Howard McGrath | |
|---|---|
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| 60thUnited States Attorney General | |
| In office August 23, 1949 – April 3, 1952 | |
| President | Harry S. Truman |
| Preceded by | Tom C. Clark |
| Succeeded by | James P. McGranery |
| United States Senator fromRhode Island | |
| In office January 3, 1947 – August 23, 1949 | |
| Preceded by | Peter G. Gerry |
| Succeeded by | Edward L. Leahy |
| Chair of theDemocratic National Committee | |
| In office October 29, 1947 – August 24, 1949 | |
| Preceded by | Robert E. Hannegan |
| Succeeded by | William M. Boyle |
| 27thSolicitor General of the United States | |
| In office October 6, 1945 – October 25, 1946 | |
| President | Harry S. Truman |
| Preceded by | Charles Fahy |
| Succeeded by | Philip Perlman |
| 60thGovernor of Rhode Island | |
| In office January 7, 1941 – October 6, 1945 | |
| Lieutenant | Louis W. Cappelli John Pastore |
| Preceded by | William Henry Vanderbilt III |
| Succeeded by | John Pastore |
| U.S. Attorney for theDistrict of Rhode Island | |
| In office 1934–1940 | |
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Henry Boss |
| Succeeded by | George Troy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Howard McGrath (1903-11-28)November 28, 1903 Woonsocket, Rhode Island, U.S. |
| Died | September 2, 1966(1966-09-02) (aged 62) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Estelle Cadorette |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Providence College (BA) Boston University (LLB) |
James Howard McGrath (November 28, 1903 – September 2, 1966) was an American politician and attorney from Rhode Island. McGrath, aDemocrat, served asU.S. Attorney for Rhode Island before becominggovernor,U.S. Solicitor General,U.S. Senator, chairman of theDemocratic National Committee, andAttorney General of the United States.[1][2]
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Born inWoonsocket, Rhode Island. McGrath was the son of James J. McGrath and the former Ida E. May. He graduated from theLa Salle Academy in 1922, attendedProvidence College, and went to theBoston University School of Law in 1929. McGrath married Estelle A. Cadorette on November 28, 1929; theyadopted a son. David.
From 1930 to 1934, he was thecity solicitor ofCentral Falls, Rhode Island. During this time he was also interested in thereal estate,insurance, andbanking industries. He served asUnited States Attorney for theDistrict of Rhode Island from 1934 to 1940.
From 1941 to 1945, McGrath wasGovernor of Rhode Island, reorganizing thejuvenile court system while sponsoring a workers' compensation fund and a labor relations board, but he resigned in the middle of his third term to accept appointment asSolicitor General of the United States (1945–1946). As governor, McGrath presided over a limited-purpose state constitutional convention in 1944.[3]
... convention convened at the Rhode Island College of Education auditorium in Providence, March 28, 1944 for the purpose of amending the State constitution to eliminate voting registration requirements by members of the armed forces, merchant marines or persons absent from the state performing services connecting with military operations. Delegate continent totaled 200 with Governor J. Howard McGrath serving as president & William A. Needham of Providence as Secretary. Proposal put before the voters at a special election held April 11, 1944. Amendment passed with 7,122 voting for & 119 against.
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McGrath was elected as aDemocrat to theUnited States Senate from Rhode Island in 1946 to join a Congress (theEightieth, 1947 to 1949), where the oppositionRepublican Party had just replaced Democratic majorities in both houses. (SeeUnited States elections, 1946.)
He was briefly chairman of theU.S. Senate Committee on the District of Columbia for the81st Congress (to which the1948 election had returned Democratic majorities). In the Senate, McGrath opposed reducing wartime economic controls and taxes, wishing to spend the latter instead on Social Security, national health insurance, and education.[4]
In March 1946, McGrath spoke at a rally of 20,000 participants inMadison Square Garden protesting against Britain's recent reversal of its pro-Zionist policies inMandatory Palestine. McGrath supported the establishment of aJewish state, declaring that the "time has come for the Jewish Nation to reclaim Palestine."[5]
He was chairman of theDemocratic National Committee from 1947 to 1949. In managing PresidentHarry Truman's successful 1948 election campaign, McGrath alienated white Southerners but won over crucial black constituencies by integrating the Democratic national headquarters staff.[4]
Truman appointed McGrathAttorney General of the United States on August 24, 1949. After McGrath had refused to co-operate in a corruption investigation initiated by his own department, Truman asked for and received McGrath's resignation on April 3, 1952.[6][7]
Alternative accounts have contradictorily suggested that after a meeting of theJoint Chiefs of Staff at Truman's "Little White House" in Key West, theSecretary of the Navy, along with other members, had threatened to resign if they, too, were forced to comply with Special Assistant Attorney GeneralNewbold Morris's request for the personal records of all members who might have received gifts under the scope of the corruption investigation. Under pressure to follow through with the Justice Department corruption investigation, along with the threats of resignation, McGrath agreed that Morris's request was asking too much and that the best thing to do was to clean up the department from that point forward and leave the past alone. Truman had been backed into a corner, and the only way out was to ask for McGrath's resignation. That account was corroborated by a letter from Truman to McGrath, which hung in the hallway of McGrath's summer home inNarragansett, Rhode Island up to the time of his death in 1966.
McGrath entered the private practice of law inWashington, D.C. and Providence. In 1960, he was an unsuccessful candidate to succeed the retiring U.S. Sen.Theodore Francis Green (Democrat of Rhode Island), losing the Democratic primary (also contested by former governorDennis J. Roberts) toClaiborne Pell.
McGrath died of aheart attack inNarragansett, Rhode Island on September 2, 1966, at the age of 62. His body was buried at the St. Francis Cemetery inPawtucket, Rhode Island.
There is a bust of Senator McGrath outside the House chamber in theRhode Island State House.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Rhode Island 1940,1942,1944 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromRhode Island (Class 1) 1946 | |
| Preceded by | Chair of theDemocratic National Committee 1947–1949 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Rhode Island 1941–1945 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | United States Solicitor General 1945–1946 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Attorney General 1949–1952 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Rhode Island 1947–1949 Served alongside:Theodore F. Green | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate District of Columbia Committee 1949 | Succeeded by |
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| Class 2 | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
