Hamilton Fish, III
Hamilton Stuyvesant Fish, III (December 7, 1888 – January 18, 1991), also known as Hamilton Fish, Jr., was a Republican from New York who represented the state's 26th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1920 to 1945. He was previously a state representative from Putnam County.
U.S. House of Representatives
Fish was first elected to Congress in a 1920 special election, defeating Democrat opponent Rosslyn M. Cox by a landslide.[1] He was re-elected to a full House term that year in a rematch against Cox by a near-identical margin of victory.[2]
1920s: spearheading Lodge-Fish resolution
A Zionist, Fish co-sponsored with Massachusetts Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge, Sr. the Lodge-Fish resolution 1922 which affirmed Israel as a permanent national home for Jews.[3] It asserted that the United States:[4]
| “ | ...favors the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of Christian and all other non-Jewish communities in Palestine, and that the Holy places and religious buildings and sites in Palestine shall be adequately protected. | ” |
The resolution unanimously passed both houses of Congress and was signed into law by President Warren G. Harding on September 21, 1922.[5]
The same year the Lodge-Fish resolution was approved and passed, Fish also supported the anti-lynching bill introduced by conservative Republican colleague Leonidas C. Dyer of Missouri,[3] which passed the House though was blocked in the Senate by an anti-civil rights group consisting of racist Mississippi politician Pat Harrison and liberal Republican William E. Borah.
1930s: opposing New Deal and interventionism
During the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Fish became a leading opponent of the liberal New Deal agenda, though supported some of its programs such as Social Security and a minimum wage at the federal level.[3]
In the House, Fish was a leading non-interventionist who was disdained by supporters and beneficiaries of internationalist-oriented policies.[3] When the United States slowly approached war amidst World War II, his foreign policy views became more vocal. Pushing back against Roosevelt's attacks on neutrality laws in 1939,[6] Fish joined the majority of House Republicans in voting against legislation which granted FDR additional foreign policy powers.[7]
References
- ↑ NY District 26 - Special Election Race - Nov 02, 1920. Our Campaigns. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
- ↑ NY District 26 Race - Nov 02, 1920. Our Campaigns. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Fascinating Politics (December 30, 2018). Hamilton Fish: An American Hero Smeared By British Intelligence. Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
- ↑ Glatt, Benjamin (September 21, 2016). After WWI, Christian Zionists sought a political expression in the world. The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
- ↑ Freund, Michael (November 5, 2020). Warren G. Harding - a forgotten Zionist hero. The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
- ↑ Glass, Andrew (September 21, 2018). FDR assails neutrality laws, Sept. 21, 1939. Politico. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
- ↑ TO AGREE TO THE CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.J. RES. 306 THA CONFERENCE REPORT CHANGES THE HOUSE'S ORIGINAL PROPOSAL, IN PART, BY GIVING THE PRESIDENT THE POWER TO DETERMINE WHERE "COMBAT-ZONES," WHERE AMERICAN SHIPPING IS NOT PER- MITTED TO GO, EXIST; ALSO, THE CONFERENCE REPORT INCORPO- RATES THE SENATE PROVISION THAT INDIVIDUALS FROM BELLIGERENT STATES, MAY BUY GOODS AND/OR NEGOTIATE LOANS FROM AMERICAN FIRMS.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved October 23, 2021.