Joel Bennett Clark (January 8, 1890 – July 13, 1954), better known as Bennett Champ Clark, was a Democratic

United States senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

from 1933 until 1945, and was later a circuit judge of the District of Columbia Circuit. He was a leading isolationist in foreign policy. In domestic policy he was an anti-New Deal

Conservative Democrat In American politics, a conservative Democrat is a member of the Democratic Party with conservative political views, or with views that are conservative compared to the positions taken by other members of the Democratic Party. Traditionally, co ...

who helped organize the bipartisan

Conservative coalition The conservative coalition, founded in 1937, was an unofficial alliance of members of the United States Congress which brought together the conservative wings of the Republican and Democratic parties to oppose President Franklin Delano Rooseve ...

Education and start of career

Clark was born into a political family; his father was

Champ Clark James Beauchamp Clark (March 7, 1850March 2, 1921) was an American politician and attorney who represented Missouri in the United States House of Representatives and served as Speaker of the House from 1911 to 1919. Born in Kentucky, he establis ...

, who served as

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the U. ...

. His mother was Genevieve Davis (Bennett) Clark. Clark's sister, Genevieve Clark Thomson was also active in politics as a women's suffrage activist. Clark was born in

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on ...

, and was raised and educated in Bowling Green and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He was a graduate of Washington, D.C.'s Eastern High School. Clark graduated from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

in Columbia, Missouri with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1912 and was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

. In 1914, he graduated from the

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of cou ...

with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

. In addition to Phi Beta Kappa, Clark's other academic affiliations included

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap, whi ...

Delta Sigma Rho Delta Sigma Rho- Tau Kappa Alpha () is a collegiate honor society devoted to the promotion of public speaking (forensics). History Both Delta Sigma Rho and Tau Kappa Alpha were founded as honorary forensic societies. Delta Sigma Rho Delta Sigm ...

Delta Tau Delta Delta Tau Delta () is a United States-based international Greek letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, (now West Virginia) in 1858. The fraternity currently has around 130 collegiate chapters ...

, and

Phi Delta Phi Phi Delta Phi () is an international legal honor society and the oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States. Phi Delta Phi was originally a professional fraternity but became an honor society in 2012. The fraternity ...

. Clark became parliamentarian of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in 1913, while still in law school. He served until 1917, when he resigned in order to join the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

for

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1916, he was chosen to serve as parliamentarian of that year's

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

Military service

Clark joined the

in 1917, completed

Citizens' Military Training Camp Citizens' Military Training Camps (CMTC) were military training programs of the United States. Held annually each summer during the years 1921 to 1940, the CMTC camps differed from National Guard and Organized Reserve training in that the program a ...

training at

Fort Myer Fort Myer is the previous name used for a U.S. Army post next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Founded during the American Civil War as Fort Cass and Fort Whipple, t ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, and was commissioned as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He was then elected

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

and second in command of the 6th Missouri Infantry Regiment, a unit of the

Missouri National Guard The Missouri National Guard (MONG), commonly known as the Missouri Guard, is a component of the Army National Guard and Missouri State Department of the National Guard. It is composed of Army and Air National Guard units. The Department office is ...

. This unit was subsequently called to federal service as the 140th Infantry Regiment, a unit of the 35th Division. After arriving in France, Clark served on the headquarters staffs of both the 35th and 88th Divisions. In 1919, Clark was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

while serving in the post-war Army that occupied Germany. He was an organizer of the first

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

convention in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and was elected as the organization's first national commander. After leaving the Army in 1919, Clark maintained a lifelong active interest in the 35th Division Veterans Association, the American Legion, and the

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or a ...

. From 1919 to 1922, Clark served as president of the

National Guard Association of the United States The National Guard Association of the United States was founded in 1878 as a congressional lobbying organization for National Guard issues. A member of the Military Coalition, NGAUS lobbies on behalf of 45,000 officers who comprise the membership ...

Continued career

In 1919, Clark began practicing law in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, Missouri. In the 1920s he researched and authored a biography of

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...

, and was active in politics as a campaign speaker for Democratic candidates in Missouri. In 1928 he considered running for the United States Senate seat of the retiring James A. Reed, but decided not to make the race. Clark was a delegate to the

1928 Democratic National Convention The 1928 Democratic National Convention was held at Sam Houston Hall in Houston, Texas, June 26–28, 1928. Keynote speaker was Claude G. Bowers. The convention resulted in the nomination of Governor Alfred E. Smith of New York for pre ...

. He served again as a delegate to the

of 1936. He was a delegate again in 1940, and served as a delegate to the party's national convention in 1944. In 1944, Clark made the speech nominating

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

for vice president.

United States senator

In the 1932 election, Clark ran for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

seat held by the retiring Harry B. Hawes, and relied on his base among veterans to defeat two other candidates for the Democratic nomination. Clark defeated

Henry Kiel Henry W. Kiel (February 21, 1871 – November 26, 1942) was the 32nd Mayor of Saint Louis, serving from 1913 to 1925. Early life Henry W. Kiel's father was Henry F. Kiel, a well known contractor, who died in 1908. Henry F. Kiel also serve ...

in the general election for the term beginning March 4, 1933. Hawes resigned on February 3, 1933, a month before his term was to end, and Clark was appointed to fill the vacancy, gaining seniority on other senators elected in 1932. Clark was re-elected in the 1938 election, and served from February 3, 1933, to January 3, 1945. In 1944, Clark was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination, losing the Democratic primary to state Attorney General

Roy McKittrick Roy McKittrick (August 24, 1888 – January 22, 1961) was an American politician from Salisbury, Missouri, who served as Missouri Attorney General around the time of the World War II from 1933 until 1945. In 1944, he ran for the U.S. Senate, but ...

, who lost the general election to Republican Governor

Forrest C. Donnell Forrest Carl Donnell (August 20, 1884March 3, 1980) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator and the List of governors of Missouri, 40th governor of Missouri. Early life Donnell was bor ...

. Elected in November 1934 the other senator for Missouri was

Harry S Truman Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

. Clark was chairman of the Senate Committee on Interoceanic Canals from 1937 to 1935. He was a member of the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents from 1940 to 1944. In April 1943, a confidential analysis of the

Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid pro ...

(of which Clark was a member) by British scholar

Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...

for the British

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

succinctly characterized Clark as:

a rabid isolationist and member of the American First Committee who has steadily voted against all the foreign policies and war measures of the Administration with the exception of the reciprocal trade agreements (in which the corn exporters of Missouri have some interest). A member of the
Wheeler Wheeler may refer to: Places United States * Wheeler, Alabama, an unincorporated community * Wheeler, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Wheeler, California, an unincorporated community * Wheeler, Illinois, a village * Wheeler, Indiana, a ...
- Nye- obert A. Taft coterie. An avowed Anglophobe.

On January 29, 1944, Clark declared on the floor of the Senate that

Emperor Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

should be

hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging in ...

as a war criminal at the war's end. In the same year, he was the first senator to introduce the

G.I. Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

proposal in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

."G.I. Bill of Rights"
''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

''. April 3, 1944. When Congress began work on the G.I. Bill in 1944 it had originally expressed concern about possible misuse of the "blue discharge" (now called an "

Other Than Honorable discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

"). In testimony before the United States Senate, Rear Admiral Randall Jacobs strongly opposed the provision to include Veterans with blue discharges on the grounds that it would undermine morale and remove any incentive to maintain a good service record. Senator Clark, a sponsor (writer) of the GI Bill, dismissed his concerns, calling them "some of the most stupid, short-sighted objections which could be raised". Clark went on to say:

The Army is giving Blue discharges, namely discharges without honor, to those who have had no fault other than they have not shown sufficient aptitude for military service. I say that when the government puts a man in the military service and, thereafter, because the man does not show sufficient aptitude gives him a blue discharge, or a discharge without honor, that fact should not be permitted to prevent the man from receiving the benefits to which soldiers are generally entitled.

Federal judicial service

Clark was nominated by President

on September 12, 1945, to an Associate Justice seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (United States Circuit Judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate cou ...

from June 25, 1948) vacated by Associate Justice

Thurman Arnold Thurman Wesley Arnold (June 2, 1891 – November 7, 1969) was an American lawyer best known for his trust-busting campaign as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Department of Justice ...

. He was confirmed by the

on September 24, 1945, and received his commission on September 28, 1945. His service terminated on July 13, 1954, due to his death.

Death and burial

Clark was ill during the last year of his life and died in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

on July 13, 1954. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

Awards

Clark was the recipient of

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

s from several colleges and universities. He received honorary

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

degrees from the

, Marshall College, Bethany College, and

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

Family

In 1922, Clark married Miriam Marsh, the daughter of

Wilbur W. Marsh Wilbur W. Marsh (July 14, 1862 - December 23, 1929), was treasurer of the Democratic National Committee. Biography He was born in New York (state), New York on July 14, 1862. He was a Democratic National Committee, Democratic National Committeema ...

. They were the parents of three children, Champ, Marsh, and Kimball. Miriam Clark died in 1943, and in 1945 Clark married British actress

Violet Heming Violet Heming (27 January 1895 – 4 July 1981) was an English stage and screen actress. Her name sometimes appeared as Violet Hemming in newspapers. Biography Born Violet Hemming in Leeds, Yorkshire, she was the daughter of Alfred Hemming w ...

. The ceremony took place at the

Berryville, Virginia Berryville is an incorporated town in and the county seat of Clarke County, Virginia, United States. The population was 4,185 at the 2010 census, up from 2,963 at the 2000 census. History Berryville was founded at the intersection of the Winche ...

home of Clark's sister, and President Truman served as best man.

In popular culture

Clark and other isolationist senators are referenced in the

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...

song ''Mister Charlie Lindbergh''. Guthrie's 1943 lyrics condemn pre-World War II isolationism and advocate for leaders committed to defeating fascism.

References

External sources

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