Herbert Lehman | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Lehman in 1949 | |
| United States Senator fromNew York | |
| In office November 9, 1949 – January 3, 1957 | |
| Preceded by | John Foster Dulles |
| Succeeded by | Jacob K. Javits |
| 1st Director General of theUnited Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration | |
| In office January 1, 1943 – March 31, 1946 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Fiorello H. LaGuardia |
| 45thGovernor of New York | |
| In office January 1, 1933 – December 3, 1942 | |
| Lieutenant | M. William Bray Charles Poletti |
| Preceded by | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Succeeded by | Charles Poletti |
| Lieutenant Governor of New York | |
| In office January 1, 1929 – December 31, 1932 | |
| Governor | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Edwin Corning |
| Succeeded by | M. William Bray |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Herbert Henry Lehman (1878-03-28)March 28, 1878 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | December 5, 1963(1963-12-05) (aged 85) New York City, U.S. |
| Resting place | Kensico Cemetery |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Edith Altschul |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Mayer Lehman (father) SeeLehman family |
| Education | Williams College (BA) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1917–1919 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | United States Army Ordnance Corps |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Awards | Army Distinguished Service Medal |
Herbert Henry Lehman (/ˈliːmən/LEE-mən; March 28, 1878 – December 5, 1963) was an American financier andDemocratic politician who served as the 45th and first Jewishgovernor of New York from 1933 to 1942 and represented New York in theUnited States Senate from 1949 until 1957.
Lehman was born to aReform Jewish family inManhattan, New York City, the son of Babetta (née Newgass) andGerman-born immigrantMayer Lehman, one of the three brothers (along withHenry andEmanuel Lehman) who co-founded theLehman Brothersfinancial services firm. His brother wasNew York Court of Appeals judgeIrving Lehman. His father arrived fromRimpar, Germany, in 1848, settling inMontgomery, Alabama, where he engaged in the slave-era cotton business. As cotton was the most important crop of the Southern United States and global demand led to profitable business, the Lehman brothers becamecotton factors, accepting cotton bales from customers as payment for their merchandise.[1] Cotton trading eventually became the main thrust of their business. In 1867, Mayer and Emanuel Lehman moved the company's headquarters to New York City, and helped found the New York Cotton Exchange.
Herbert Lehman attendedThe Sachs School, founded byJulius Sachs. In 1895, he graduated fromSachs Collegiate Institute in New York City, and in 1899, he graduated with a B.A. fromWilliams College.[2] After college, Lehman worked in textile manufacturing, eventually becoming vice-president and treasurer of the J. Spencer Turner Company in Brooklyn. In 1908, he became a partner in Lehman Brothers with his brother Arthur and cousinPhilip.[2] By 1928, when he entered public service, he had withdrawn entirely from business.[citation needed]
At the start ofWorld War I, Lehman applied to attend aCitizens' Military Training Camp atPlattsburgh Barracks, New York.[3] While his April 1917 application was pending, Lehman volunteered his services to theUnited States Navy as an expert on textiles the navy would need to acquire for uniforms and other wartime clothing and equipment.[3] During this service, he worked closely withFranklin D. Roosevelt, then serving asAssistant Secretary of the Navy, which Roosevelt mentioned during campaign appearances when Roosevelt and Lehman were the Democratic nominees for governor and lieutenant governor in 1928.[2]
In September 1917, Lehman was commissioned as acaptain in theUnited States Army'sOrdnance Corps.[3] He was assigned as chief of the Ordnance Department's Equipment Section on the staff of theUnited States Department of War, and he was promoted tomajor in January 1918.[3] Lehman subsequently served as chief of War Department's Methods Section, then chief of its Purchase Branch, and he was promoted tolieutenant colonel in October 1918.[3]
After the end of the war in November 1918, Lehman took part in the army's demobilization as a member of the Board of Contract Adjustment, assistant director of the office of Purchase, Storage and Traffic, member of the War Department Claims Board, and chairman of the Board of Sales and Contract Termination.[3] He was promoted tocolonel in April 1919, and was discharged in June 1919.[3] In July 1919, he was awarded theArmy Distinguished Service Medal.[3]
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Colonel (General Staff) Herbert H. Lehman, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. While with the Purchase, Storage, and Traffic Division of the General Staff as Chief of the Purchase Branch, member of the Board of Contract Adjustment, Chairman of the Advisory Board on Sales and Contract Termination, Member of the War Department Claims Board, and Assistant Director of Purchase, Storage, and Traffic, General Staff, Colonel Lehman's large business experience, breadth of vision, and sound judgment have been of inestimable value in formulating and in supervising the execution of the methods and policies followed in the cancellation of war contracts and obligations and in the settlement and adjustment of terminated obligations.
War Department, General Orders No. 103 (July 10, 1919)[3]
Lehman became active in politics in 1920 and managed GovernorAlfred E. Smith's successful reelection campaignin 1926. He became chairman of the finance committee of theDemocratic Party in 1928.[4] He was electedlieutenant governor of New York in1928 and1930 and resigned from Lehman Brothers upon taking office.
He then served four terms asGovernor of New York, elected in1932 to replaceFranklin D. Roosevelt (who waselected president), and re-elected in1934,1936 and1938 (when he was elected to New York's first four-year gubernatorial term). Unlike Smith, Lehman was a supporter of Roosevelt'sNew Deal and implemented a similar program in New York. Elements of this program included anunemployment insurance system, an improvedworkmen's compensation plan,minimum wage standards for women and children,[2] and a "Little Wagner Act" to cover workers engaged in intrastate commerce. Under the originalWagner Act, workers engaged in intrastate commerce were not allowed to unionize.[5] In 1934, Lehman refused to grant clemency to Anna Antonio, an Italian immigrant who was accused of hiring hitmen to kill her husband, who she claimed was abusive.
In October 1941,Lillian Hellman andErnest Hemingway co-hosted a dinner to raise money for anti-Nazi activists imprisoned in France. New York Governor Herbert Lehman agreed to participate, but withdrew because some of the sponsoring organizations, he wrote, "have long been connected with Communist activities." Hellman replied: "I do not and I did not ask the politics of any members of the committee and there is nobody who can with honesty vouch for anybody but themselves." She assured him the funds raised would be used as promised and later provided him with a detailed accounting. The next month she wrote him: "I am sure it will make you sad and ashamed as it did me to know that, of the seven resignations out of 147 sponsors, five were Jews. Of all the peoples in the world, I think, we should be the last to hold back help, on any grounds, from those who fought for us."
On December 3, 1942, he resigned the governorship less than a month before the end of his term, to accept an appointment as director of theOffice of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation Operations for theU.S. Department of State. He served as director-general of theUnited Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration from 1943 to 1946.[4]
Lehman was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from New York in1946 and also ran on theLiberal andAmerican Labor tickets but was defeated by the Republican candidate,Irving Ives. In1949, he ran again, this time in aspecial election to serve the remainder ofRobert F. Wagner's term. Lehman defeatedJohn Foster Dulles, who had been appointed to temporarily fill the vacancy after Wagner's resignation, and he took his seat on November 9, 1949.[6]
On October 17, 1950,New York State Supreme Court JudgeFerdinand Pecora and Senator Lehman (D-NY) gave radio addresses on behalf of theCIO-PAC during prime (10:30-11:15 P.M.).[7]
In the campaign, he ran on the Democratic and Liberal tickets, with theAmerican Labor Party urging their members not to vote for any candidate. In1950, Lehman was re-elected to a full term, running on Democratic and Liberal lines and opposed by the American Labor Party.[4]
Lehman was one of two U.S. senators who were opposed to nominatingMississippi SenatorJames O. Eastland to be chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. (The other wasWayne Morse ofOregon.) He was also an early and vocal opponent of SenatorJoseph McCarthy (R-Wis.). Lehman was one of the most liberal senators and was therefore not considered part of the Senate's "club" of insiders. He retired from the Senate after his full term and was not a candidate for the 1956 election.[8]
After his retirement from the Senate, Lehman remained politically active, working withEleanor Roosevelt andThomas K. Finletter in the late 1950s and early 1960s to support the reform Democratic movement in Manhattan that eventually defeated longtimeTammany Hall bossCarmine DeSapio.[9] He also helped to found the Lehman Children's Zoo (now the Tisch Zoo) inCentral Park.[10]
Lehman was the first, and until the 2007 inauguration ofEliot Spitzer, the only Jewish governor of New York.[11] During much of his Senate career, he was the only Jewish Senator as well. Unlike most of his Jewish constituents, who had immigrated to the US from eastern Europe, Lehman's family was from Germany.
Lehman spent much of the last two years of his life at his New York City home in increasingly poor health. He died ofheart failure on December 5, 1963, at the age of 85. Lehman is interred atKensico Cemetery inValhalla, New York.
On April 28, 1910, Lehman married Edith Louise Altschul (sister of bankerFrank Altschul). The couple had three children: Hilda (1921), Peter (1917), and John. Hilda, Peter and John served in theUnited States military duringWorld War II; Peter was killed while on active duty.[2] According to a group history published April 6, 1944, the governor's son was to be awarded theDistinguished Flying Cross. The medal was set to be awarded to Peter on his father's 70th birthday.[12] Peter married and had two daughters: Penny Lehman (1940) and Wendy Lehman (1942).[13] His daughter Hilda married thrice. In 1940, Hilda marriedWPA actor Boris De Vadetzky, of French Russian descent;[14] they later divorced.[15] In 1945, she marriedU.S. Army Major Eugene L. Paul;[16] they later divorced.[15] She married a third time which also ended in divorce.[15] She had three children: Deborah Wise (1947), Peter Wise (1949) and Stephanie Wise (1951).
Her three marriages ended in divorce. Surviving besides her mother are two daughters Mrs. Deborah Sheridan and Stephanie Wise; a son, Peter L. Wise, and a brother, John R, Lehman.
because there are several versions of U.S. passports currently in use by the public, your passport might or might not contain the Lehman quote. The quote came from testimony Lehman gave before a House subcommittee in 1947 — and it was first added to U.S. passports as part of a redesign for passports issued after 2004, a State Department official told Mic in an email.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of New York 1929–1932 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of New York 1933–1942 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forLieutenant Governor of New York 1928,1930 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of New York 1932,1934,1936,1938 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromNew York (Class 1) 1946 | Succeeded by |
| New political party | Liberal nominee forU.S. Senator fromNew York (Class 1) 1946 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromNew York (Class 3) 1949,1950 | Succeeded by |
| Non-profit organization positions | ||
| New office | Director General of theUnited Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration 1943–1946 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 3) from New York 1949–1957 Served alongside:Irving Ives | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
