Charles Albert Vanik (April 7, 1913 – August 30, 2007) was a Democratic politician from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. He served in 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 ...

from 1955 to 1981.

Early life

Vanik was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, the son of Stella (Kvasnicka) and Charles Albert Vanik, a butcher. He was of

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

ancestry. His maternal grandmother, Alžběta Seberová (1868-1948), was born in Hracholusky. Vanik completed undergraduate studies and a law degree at

Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

. After serving on the Cleveland City Council from 1938 to 1939 and the

Ohio State Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

from 1940 to 1942, Vanik enlisted in the

U.S. Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

, seeing action in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. After the war, Vanik served as a city judge from 1946 to 1954.

United States House of Representatives

In 1954, he ran for

Ohio's 21st congressional district The 21st congressional district of Ohio was a congressional district in the state of Ohio. It was eliminated in the redistricting following the 1990 census. In its last decade, the district consisted of a large portion of eastern Cuyahoga cou ...

. The district, located on Cleveland's East Side, was evenly divided between African Americans, who were then solidly Republican voters, and whites, who were mostly Democrats. In the Democratic primary, Vanik defeated longtime incumbent Congressman

Robert Crosser Robert Crosser (June 7, 1874 – June 3, 1957) was an American lawyer and politician who served 19 terms as a U.S. Representative from Ohio. He remains the longest-serving member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of ...

as well as African-American challenger John Holly, founder of the Negro Future Outlook League. In the general election, Vanik defeated African-American Republican Francis E. Young, who helped organize the Cleveland branch of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

. Vanik shifted districts in 1968 to the neighboring , to make way for

Louis Stokes Louis Stokes (February 23, 1925 – August 18, 2015) was an American attorney, civil rights pioneer and politician. He served 15 terms in the United States House of Representatives – representing the east side of Cleveland – and was the firs ...

whose growing political operation had challenged him in previous races, defeating

Frances P. Bolton Frances Payne Bolton (née Bingham; March 29, 1885 – March 9, 1977) was a Republican politician from Ohio. She served in the United States House of Representatives. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Ohio. In the late 1930s Bolton ...

, who had served the district since 1939. Vanik served in the district until 1981. In 1974, Vanik sponsored the

Jackson–Vanik amendment The Jackson–Vanik amendment to the Trade Act of 1974 is a 1974 provision in United States federal law intended to affect U.S. trade relations with countries with non-market economies (originally, countries of the Communist bloc) that restrict fre ...

with Sen.

Henry "Scoop" Jackson Henry Martin "Scoop" Jackson (May 31, 1912 – September 1, 1983) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. representative (1941–1953) and U.S. senator (1953–1983) from the state of Washington. A Cold War liberal and an ...

, which denied normal trade relations to certain countries with non-market economies that restricted the freedom of emigration. The amendment was intended to allow refugees, particularly religious minorities, to escape from the Soviet Bloc. During this time, Vanik was the chair of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade. He used to insert into the ''Congressional Record ''what he called the "Annual Corporate Tax Study" in which he'd list corporations that paid little to no federal income taxes. In 1982, Vanik contested for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant-governor of Ohio as running mate with Ohio Attorney General William J. Brown who was running for governor. The ticket lost to Richard F. Celeste and

Myrl Shoemaker Myrl Howard Shoemaker (April 14, 1913 – July 30, 1985) was an American politician of the Democratic party who served as the 57th lieutenant governor of Ohio from 1983 until his death in 1985. Shoemaker served for 24 years in the Ohio House of ...

. Vanik was known for wearing black bow ties with every suit.

Death

Vanik died in his sleep on August 30, 2007, at his home in

Jupiter, Florida Jupiter is the northernmost town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the town had a population of 61,047 as of April 1, 2020. It is 84 miles north of Miami, and the northernmost community in the Miami met ...

. He was 94. He was survived by his wife, Betty, one son, one daughter and two grandchildren.

References

External links

Charles A. Vanik
A Memorial site created by the Vanik Family Retrieved on 2009-5-16

from ''The Cleveland Plain Dealer'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Vanik, Charles 1913 births 2007 deaths Politicians from Cleveland American people of Czech descent United States Navy sailors Cleveland City Council members Ohio lawyers Case Western Reserve University alumni Case Western Reserve University School of Law alumni Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Democratic Party Ohio state senators Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers