Joel Bennett Clark (January 8, 1890 – July 13, 1954), better known as Bennett Champ Clark, was a
Democratic United States senator from
Missouri 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, con ...
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 establi ...
, who served as
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
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 ...
,
Missouri,
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, Na ...
He was a graduate of Washington, D.C.'s
Eastern High School.
Clark graduated from the
University of Missouri in
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...
, Missouri with a
Bachelor of Arts 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 ar ...
.
In 1914, he graduated from the
George Washington University Law School 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 Ch ...
.
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, ...
,
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, 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 in 1913, while still in law school.
He served until 1917,
when he resigned in order to join the
United States Army for
World War I.
In 1916, he was chosen to serve as parliamentarian of that year's
Democratic National Convention.
Military service
Clark joined the
United States Army 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 ...
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 Whippl ...
,
Virginia, 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 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 veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is made up of state, U.S. territory, and overseas departments, and these are in turn made up of lo ...
convention in
Paris, 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.
From 1919 to 1922, Clark served as president of the
National Guard Association of the United States.
Continued career
In 1919, Clark began practicing law in
St. Louis, 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 presid ...
.
He served again as a delegate to the
Democratic National Convention 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 for vice president.
United States senator
In the
1932 election, Clark ran for the
United States Senate seat held by the retiring
Harry B. Hawes
Harry Bartow Hawes (November 15, 1869 – July 31, 1947) was an American lawyer, conservationist, and politician who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House and Senate from Missouri. He is best known for the Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act, ...
,
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, who lost the general election to Republican Governor
Forrest C. Donnell.
Elected in November 1934 the other senator for Missouri was
Harry S Truman.
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 (of which Clark was a member) by British scholar
Isaiah Berlin for the British
Foreign Office 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 ...
as a
war criminal at the war's end. In the same year, he was the first senator to introduce the
G.I. Bill proposal in the
United States Congress.
"G.I. Bill of Rights"
'' Time''. 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 Harry S. Truman 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 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 Justic ...
. He was confirmed by the United States Senate 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, Massachusetts 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 hon ...
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 University of Missouri, 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 = Lexingt ...
.
Family
In 1922, Clark married Miriam Marsh, the daughter of Wilbur W. Marsh. 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 ...
. 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 Winch ...
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 Left, American socialism and anti-fascism. He ...
song ''Mister Charlie Lindbergh''. Guthrie's 1943 lyrics condemn pre-World War II isolationism and advocate for leaders committed to defeating fascism.
See also
* List of members of the American Legion
This table provides a list of notable members of American Legion, The American Legion.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y
Z
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Americ ...
References
External sources
*
*
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Bennett Champ
1890 births
1954 deaths
20th-century American judges
American Presbyterians
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
Democratic Party United States senators from Missouri
George Washington University Law School alumni
Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
Military personnel from Missouri
Missouri Democrats
Old Right (United States)
Organization founders
People from Bowling Green, Missouri
Lawyers from Washington, D.C.
United States Army colonels
United States court of appeals judges appointed by Harry S. Truman
University of Missouri alumni
Eastern High School (Washington, D.C.) alumni