Joseph S. Clark Jr. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Senator fromPennsylvania | |
| In office January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1969 | |
| Preceded by | James Duff |
| Succeeded by | Richard Schweiker |
| 90thMayor of Philadelphia | |
| In office January 7, 1952 – January 2, 1956 | |
| Preceded by | Bernard Samuel |
| Succeeded by | Richardson Dilworth |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joseph Sill Clark Jr. (1901-10-21)October 21, 1901 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | January 12, 1990(1990-01-12) (aged 88) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Other political affiliations | Republican (until 1928) |
| Alma mater | Harvard University (BS) University of Pennsylvania (LLB) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch/service | United States Army Air Forces |
| Years of service | 1941 – 1945 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Joseph Sill Clark Jr. (October 21, 1901 – January 12, 1990) was an American writer, lawyer and politician. A member of theDemocratic Party, he served as the 90thMayor of Philadelphia from 1952 to 1956 and as aUnited States senator fromPennsylvania from 1957 to 1969. Clark was the onlyUnitarian Universalist elected to a major office in Pennsylvania in the modern era.[1]
The son of attorney and tennis playerJoseph Sill Clark Sr., Clark pursued a legal career in Philadelphia after graduating from theUniversity of Pennsylvania Law School. He became involved in a reform movement that sought to break the power of the city'sRepublicanpolitical machine. After serving in theUnited States Army Air Forces duringWorld War II, Clark won election as city controller in 1949. In this capacity, he investigated and publicized scandals in the city government. In 1951, Clark won election as Mayor of Philadelphia, becoming the first Democrat to do so since 1884. As mayor, he sought to reduce corruption in city government and created low-income housing projects.
After one term as mayor, Clark narrowly defeated incumbent Republican SenatorJames H. Duff in the 1956 Senate election. Clark earned a reputation as a strong supporter ofcivil rights and worked to appoint liberal committee members from his perch on theDemocratic Steering Committee. Clark narrowly won re-election in 1962 but was defeated in 1968 by CongressmanRichard Schweiker. His defeat is generally credited to his support ofgun control and opposition to theVietnam War. After leaving office, Clark became a professor atTemple University.
One of two children, Joseph Clark was born inPhiladelphia toJoseph Sill Clark Sr. and Kate Richardson Avery.[2] His father, a longtime lawyer in theGermantown section of the city, was also a nationaltennis champion who won the1885 U.S. National Championship in doubles withDick Sears.[3] His mother, whose family ownedAvery Island inLouisiana, was the niece ofEdmund McIlhenny, the inventor ofTabasco sauce.[4] Clark was raised in theChestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, and received his early education atChestnut Hill Academy.[5] He then attendedMiddlesex School inConcord,Massachusetts, where he played on the school'sbaseball andfootball teams.[6] He graduated from Middlesex in 1919 as classvaledictorian.[7]
Clark studied atHarvard University, where he was a member of the baseball andtrack teams.[8] He won several prizes, including the John Harvard scholarship for high academic distinction.[6] He was elected toPhi Beta Kappa and graduatedmagna cum laude in 1923 with aBachelor of Science degree in government, history and economics.[2] Clark, who had spent time at theBar B C Dude Ranch inJackson Hole,Wyoming, became a partner in the nearbyDouble Diamond Dude Ranch in 1924.[9] He later returned to Philadelphia and enrolled at theUniversity of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was a member ofSt. Anthony Hall and editor of theLaw Review.[5] He earned hisBachelor of Laws degree in 1926.[7]
In December 1926, Clark was admitted to the bar and became an associate with his father's law firm of Clark, Clark, McCarthy and Wagner.[6] That same year, he made his first entry into politics when he unsuccessfully ran as a progressive candidate forRepublicancommitteeman.[8] In 1928, he left the Republican Party and became aDemocrat, supportingAl Smith in that year'spresidential election.[2]
During the 1928 election, Clark founded the Democratic Warriors Club withRichardson Dilworth, beginning a long political partnership between the two.[4] Both men became active in thereform movement to end corruption in city government, which was long controlled by a Republicanmachine.[4] Clark was an unsuccessful candidate for thePhiladelphia City Council in 1933, with Dilworth serving as hiscampaign manager.[6] The following year, he joined the firm of Dechert, Bok, Smith and Clark, and continued to practice law for seven years.[8] He managed Dilworth's unsuccessful campaign for thePennsylvania State Senate in 1934.[2] From 1934 to 1935, he served as DeputyAttorney General of Pennsylvania.[7] In this capacity, he engaged in trial work related to the closing of banks.[6]
In August 1941, Clark enlisted in theUnited States Army Air Forces (AAF) and was assigned as acaptain in the Officers' Reserve Corps Headquarters atWashington, D.C.[7] He later became director of the Organizational Planning Headquarters with the AAF.[8] Following the entry of the United States intoWorld War II, he was transferred to theChina Burma India Theater as deputy chief of staff to GeneralGeorge E. Stratemeyer.[2] He briefly served as acting chief of staff to General Stratemeyer, and attained the rank ofcolonel on October 15, 1943.[6] He was awarded theBronze Star Medal,Legion of Merit, andMilitary Order of the British Empire.[8] Returning to the United States in September 1945, he accompanied General Stratemeyer to Washington, D.C., where he helped design plans to defend the nation against air raids.[6]
Following his return to Philadelphia, Clark resumed his political activity and his partnership with Dilworth. He was manager of Dilworth's unsuccessful campaign forMayor of Philadelphia against Republican incumbentBernard Samuel in 1947.[2] He then served as chairman of the citizens' committee for PresidentHarry S. Truman in the1948 election, and as chairman of the Philadelphia chapter of theAmericans for Democratic Action from 1948 to 1949.[6] Running as a reform Democrat, Clark was electedcity controller in 1949, winning by more than 100,000 votes.[7] Meanwhile, Dilworth was electedcity treasurer by a similar margin.[8] Serving from 1950 to 1952, Clark investigated and publicized scandals within the Republican-controlled city government, including the embezzlement of tax money and court funds, imprisonment of the fire marshal, falsification of records, and corruption in the water bureau.[6] Many officials were impeached or indicted as a result, and nine even committed suicide.[8]
Clark announced his candidacy formayor of Philadelphia in May 1951.[2] Democratic leaders had wanted Dilworth to run, but Clark released a press statement declaring his "irrevocable decision to run for mayor."[10] Instead, Dilworth successfully ran forDistrict Attorney of Philadelphia.[10] Running on his record as city controller, Clark often used abroom while campaigning as a symbol of his pledge to "sweep out" corruption.[5] His Republican challenger wasDaniel A. Poling, aBaptist clergyman and editor of theChristian Herald.[4] Clark was endorsed by several labor unions, Americans for Democratic Action, andThe Philadelphia Inquirer.[6] On November 6, 1951,he defeated Poling by 124,700 votes.[8] With his victory, Clark became the first Democrat to be elected mayor of Philadelphia since 1884;[5] as of 2025, no member of another party has since held the office.
Clark was inaugurated as the 90th Mayor of Philadelphia on January 7, 1952.[6] He was the first mayor to serve under Philadelphia'sHome Rule Charter, which had reorganized city government by merging Philadelphia's city and county offices, establishing a limit of two successive terms for mayor, replacingpatronage with amerit system for civil servants, and giving the mayor increased administrative, legislative, and investigative powers.[10] During his administration, he reduced corruption within thePolice Department and appointed severalAfrican Americans to city jobs.[2] He adopted a $20 million tax increase and established apay-as-you-go system.[8] He created low-incomehousing projects, also establishing the position of housing coordinator.[11] He also refused to accept personal gifts.[1] His tenure also saw the transformation of thePenn Center and the Philadelphia waterfront.[10]
In 1952, Clark launched a television seriesTell It To the Mayor in which he and other city officials answered questions about his administration.[6] He endorsed SenatorEstes Kefauver for theDemocratic nomination in the1952 presidential election.[6] In 1955, he chartered the Food Distribution Center Corporation to create a new food market, and established the Urban Traffic and Transportation Board to design a mass transit system.[11]
In 1956, Clark became the first politician to receive the Philadelphia Award for promoting good governance in the city.[12]
Clark, who had promised to serve as mayor for only one term, did not run for reelection. As of 2021, only one other person has since served just one term as mayor:William J. Green III, who was elected in 1979.
A 1993 survey of historians, political scientists and urban experts conducted by Melvin G. Holli of theUniversity of Illinois at Chicago ranked Clark as the twenty-second-best American big-city mayor to have served between the years 1820 and 1993.[13]
Clark announced his candidacy for theUnited States Senate in1956.[4] After winning the Democratic nomination over the opposition of Philadelphia's party leaders, he faced first-term Republican incumbentJames H. Duff, a popular formergovernor, in the general election.[14] During the campaign, Clark ran on aliberal platform which included support for increasing thefederal minimum wage, expandingSocial Security, and repealing theTaft–Hartley Act.[15] He also criticized PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower on international and domestic matters, and attacked Senator Duff's poor attendance record.[15] On November 6, 1956, Clark narrowly defeated Duff by a margin of 50.1%-49.7%, winning by less than 18,000 out of 4.5 million votes cast.[16] At the same time in thepresidential election, President Eisenhower, who by this time claimed his farm inGettysburg as his permanent address, carried Pennsylvania by well over 600,000 votes.[15]
During his early tenure in the Senate, Clark earned a reputation as a strong supporter ofcivil rights and congressional reform.[2] He sponsored theManpower Development and Training Act and the Area Redevelopment Act.[5] He often clashed withLyndon B. Johnson while the latter wasSenate Majority Leader.[8] In1962, Clark was re-elected to a second term after narrowly defeating CongressmanJames E. Van Zandt by a 51%-49% margin.[17]
Clark was appointed to theDemocratic Steering Committee in 1963, but conservative Southern Democrats thwarted his efforts to appoint more liberal Senators to committees.[2] He was a critic of the Senate itself, which he called a "self-perpetuating oligarchy" in a 1963 address on the Senate floor.[6] He challenged theseniority system and thefilibuster.[11] In 1964, he endorsedGenevieve Blatt, the state Secretary of Internal Affairs, over JudgeMichael Musmanno in the Democratic senatorial primary.[4] Clark's opposition to Musmanno was not well received by theItalian American community, who largely voted against Clark in 1968.[18] A member of theSenate Foreign Relations Committee, he voted for theGulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964 but soon became an outspoken opponent of theVietnam War, condemning the war's escalation in 1965.[4]
In1968, Clark was defeated for re-election to a third term by CongressmanRichard Schweiker, losing 52% to 46%.[19] His defeat is generally ascribed to his support ofgun control, especially the1968 Gun Control Act, and opposition to the Vietnam War.[15] His campaign chairman in 1968 wasBucks County authorJames A. Michener.[4]
Following his departure from the Senate, Clark served as a professor atTemple University in 1969.[7] He was president of World Federalists U.S.A., an organization promoting the creation of aworld government, from 1969 to 1971.[7] He also served as chairman of the Coalition on National Priorities and Military Policy, and continued to attend meetings of Members of Congress for Peace Through Law.[11] A strong opponent of MayorFrank Rizzo, he supportedBill Green III in the 1971 Democratic primary and then RepublicanW. Thacher Longstreth in the general election.[2] He was chairman of independent candidate Charles Bowser's campaign in 1975.[2] He was an elected member of both theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences and theAmerican Philosophical Society.[20][21]
Clark died at his home in Chestnut Hill, at age 88.[5] His remains were cremated.[7]
Joseph Clark was descended from a prominent financial family in Philadelphia. His great-grandfather,Enoch White Clark, was the founder ofE. W. Clark & Co.[22] Enoch's sonEdward was Clark's paternal grandfather and brother ofClarence Howard Clark Sr.[22] Clarence Sr.'s sonClarence Jr. served as president of theCentennial National Bank. Clark was the nephew ofEdward Walter Clark Jr., commodore of thePhiladelphia Corinthian Yacht Club and father ofEdward III;Clarence Munroe Clark, a noted tennis player like his brother; andPercy Clark, a lawyer and notedcricketer.[22] Percy's daughterMary was married toNelson Rockefeller from 1930 to 1962, before he served asVice President of the United States.[citation needed]
Clark's paternal grandmother was the daughter of Joseph and Jane (née Todhunter) Sill, who were social reformers and leaders inantebellum Philadelphia's benevolence movement.[23] Joseph Sill served as secretary, vice president, and president of theSt. George Society of Philadelphia, an aid organization forEnglish immigrants.[23]
Clark was married three times and had two children. He and his first wife,Elizabeth Story Jenks, had one son, Joseph S. Clark III.[4] He was married to his second wife, Noel Hall, from April 1935 until their divorce in September 1967.[24] He and Noel had one daughter, Noel Clairborne Clark.[6] Two weeks after his divorce, Clark married Iris Cole Richey, a former editor of thePennsylvania Manual, to whom he remained married until his death.[25]
Joseph Sill Clark Sr., father of former Philadelphia Mayor Joseph Sill Clark Jr. and the city's oldest practicing attorney, died yesterday at his home in Chestnut Hill here. He was 94 years old. ...
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Mayor of Philadelphia 1952–1956 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 3) from Pennsylvania 1957–1969 Served alongside:Edward Martin,Hugh Scott | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forMayor of Philadelphia 1951 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (Class 3) 1956,1962,1968 | Succeeded by |
Mayors ofPhiladelphia (chronologically) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Colonial era (1691–1776) |
|  |
| Pre-Act of Consolidation (1789–1854) | ||
| Post-Consolidation (since 1854) | ||
| Class 1 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
| Notes | † Never officially seated | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
