Charles L. McNary
Charles L. McNary | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Henrique Medina | |
| 3rd United States Senate Minority Leader | |
| In office 1933–1945 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph T. Robinson |
| Succeeded by | Wallace H. White, Jr. |
| United States Senator from Oregon | |
| In office May 29 1917 – November 5 1918 | |
| Preceded by | Harry Lane |
| Succeeded by | Frederick W. Mulkey |
| United States Senator from Oregon | |
| In office December 18 1918 – February 25 1944 | |
| Preceded by | Frederick W. Mulkey |
| Succeeded by | Guy Gordon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate June 12 1874 Salem, Oregon  |
| Died | February 25, 1944 (aged 69) Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
| Resting place | Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Cornelia Morton McNary |
| Parent |
|
| Alma mater | Stanford University |
| Profession | Attorney |
Charles Linza McNary (June 12, 1874 - February 25, 1944) was a U.S. Republican politician from Oregon, best known for serving as a U.S. Senator from 1917-44, and as Senate Minority Leader from 1933-44. In the Senate, McNary helped to pass legislation that led to the construction of Bonneville Dam. In 1940, McNary was the Republican Vice Presidential candidate of Presidential candidate Wendell Willkie. Before serving in the Senate, he served on the Oregon Supreme Court from 1913 to 1915 and was dean of Willamette University College of Law from 1908 to 1913 in his hometown of Salem, Oregon.
Early life
McNary was born on his family's farm north of Salem on June 12 1874.[1][2] He was the ninth child and third son of the ten children born to his parents, Hugh Linza McNary and Margaret McNary (née Claggett).[2] McNary's paternal grandfather, James McNary, immigrated to the Oregon Country from Kentucky in 1845, while his maternal grandfather immigrated from Missouri in 1852.[2] McNary's father, Hugh, was a former brickyard operator and school teacher.[2] McNary's mother died in 1878. He lived on the farm until his father’s death in 1883, at which time the nine-year-old McNary moved to Salem to live with four siblings and attend school.[2]
In 1896, Charles McNary moved to California to attend Stanford University, where he studied law and worked as a waiter to pay for his housing.[2][1] McNary left Stanford and returned to Oregon in 1897.[2] Back in Salem, he read law under the supervision of his brother John Hugh McNary, and passed the bar in 1898.[2] The two brothers then practiced law together in Salem.[2] At this time, Charles bought the old family farm and returned it to the family, and he also organized the Salem Fruit Union.[2] He was the dean of Willamette University College of Law from 1908-13.[3]
On November 19 1902, he married Jessie Breyman, the daughter of a successful Salem businessman, Eugene Breyman.[2][4] Jessie died in 1918, in one of the first automobile accidents in the Salem area, while Charles was on a summer break from the Senate.[2][4][5] Charles and Jessie would not have any children together.
Political career
McNary's first public office came in 1892 when he served as Marion County’s deputy recorder, remaining in the position until 1896.[2] After becoming an attorney, he served as deputy district attorney for the third judicial district of Oregon from 1904-11.[1] While in that position he served under his brother, who was appointed district attorney in 1905.[2] From 1911 until 1913 he worked as special legal counsel to Oregon’s railroad commission.[2]
Charles McNary first held political office in 1913 when he was appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court by Governor Oswald West, to fill a new position created by the legislature.[6][7] He served until 1915, but lost the nomination to run as the Republican Party candidate by a single vote, thus he was not a candidate for a full six-year term on the state's highest court.[2] From 1916 to 1917, he served as the chairperson to the Republican Party’s central committee in Oregon.[2]
National politics
In 1917, he was briefly appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy left by the death of Harry Lane.[1] In the subsequent election for a permanent replacement, McNary lost the election to Frederick W. Mulkey, who took office on November 6 1918. However, Mulkey resigned after taking office, effective December 17 1918.[2] McNary was then re-appointed to the Senate on December 12 1918, taking office on December 18.[1] He was subsequently re-elected in 1924, '30, '36, and '42. McNary served in Washington, D.C. until his death in 1944. During his time in the Senate, McNary served as Minority Leader from 1933-44, when the Senate was under Democratic control during the New Deal era.[1] As minority leader he advocated a progressive agenda for the Republicans in the Senate, and even recommended not disciplining Republican Senators who crossed party lines and support President Roosevelt.[2] McNary supported many of the New Deal programs at the beginning of Roosevelt’s presidency. As World War II approached he supported keeping the arms embargo in place, but voted for the lend-lease agreement with the British in 1941 and to implement selective service in 1940.[2]
While in the Senate, he also served as chairman of the Irrigation and Reclamation of Arid Lands committee and was a member of the Agriculture and Forestry committee.[1] In 1933, he introduced the legislation that led to the building of Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River.[3] He was in favor of ratifying the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I and voted in favor of the United States joining the World Court in 1926. During the 1920s, as chairman of the Irrigation and Reclamation Committee, McNary supported the development of hydroelectric power on the Columbia, Tennessee, and Colorado rivers.[2] Other bills he supported include the purchase of additional National Forest lands, re-forestation laws, fire protection for forests in the Clarke-McNary Act, and agricultural support. He also co-sponsored the McNary-Haugen Farm Relief Bill, which was vetoed by President Coolidge and was the forerunner of the agricultural part of the New Deal.[2]
In 1940, he was the Republican vice presidential nominee,[1] as a western conservative to balance the eastern liberalism of presidential nominee Wendell Willkie.[2] McNary did not support the nomination of Willkie, and during McNary’s acceptance speech for the vice presidential nomination re-iterated his support for the Tennessee Valley Authority which Willkie had opposed.[2] During the campaign, McNary promoted farming issues and support for reciprocal foreign trade agreements.[2] The Willkie-McNary ticket lost the Electoral College to President Roosevelt, 449 to 82.
Family and legacy
On December 29 1923, McNary married for the second time, to Cornelia Woodburn Morton. Charles met Cornelia at a dinner party during World War I, in her hometown of Washington, D.C.[5] Before the marriage, she worked as his private secretary.[5] Like his first marriage, his second marriage did not produce children, but Charles and Cornelia adopted a daughter named Charlotte in 1935.[2]
In 1926, McNary built a new ranch style house on his farm on Claggett Creek.[5] His estate, called "Fircone", featured amenities such as a putting green, rose garden, tennis court, fishpond, and an arboretum. The farm included 110 acres planted as orchards of both nuts and fruits, with McNary helping to establish the filbert industry in Oregon.[5] At one point he also had the only prune orchard located in the Western United States.[5] Before his political career, Charles had served as president of both the Salem Fruit Union and the Salem Board of Trade.[5]
In 1944, while in Florida, McNary underwent unsuccessful surgery for a brain tumor.[2] Charles L. McNary died in office on February 25 1944 while in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and was buried in Belcrest Memorial Cemetery in his hometown of Salem.[1] McNary's running-mate Willkie died six months later. It was the only occasion where both members of a major party presidential ticket died during the term for which they sought election.
McNary Dam on the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington is named after him, as is McNary Field, the airport in his hometown of Salem. McNary High School in Keizer and McNary Dorm at Oregon State University are also both named in his honor.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "McNary, Charles Linza". Biographical Directory of the United States Senate. Retrieved 2007-02-03.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Oregon Biographical Dictionary. St. Clair Shores, MI: Somerset Publishers, Inc. 1999. pp. 130–134. ISBN 0-403-09841-6.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b "Notable Oregonians: Charles McNary". Oregon Blue Book. Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b "A Training Manual for Interpreters McNary Lock and Dam, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District". Retrieved 2007-09-06.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "The McNary Family". Keizertimes. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Supreme Court Justices of Oregon". Oregon Blue Book. Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Governors of Oregon". Oregon Blue Book. Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help)
External links
- Senate Portrait
- Salem Online History: Charles McNary
- Letter to McNary from President Hoover
- Historic images of Charles McNary from Salem Public Library
- "Charley Mac", March 6, 1944 McNary obituary in Time
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