the California Central Valley project, which had been initiated during the 1930s as part of the New Deal's vast array of public works projects, such as power dams and irrigation canals.
In a 1947 book entitled They Would Rule the Valley, Downey argued that the farmers of the Central Valley, who controlled water rights based on state law, would come into conflict with the federal Bureau of Reclamation. Downey acknowledged that Central Valley farmers were technically in violation of the Reclamation Act of 1902, but defended these violations of Federal law as necessary because, in the context of California agriculture the Federal limitation was impractical. Downey resigned from his Senate seat on November 30, 1950, enabling the governor to appoint Nixon, which gave him a seniority advantage over other new senators elected in 1950.
Later life and achievements
After he left the Senate, Downey practiced law in Washington, D.C., until his death in San Francisco in 1961. Downey also served as a lobbyist representing the city of Long Beach and the large petroleum concerns leasing its extensive waterfront. Upon his passing, he donated his body to the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco. His papers are archived at the Bancroft Library in Berkeley.
During his years in the Senate, Downey was often described as slight, grayish, and strikingly handsome. His political career in many ways typified the transformation of millions of Republican progressives who supported Theodore Roosevelt and the "Bull Moose" movement of 1912 into Democratic supporters of Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal in the 1930s. During the 1930s and early 1940s, Downey was one of California's most significant progressive politicians. While he was often overshadowed in state politics by Republican progressives like Hiram Johnson and Earl Warren, Downey left a significant mark because of his tireless advocacy of old-age pensions, organized labor, and racial justice. His conservative turn after his reelection in 1944, when he increasingly represented the interests of big business, large agribusiness concerns, and the oil industry, has obscured his historical reputation as a one-time liberal and progressive force in California politics.
Works
- Onward America, 1933.
- Courage America, 1933.
- Why I Believe in the Townsend Plan, 1936.
- Pensions or Penury?, 1939. - An early book of New Deal advocacy.
- Highways to Prosperity, 1940.
- They Would Rule the Valley, 1947. - A book written to inform Californians about the Federal Government's efforts to impose undue economic restrictions on agriculture via the Reclamation Bureau.
References
- ^ a b Downey, Sheridan. "Downey, Sheridan".
- ^ a b Dictionary of American Biography. Charles Scribner's Sons. 1981.
- ^ Sinclair, Upton (August 6, 2012). "The Plan to End Poverty in California". VCU Libraries.
- ^ DeWitt, Larry (December 2001). "The Townsend Plan's Pension Scheme". VCU Libraries.
- ^ Kenneth Franklin Kurz, Nixon's Enemies, NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, 1998, p. 102
- ^ a b G. J. Barker-Benfield, Catherine Clinton, Portraits of American Women: From Settlement to the Present, Oxford University, 1998, pg. 554.
- ^ Downey, Sheridan. 1947. They Would Rule the Valley San Francisco, self published
- ^ Kenneth Franklin Kurz, Nixon's Enemies, NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, 1998, p. 103
External links
- United States Congress. "Sheridan Downey (id: D000469)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Sheridan Downey at The Political Graveyard
- Guide to the Sheridan Downey Papers at The Bancroft Library