Thomas J. Walsh
Thomas J. Walsh | |
---|---|
United States Senator from Montana | |
In office March 4, 1913 – March 2, 1933 | |
Preceded by | Joseph M. Dixon |
Succeeded by | John E. Erickson |
Personal details | |
Born | Two Rivers, Wisconsin | June 12, 1859
Died | March 2, 1933 Near Wilson, North Carolina | (aged 73)
Resting place | Resurrection Cemetery, Helena, Montana |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Elinor McClements (m. 1889–1917, her death) Mina Nieves Perez Chaumont de Truffin (m. February 1933 – March 1933, his death) |
Children | 1 |
Education | University of Wisconsin Law School |
Profession | Attorney |
Thomas James Walsh (June 12, 1859 – March 2, 1933) was an American lawyer and
Walsh had a national reputation as a liberal. However, he died before he could serve President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, who chose him as his Attorney General.[1]
Background
Walsh was born in
Walsh taught school while attending the University of Wisconsin Law School. He graduated in 1884 and was admitted to the bar. He moved to Redfield, Dakota Territory to practice law. In August 1889, he married Elinor McClements (1859–1917). They had a daughter, Genevieve, born in 1890.
Moving to the state capital of Helena, Montana in 1890,[2][3] Walsh established a law practice that specialized in personal injury cases and cases involving water rights and copper mining.[4]
Career
Walsh became a leader in Democratic Party politics in Helena and attended numerous local, county and state conventions as a delegate. He was defeated in a 1906 election for the United States House of Representatives and a 1910 race for the U.S. Senate. Walsh was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions of 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924, 1928, and 1932. He was the permanent chairman of the 1928 and 1932 conventions.
In 1912, Walsh won a state legislative election for U.S. Senate. He was repeatedly re-elected, and served from 1913 until his death in 1933. He emerged as a spokesman for President Woodrow Wilson in the Senate and supported the graduated income tax, farm loans, and women's suffrage.
Walsh managed Wilson's western campaign against Charles Evans Hughes during the 1916 presidential election, and was credited with helping Wilson win a narrow re-election victory. Unlike many Irish Catholics, who did not want the United States to ally with the United Kingdom, Walsh supported Wilson's foreign policy and voted for war against Germany in 1917. In 1919, he supported Wilson's peace plans and the League of Nations.
Walsh ran for re-election
In his re-election
During his tenure in the Senate, Walsh gained fame for his legal ability in the Judiciary Committee and speaking ability on the floor.
In the 1920s, Walsh headed the Senate investigation into the
In 1933, Walsh was nominated for
His funeral service was held in the Chamber of the United States Senate, and he was interred at Resurrection Cemetery in Helena.[9]
See also
- List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49)
References
- ^ Tribune Staff. "125 Montana Newsmakers: Sen. Thomas J. Walsh". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
- ^ Ruthmansdorfer, Paul. "Thomas J. (James) Walsh". Two Rivers Economic Ddevelopment. City of Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Archived from the original on April 16, 2013.
- ISBN 9781315479514.
- ^ O'Keane, Josephine (1955). Thomas J. Walsh, a Senator from Montana. Francestown, NH: M. Jones Company. p. 22 – via Google Books.
- ^ ISBN 067080486X. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
- ^ "Walsh Asks Probe of Electric Utilities". Library of Congress. Washington D.C. Evening Star. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- ^ "FTC Milestones: Making the case for reform of public utility holding company laws 1928-35 Federal Trade Commission Annual Reports document the 7 year investig". Federal Trade Commission. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- ^ "The mysterious death of Sen. Thomas Walsh". Independent Record. 24 December 2000. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- ^ Walsh, Thomas James, (1859 - 1933)
Further reading
- Bates, J. Leonard (ed.). Tom Walsh in Dakota Territory: Personal Correspondence of Senator Thomas J. Walsh and Elinor C. McClements (1966).
- Bates, J. Leonard. Senator Thomas J. Walsh of Montana: Law and Public Affairs, from TR to FDR. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1999.
External links
- United States Congress. "Thomas J. Walsh (id: W000104)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- "Walsh, Thomas James" at American National Biography Online
- Thomas J. Walsh at Find a Grave