Wallace H. White
| Wallace Humphrey White, Jr. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Former Senate Majority Leader From: January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949 | |||
| Predecessor | Alben Barkley | ||
| Successor | Scott Lucas | ||
| Former Senate Minority Leader From: February 25, 1944 – January 3, 1947 | |||
| Predecessor | Charles McNary | ||
| Successor | Alben Barkley | ||
| Former U.S. Senator from Maine From: March 4, 1931 – January 3, 1949 | |||
| Predecessor | Arthur B. Gould | ||
| Successor | Margaret Chase Smith | ||
| Former U.S. Representative from Maine's 2nd Congressional District From: March 4, 1917 – March 4, 1931 | |||
| Predecessor | Daniel J. McGillicuddy | ||
| Successor | Donald B. Partridge | ||
| Information | |||
| Party | Republican | ||
| Spouse(s) | Anna Pratt (died 1914) Nina Lunn | ||
| Religion | Congregationalist[1] | ||
Wallace Humphrey White, Jr. (August 6, 1877 – March 31, 1952) was a Republican from Maine who served as the state's U.S. senator from the early 1930s until the late 1940s. He was previously a U.S. representative from the 2nd congressional district.
White was considered among colleagues in the Senate has having been one of the most fair-minded people in the institution.[2]
Contents
Background
White was born on August 6, 1877 to Helen Elizabeth Fyre (1858–1926)[3] and Wallace Humphrey White, Sr. (1848–1920).[4] His maternal grandfather William Pierce Frye (1830–1911),[5] who helped guide him,[2] was a conservative Republican who succeeded corrupt Half-Breed James Gillespie Blaine in the U.S. Senate. Interestingly, Frye also was previously a U.S. representative from Maine's 2nd district like his grandson.
White graduated from Bowdoin College in 1899 and became a Senate Commerce Committee clerk, later being a secretary to his grandfather. After being admitted to the bar, White practiced law in Lewiston.
Political career
White was first narrowly elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1916[6] after newspapers in Maine touted his family relationship with Frye.[2] The Lewiston Journal stated:
| “ | By inheritance, education, culture, initiative and personality, Mr. White is all that the voters . . . can ask. | ” |
He voted in 1922 along with the vast majority of House Republicans in favor of the anti-lynching bill that year sponsored by his Missouri colleague Leonidas C. Dyer.[7]
White would be re-elected six times before retiring from the House to run for Senate.[8] He chaired the Committees on Women's suffrage and Merchant Marine and Fisheries, in addition to working on legislation important to the economy of his Northeastern home state.[2] White helped author important bills such as the Radio Act of 1927, which regulated radio frequencies,[9] as well as the Merchant Marine Act of 1928, which ordered the proper education of young cadets for ships which accept U.S. mail subsidies.[2]
U.S. Senate
Following the announced retirement of Sen. Arthur Gould, White ran for the open seat.[2] He easily swept over every county in the state for a landslide victory over Democrat opponent Frank H. Haskell.[10] This was despite heavy defeats for Republicans in the election cycle, as Maine during the time was solidly Republican. However, White would only be re-elected in the 1936 Senate elections (which included the concurrent presidential election that year) very narrowly.[11]
Along with his colleague Frederick Hale, White generally opposed the New Deal agenda of the Roosevelt Administration.[12] He was one of only sixteen senators to vote against the confirmation of left-wing Democrat Hugo Black to the United States Supreme Court in 1937.[13] Black had a previous membership in the Ku Klux Klan which was only revealed after his Senate confirmation.
White was easily re-elected in the 1942 midterms.[14]
Although he was the leader of Senate Republicans in the 1940s following the death of Charles Linza McNary, White deferred to his Ohio colleague Robert A. Taft on practically all issues.[9] This was partially due to the Maine Republican's lack of natural ability for public speaking, instead preferring to focus on matters in the Committees on Interstate Commerce and Foreign Relations.
After continuously being heavily pressured by Senate GOP colleagues into constant leadership tasks rather than cherished committee assignments[2] due to his reluctance to push back against being treated as a workhorse, White's increased stress worsened his frail health, contributing to a breakdown which led to his duties later handed over to conservative colleague Kenneth S. Wherry.[9] Retiring from Congress in the 1948 election cycle, he was succeeded by Moderate Republican Margaret Chase Smith, the widow of congressman Clyde H. Smith.
He missed 15% of all roll call votes during his Senate tenure.[15]
Death
Three years after leaving the Senate, White died in his sleep in 1952, with his health worsened by an ailment in the heart.[2] Former colleagues from the Committee on Interstate Commerce several weeks prior sent a letter regarding him as:[2]
| “ | ...the man, whose friendliness, charm, courtesy, and painstaking consideration in all things marked him as a true gentleman and a noble American patriot. | ” |
White is interred at Mount Auburn Cemetery.
See also
- Frederick G. Payne, later Republican U.S. senator from Maine
- Robert S. Hale, GOP U.S. representative from Maine's 2nd district
References
- ↑ Congregationalist Politicians in Maine. The Political Graveyard. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Senate Leaders. United States Senate. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ↑ Helen Elizabeth Frye White. Find a Grave. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ↑ Wallace Humphrey White. Find a Grave. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ↑ William Pierce Frye. Find a Grave. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ↑ ME District 2 Race - Sep 11, 1916. Our Campaigns. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
- ↑ TO PASS H. R. 13.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
- ↑ Candidate - Wallace H. White, Jr.. Our Campaigns. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 FascinatingPolitics (July 8, 2018). Leaders In Name Only: When the Leader is Not in Charge. Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ↑ ME US Senate Race - Sep 08, 1930. Our Campaigns. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ↑ ME US Senate Race - Sep 14, 1936. Our Campaigns. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ↑ How the Northeast Became Democratic, Part IV: Maine (Sort of). Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History. Retieved June 14, 2021.
- ↑ TO CONFIRM THE NOMINATION OF HUGO BLACK TO BE ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ↑ ME US Senate Race - Sep 14, 1942. Our Campaigns. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ↑ Sen. Wallace White Jr.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
