Walter M. Pierce
| Walter Marcus Pierce | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Former U.S. Representative from Oregon's 2nd Congressional District From: March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1943 | |||
| Predecessor | Robert R. Butler | ||
| Successor | Lowell Stockman | ||
| Former Governor of Oregon From: January 8, 1923 – January 10, 1927 | |||
| Predecessor | Benjamin W. "Ben" Olcott | ||
| Successor | Isaac Lee "I. L." Patterson | ||
| Former State Senator from Oregon From: 1917–1921 | |||
| Predecessor | ??? | ||
| Successor | ??? | ||
| Former State Senator from Oregon From: 1903–1907 | |||
| Predecessor | ??? | ||
| Successor | ??? | ||
| Information | |||
| Party | Democrat | ||
| Spouse(s) | Clara Rudio (died 1890) Laura Rudio (died 1925) Cornelia Marvin | ||
Walter Marcus Pierce (May 30, 1861 – March 27, 1954) was a racist, anti-Catholic, left-wing Democrat from Oregon who was the state's governor in the 1920s and later was the U.S. representative from the 2nd congressional district.
Contents
Political career
Governor of Oregon
A progressive, eugenicist,[1][2] birth control advocate,[3] and ally of the Ku Klux Klan,[4][5] Pierce faced incumbent Republican Benjamin W. Olcott in the general election. During the campaign, Olcott issued a proclamation which denounced the Klan for three assaults the terrorist group perpetrated.[6] However, Pierce won the general election by fifteen percentage points.[7]
Pierce backed the Klan's agenda by supporting the Compulsory Public Education Act, which forced all children in the state to attend public schools.[5] It was especially aimed to prevent Catholics, who the KKK despised, from being able to send their children to private schools. Although the ballot measure passed by five percentage points,[8] the Act was struck down three years later in the United States Supreme Court case Pierce v. Society of Sisters,[5] where the unanimous opinion stated:[9]
| “ | The child is not the mere creature of the state. | ” |
Considered to have been liberal, Pierce pushed for the establishment of a statewide income tax and government-owned hydroelectric projects.[10] In 1923, he supported the Alien Property Act which sought to prevent Japanese immigrants from owning or leasing land.[4]
Pierce lost re-election in 1926 to Republican Isaac L. Patterson by twelve points.[11]
U.S. House of Representatives
After unsuccessfully running for the House of Representatives in 1928,[12][13] he was elected in the 1932 Democrat landslide, defeating Republican Robert Butler.[14] An adamant New Dealer who supported big government policies,[4] he was re-elected four times before losing re-election in the 1942 Midterm Elections by over twenty points.[15]
Pierce opposed the 1937 Gavagan–Wagner Act,[16] an anti-lynching bill introduced two years following the failure to pass the Costigan–Wagner Act. However, he was absent for the U.S. House floor vote.[17]
Similar to a number of progressives during World War II such as California governor Culbert Olson, Pierce supported the internment of Japanese-Americans ordered by Roosevelt.[4][18] He also voted against the 1940 Gavagan–Fish Act,[19] another anti-lynching bill.[20]
Legacy
Nearly a century after the fight over schooling in Oregon during the 1920s, leftists including teachers' unions and BLM[21][22] have tried to undermine school choice and religious liberty using the same anti-Catholic attempts that Pierce and the Klan employed, ultimately going down in defeat after a 2020 Supreme Court ruling.[23]
See also
References
- ↑ Thompson, Sabrina (June 11, 2020). EOU still considering name change for Pierce Library. The Observer. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
- ↑ November 13, 2020. Board approves budget, de-names library. Eastern Oregon University. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
- ↑ McCoy, Robert R. The Paradox of Oregon's Progressive Politics: The Political Career of Walter Marcus Pierce. JSTOR. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Walter Pierce (1861-1954). Oregon Encyclopedia. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 DeMarco, Donald (August 5, 2011). How Some Nuns Defeated the Ku Klux Klan. National Catholic Register. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ↑ Proclamation Against the Ku Klux Klan, 1922. The Oregon History Project. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ↑ OR Governor Race - Nov 07, 1922. Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ↑ Oregon Compulsory Public Education, Measure 6 (1922). Ballotpedia. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ↑ Pierce v. Society of Sisters. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ↑ Gov. Walter Marcus Pierce. National Governors Association. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ↑ OR Governor Race - Nov 02, 1926. Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ↑ OR - District 02 Race - Nov 06, 1928. Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ↑ OR - District 02 Special Election Race - Nov 06, 1928. Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ↑ OR - District 02 Race - Nov 08, 1932. Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ↑ Candidate - Walter M. Pierce. Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ↑ "The Paradox of Oregon's Progressive Politics," pp. 409–10.
- ↑ April 15, 1937. TO PASS H. R. 1507, AN ANTI-LYNCHING BILL. GovTrack.us. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
- ↑ A Mixed Reception: Japanese Americans Return to Oregon. Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ↑ FascinatingPolitics (July 1, 2018). On Ideology and Anti-Lynching Legislation. Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
- ↑ TO PASS H.R. 801, A BILL TO MAKE LYNCHING A FEDERAL CRIME. GovTrack.us. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
- ↑ Russell, Jason (September 8, 2016). Black Lives Matter leader quits over school choice. Washington Examiner. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ↑ Williams, Thomas D. (July 1, 2020). Catholic League Compares BLM and Democrats to Ku Klux Klan. Breitbart News. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ↑ Berry, Susan (July 1, 2020). Lead Attorney in SCOTUS Espinoza Case: School Choice Critics Hiding Behind KKK Anti-Catholic Amendments. Breitbart News. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
