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William R. Pattangall (view source)
Revision as of 18:08, November 6, 2021
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'''William Robinson Pattangall''' (June 29, 1865 – October 21, 1942), also known as '''Patt''' or '''W. R. Pattangall''' (penname ''Stephen A. Douglas Smith''), was a humorist, sage, and judge from [[Maine]] who served as the state's [[attorney general]] and judicial court justice. A [[Democrat]] for much of his life, he later switched party affiliation to become a [[Republican]] due to opposition towards the [[New Deal]].<ref name=bio>October 30, 2015. [https://townyappah.wordpress.com/2015/10/30/william-robinson-pattangall-pembroke-genius/ William Robinson Pattangall, Pembroke Genius]. ''The Town Yappah'''. Retrieved November 6, 2021.</ref><ref name=pattangallswitchesparties>Bullard, F. Lauriston (December 15, 1935). [https://www.nytimes.com/1935/12/15/archives/pattangall-gives-maine-a-new-stir-return-to-the-republican-fold.html PATTANGALL GIVES MAINE A NEW STIR; Return to the Republican Fold After Many Years Another Mark of His Independence.]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved November 6, 2021.</ref><ref>Grow, Mary (December 30, 2020). [https://townline.org/up-and-down-the-kennebec-valley-maine-supreme-court-chief-justices-from-kennebec-valley-part-2/ Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Maine Supreme Court Chief Justices from Kennebec Valley – Part 2]. ''The Town Line Newspaper''. Retrieved November 6, 2021.</ref>
==Political career==
In 1897 and 1901, Pattangall was elected to the Maine House of Representatives, and also served the mayor of Waterville, Maine from 1911 to 1913.<ref>[http://www.waterville-me.gov/mayor/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2017/06/History-of-Mayors-Rev-June-2017.pdf Updated: June 23, 2017 Page 1 of 10 History of Mayors City of Waterville, Maine]. ''City of Waterville, Maine''. Retrieved November 6, 2021.</ref> Originally a Republican, he later became a Democrat and supported [[Woodrow Wilson]] for president.
During the Democrat primaries in the [[United States presidential election, 1920|1920 presidential election]], Pattangall favored the nomination of [[United States Attorney General]] [[A. Mitchell Palmer]].<ref>March 31, 1920. [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/03/31/102390179.pdf Maine Democrats Hail Wilson at Convention]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved November 6, 2021.</ref>
===1924 gubernatorial bid, opposition towards Ku Klux Klan===
In 1924 amidst the [[United States presidential election, 1924|presidential election that year]], Pattangall ran for [[Governors of Maine|Governor of Maine]], and faced Owen Brewster in the general election. Running as an anti-[[KKK]] candidate, the Klan subsequently supported Brewster, who stayed quiet.
Pattangall, who campaigned mainly against the Klan's support for Brewster,<ref>September 8, 1924. [https://www.nytimes.com/1924/09/08/archives/heavy-vote-is-likely.html Heavy Vote Is Likely.]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved November 6, 2021.</ref> lost the race by fourteen percentage points, only managing to carry one county.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=266644 ME Governor Race - Sep 08, 1924]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved November 6, 2021.</ref><ref>September 9, 1924. [https://www.nytimes.com/1924/09/09/archives/fernald-increases-lead.html Fernald Increases Lead.]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved November 6, 2021.</ref>
In the concurrent primaries for the presidential election, Pattangall led the effort to place an anti-KKK plank on the party platform.<ref>Davis, Elmer (June 29, 1924). [https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/240629convention-dem-ra.html Convention, by One Vote, Defeats Plank Naming Klan, Bryan, in Bitter Debate, Pleading for Party Unity; Proposal for League Referendum Wins, Despite Baker]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved November 6, 2021.</ref> By a margin of only one vote, proposal was defeated in a bitter intraparty fight.
He stated in September 1925:<ref>[http://americainclass.org/sources/becomingmodern/divisions/text1/colcommentaryklan.pdf THe Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s: Collected Commentary]. ''America in Class''. Retrieved November 6, 2021.</ref>
{{cquote|The fundamental wrong is in the Klan idea of what makes Americanism. It assumes that this quality can only be born in a man or woman who happens to see the light first on American soil, that it is born in all such, and that no one else can achieve it. It adds the charge that no Catholic or Jew can consistently be a good American, because his religious loyal-ties come first and are hostile.
...
Americanism, of course, is really an ideal and a spiritual—faith in freedom, tolerance, humanity. It cannot discriminate because of color, birthplace, or creed; nor can it tolerate caste, class, or religious distinctions in politics, social life, or legal standing; especially it cannot for a moment endure the breeding and exploitation of hatred and prejudice as a means to sway public opinion and win political power.|||Pattangall, at ''The Forum}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://www.maine.gov/msl/maine/writdisplay.shtml?id=94933 Profile] at ''Maine State Library
*[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/09/09/100277610.pdf Republican wins Maine Election] – ''The New York Times'', published September 9, 1913
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pattangall, William R.}}
[[Category:Maine]]
[[Category:Judges]]
[[Category:United States Mayors]]
[[Category:Former Democrats]]
[[Category:Conservative Democrats]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:New Deal]]
[[Category:Broke with FDR]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Civil Rights]]
[[Category:1920s]]
[[Category:1930s]]
==Political career==
In 1897 and 1901, Pattangall was elected to the Maine House of Representatives, and also served the mayor of Waterville, Maine from 1911 to 1913.<ref>[http://www.waterville-me.gov/mayor/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2017/06/History-of-Mayors-Rev-June-2017.pdf Updated: June 23, 2017 Page 1 of 10 History of Mayors City of Waterville, Maine]. ''City of Waterville, Maine''. Retrieved November 6, 2021.</ref> Originally a Republican, he later became a Democrat and supported [[Woodrow Wilson]] for president.
During the Democrat primaries in the [[United States presidential election, 1920|1920 presidential election]], Pattangall favored the nomination of [[United States Attorney General]] [[A. Mitchell Palmer]].<ref>March 31, 1920. [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/03/31/102390179.pdf Maine Democrats Hail Wilson at Convention]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved November 6, 2021.</ref>
===1924 gubernatorial bid, opposition towards Ku Klux Klan===
In 1924 amidst the [[United States presidential election, 1924|presidential election that year]], Pattangall ran for [[Governors of Maine|Governor of Maine]], and faced Owen Brewster in the general election. Running as an anti-[[KKK]] candidate, the Klan subsequently supported Brewster, who stayed quiet.
Pattangall, who campaigned mainly against the Klan's support for Brewster,<ref>September 8, 1924. [https://www.nytimes.com/1924/09/08/archives/heavy-vote-is-likely.html Heavy Vote Is Likely.]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved November 6, 2021.</ref> lost the race by fourteen percentage points, only managing to carry one county.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=266644 ME Governor Race - Sep 08, 1924]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved November 6, 2021.</ref><ref>September 9, 1924. [https://www.nytimes.com/1924/09/09/archives/fernald-increases-lead.html Fernald Increases Lead.]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved November 6, 2021.</ref>
In the concurrent primaries for the presidential election, Pattangall led the effort to place an anti-KKK plank on the party platform.<ref>Davis, Elmer (June 29, 1924). [https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/240629convention-dem-ra.html Convention, by One Vote, Defeats Plank Naming Klan, Bryan, in Bitter Debate, Pleading for Party Unity; Proposal for League Referendum Wins, Despite Baker]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved November 6, 2021.</ref> By a margin of only one vote, proposal was defeated in a bitter intraparty fight.
He stated in September 1925:<ref>[http://americainclass.org/sources/becomingmodern/divisions/text1/colcommentaryklan.pdf THe Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s: Collected Commentary]. ''America in Class''. Retrieved November 6, 2021.</ref>
{{cquote|The fundamental wrong is in the Klan idea of what makes Americanism. It assumes that this quality can only be born in a man or woman who happens to see the light first on American soil, that it is born in all such, and that no one else can achieve it. It adds the charge that no Catholic or Jew can consistently be a good American, because his religious loyal-ties come first and are hostile.
...
Americanism, of course, is really an ideal and a spiritual—faith in freedom, tolerance, humanity. It cannot discriminate because of color, birthplace, or creed; nor can it tolerate caste, class, or religious distinctions in politics, social life, or legal standing; especially it cannot for a moment endure the breeding and exploitation of hatred and prejudice as a means to sway public opinion and win political power.|||Pattangall, at ''The Forum}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://www.maine.gov/msl/maine/writdisplay.shtml?id=94933 Profile] at ''Maine State Library
*[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/09/09/100277610.pdf Republican wins Maine Election] – ''The New York Times'', published September 9, 1913
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pattangall, William R.}}
[[Category:Maine]]
[[Category:Judges]]
[[Category:United States Mayors]]
[[Category:Former Democrats]]
[[Category:Conservative Democrats]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:New Deal]]
[[Category:Broke with FDR]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Civil Rights]]
[[Category:1920s]]
[[Category:1930s]]