Joseph C. O'Mahoney | |
|---|---|
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| United States Senator fromWyoming | |
| In office November 29, 1954 – January 3, 1961 | |
| Preceded by | Edward D. Crippa |
| Succeeded by | Keith Thomson (elect) John J. Hickey |
| In office January 1, 1934 – January 3, 1953 | |
| Preceded by | John B. Kendrick |
| Succeeded by | Frank A. Barrett |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joseph Christopher O'Mahoney (1884-11-05)November 5, 1884 Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | December 1, 1962(1962-12-01) (aged 78) Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Alma mater | Columbia University Georgetown University Law School |
Joseph Christopher O'Mahoney (November 5, 1884 – December 1, 1962) was an American journalist, lawyer, and politician. ADemocrat, he served four complete terms as aU.S. senator fromWyoming on two occasions, first from 1933 to 1953 and then again from 1954 to 1961.
One of eleven children, Joseph O'Mahoney was born inChelsea,Massachusetts, to Dennis and Elizabeth (née Sheehan) O'Mahoney.[1] His parents were bothIrish immigrants; his father, who came to the United States in 1861, worked as afurrier.[2] He received his early education at theCambridge Latin School.[3] He attendedColumbia University inNew York City from 1905 until 1907, when he began a career in journalism.[4] He was a reporter on theCambridge Democrat before moving west toBoulder,Colorado, where he worked for theHerald (1908–1916).[2] He married Agnes Veronica O'Leary in 1913.[3]
In 1916, he moved toCheyenne,Wyoming, to become city editor of theState Leader, whose owner was GovernorJohn B. Kendrick.[1] Although he supportedTheodore Roosevelt in the1912 presidential election, O'Mahoney switched to theDemocratic Party the same year he joined theState Leader.[3] Governor Kendrick became aU.S. senator in March 1917, and O'Mahoney accompanied him toWashington, D.C. as his executive secretary, a position he held for three years.[5] While working in Washington, he studied atGeorgetown University Law School and received hisBachelor of Laws degree in 1920.[1]
O'Mahoney was admitted to the bar in 1920, and subsequently returned to Cheyenne to set up his law practice.[3] He was particularly active in legal matters stemming from theMineral Leasing Act and, through his work, learned of impending leases on theTeapot Naval Oil Reserve; he encouraged Senator Kendrick to seek an investigation into these leases, which subsequently unearthed theTeapot Dome scandal.[2] O'Mahoney became active in Democratic politics, serving as vice-chairman of theWyoming Democratic Party from 1922 to 1930.[3] He was also a delegate to the Democratic state conventions from 1924 through 1932.[1] Representing Wyoming, he was a member of theConference on Uniform State Laws from 1925 to 1926.[5] He later served ascity attorney of Cheyenne from 1929 to 1931.[4]
In 1929, O'Mahoney was elected aDemocratic national committeeman, serving until 1934.[5] He was a delegate to the1932 Democratic National Convention inChicago,Illinois, where he was a member of the subcommittee which prepared the party's platform.[2] After the convention, he became vice-chairman of the campaign committee.[3] Following the election ofFranklin D. Roosevelt, DNC chairmanJames Farley was selected asU.S. Postmaster General. As a reward for his work at the 1932 convention,[6] O'Mahoney was appointed by Farley to be the First Assistant Postmaster General, serving from March to December 1933.[5]
On December 18, 1933, O'Mahoney was appointed to the U.S. Senate by GovernorLeslie A. Miller to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Senator Kendrick.[5] He was elected to a full six-year term in 1934, defeatingRepublican congressmanVincent Carter by a margin of 57% to 43%.[7] He was re-elected to a second term overMilward L. Simpson in 1940, and defeatedHarry B. Henderson for a third term in 1946.[5]
During his early tenure in the Senate, O'Mahoney supported most of theNew Deal programs, with the notable exception of PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt's "court-packing plan".[6] He earned a reputation as a strong opponent ofbig business and monopolies, and was heavily involved withanti-trust legislation.[2] One of his first actions as a senator was to introduce legislation requiring federal licensing for corporations engaged in interstate commerce.[4] He was a leading supporter of the creation of theTemporary National Economic Committee, which he chaired from 1938 to 1941.[4] He also supported wool, cattle, oil, and conservation legislation, and sponsored the Casper-Alcova reclamation project.[2] He served as chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs (1943–1947), Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs (1949–1953), and co-chairman of the Joint Committee on the Economic Report (1949–1953).[5]
O'Mahoney was among twelve nominated at the1944 Democratic National Convention to serve as Roosevelt's running mate in thepresidential election that year.[8] In 1952, as RepublicanDwight D. Eisenhower won thepresidential election in a landslide, O'Mahoney was narrowly defeated for re-election by GovernorFrank A. Barrett by a margin of 52% to 48%.[9] He subsequently returned to the private practice of law in Wyoming.[1] Following the suicide of SenatorLester C. Hunt in June 1954, O'Mahoney was elected the following November both to serve out Hunt's term and to a full term.[5] He defeated CongressmanWilliam H. Harrison, the great-great-grandson ofWilliam Henry Harrison (9th President of the United States) and grandson ofBenjamin Harrison (23rd President of the United States), by a margin of 52% to 48%.[10]
Upon his return to the Senate, O'Mahoney became a strong opponent of theDixon-Yates contract, which provided for a private company to build a plant to provide power to theTennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to replace the power that the TVA sold to theAtomic Energy Commission.[4] He sponsored legislation to require "concentrated industries" to give public notification and justification of price increases, to prohibit automobile manufacturers from operating finance firms, to grantAlaska andHawaii statehood, and to require nominees for federal judgeships take an oath prior to confirmation that they would not render decisions contrary to theU.S. Constitution.[1] His advocacy of jury trials in civil rights cases helped obtain enough votes to pass theCivil Rights Act of 1957, and he opposed the confirmation ofLewis Strauss asU.S. Secretary of Commerce.[4] One of the last bills he introduced was to abolish the insurance rate-making body of theDistrict of Columbia, which he believed was guaranteeing high rates to insurance companies rather than looking out for the public welfare.[1]
After suffering a stroke in June 1959, O'Mahoney decided not to seek re-election in 1960.[1] He made his last speech on the Senate floor on August 29, 1960; he was brought to the floor in a wheelchair by SenatorWayne Morse, who predicted O'Mahoney would be remembered as the "most effective and able" senator to try to protect free enterprise.[1] He resumed his law practice in Washington and Cheyenne.[5]
O'Mahoney died at theNaval Hospital inBethesda,Maryland, at age 78.[1] He is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Cheyenne.[5]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromWyoming (Class 1) 1934,1940,1946,1952 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromWyoming (Class 2) 1954 | Succeeded by Raymond B. Whitaker |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 1) from Wyoming 1934–1953 Served alongside:Robert D. Carey,Henry H. Schwartz, Edward V. Robertson,Lester C. Hunt | Succeeded by Frank A. Barrett |
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 2) from Wyoming 1954–1961 Served alongside:Frank A. Barrett,Gale W. McGee | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
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| Class 2 | ||
| Public Lands (1816–1921) | | |
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| Public Lands and Surveys (1921–1947) | ||
| Interior and Insular Affairs (1947–1977) | ||
| Energy and Natural Resources (1977–) | ||
Chairs of theUnited States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs | ||
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| Full Committee (1820–1947) | | |
| Select Committee (1977–1993) | ||
| Full Committee (1993–) | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
