Thomas D. Schall | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Schallc. 1925–1935 | |
| United States Senator fromMinnesota | |
| In office March 4, 1925 – December 22, 1935 | |
| Preceded by | Magnus Johnson |
| Succeeded by | Elmer Austin Benson |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota's 10th district | |
| In office March 4, 1915 – March 3, 1925 | |
| Preceded by | District Created |
| Succeeded by | Godfrey G. Goodwin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1878-06-04)June 4, 1878 Reed City, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | December 22, 1935(1935-12-22) (aged 57) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Lakewood Cemetery |
| Party | Republican |
| Alma mater | University of Minnesota William Mitchell College of Law |
Thomas David Schall (June 4, 1878 – December 22, 1935) was an Americanlawyer andpolitician. He served in both theUnited States House of Representatives and theUnited States Senate fromMinnesota. He was initially elected and then reelected as aProgressive but later joined theRepublican Party.
Schall was born inReed City, Michigan, and moved with his family toCampbell, Minnesota, in 1884. He initially attendedHamline University, but graduated from theUniversity of Minnesota in 1902, followed byWilliam Mitchell College of Law (then the St. Paul College of Law) in 1904. Three years later, he was blinded by an electrical shock from a cigar lighter.[1]
Schall was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1914, representingMinnesota's 10th congressional district. He was reelected four times thereafter, serving from March 4, 1915, to March 3, 1925. As he was legally blind, he was granted, by House vote, a full-time page to assist him with his work.[2]
After losing the Republicanprimary for aspecial election to the U.S. Senate in1923, Schall was elected to the Senate in1924, defeating incumbent SenatorMagnus Johnson with 46% of the vote. He served from March 4, 1925, until his death in 1935. Johnson would challenge Schall's electoral victory in 1924, leading Schall to infamously label him "a marionette who kicked and waved his hands and opened his mouth according to the tension of the string." He had a tough reelection campaign in1930, facing strong candidates from both the Democratic and Farmer-Labor parties, and eventually won with 37% of the vote with the support of the NAACP owing to his support of theDyer Anti-Lynching Bill.
Long noted as a vitriolic and personal campaigner, Schall would emerge as a leading opponent of theNew Deal, going so far as to compareFranklin D. Roosevelt toSatan and claim his reform program wascommunistic in nature. Going further, Schall would accuseEleanor Roosevelt of corruption and liken President Roosevelt toMussolini andHitler, while at the same time accusing him of plotting "the destruction of allprivate industry."[3]
Schall was struck by ahit and run driver while walking across theWashington-Baltimore Boulevard, now known as Bladensburg Road, inCottage City, Maryland, on December 19, 1935. He died in Washington three days later, becoming one of the few members of Congress to die in a road crash while in office. He is buried inLakewood Cemetery inMinneapolis.[1]
George Daniel Harden,The Career of Thomas Schall of Minnesota, unpublished M.S. thesis, Winona State University, Winona, Minn., 1968.
Media related toThomas D. Schall at Wikimedia Commons| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromMinnesota (Class 2) 1924,1930 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 2) from Minnesota 1925–1935 Served alongside:Henrik Shipstead | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by District Created | U.S. Representative fromMinnesota's 10th congressional district 1915–1925 | Succeeded by |
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| Class 2 | ||
| Public Buildings and Grounds (1837–1947) |  | |
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| Rivers and Harbors (1883–1947) | ||
| Roads (1913–1947) | ||
| Flood Control (1916–1947) | ||
| Transportation and Infrastructure* (1947–) | ||
| Note | * Alternately namedPublic Works in 80th through 93rd Congresses andPublic Works and Transportation in 94th through 103rd Congresses. | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
