Charles William Whalen Jr (July 31, 1920 – June 27, 2011) was an American politician from Ohio. Whalen was a member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

who served in the Ohio House of Representatives,

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 ...

, and 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 his six terms in the U.S. House, Whalen established himself in the liberal wing of the Republican Party and led opposition to U.S. involvement in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Early life

Born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

, Whalen graduated from Oakwood High School, from the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

with a degree in

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

in 1942, and from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Graduate School of Business in 1946. He enlisted in 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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was discharged as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

in 1946. After his discharge from the service, he worked at his father's company, Dayton Dress Company as a vice president from 1946 to 1952, and was a professor of economics and chairman of the department at the

from 1962 to 1966.

Ohio state legislator

In 1954, Whalen was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives where he served for three terms until his election to the

in 1960. He served three terms in the Senate before entering Congress. In 1962, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio. In a crowded primary, his main opponent in the race was

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

, a former two-term Lieutenant Governor who also served as

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

for 11 days after the resignation of Frank Lausche. Whalen finished second taking 15.8% of the vote in the six-way primary. As a Senator, Whalen fought for a Fair Housing Law in Ohio.

U.S. representative

Whalen next ran for Congress in 1966. During the election, he walked 880 miles around his district to meet voters. In the general election, he defeated freshman incumbent Rodney Love with 53.8% of the vote. In five more races, Whalen was never seriously challenged. He won 78% of the vote in 1968, a year when

Hubert H. Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...

won his district. He followed that in 1970 and 1972 with 76% and 74%, respectively. In 1974, a year that the Republicans faced fallout from the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...

, he was the only Republican with no challengers in the primary or general election. Whalen had a liberal voting record in the House. In 1967, he and four other Republicans authored a position paper “How to End the Draft: The Case for an All-Volunteer Army” and introduced legislation to end the draft. He was also an opponent of the

who supported legislation to reduce the military budget and to introduce a timetable for the withdrawal of American forces from Vietnam. In 1971, he and

Lucien Nedzi Lucien is a male given name. It is the French form of Luciano or Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of Lucius. Lucien, Saint Lucien, or Saint-Lucien may also refer to: People Given name * Lucien of Beauvais, Christian saint *Lucien, a band member ...

introduced the Nedzi-Whalen Amendment to a military procurement bill that would have prohibited the use of funds for the bill to be used in Southeast Asia after the end of 1971. In his final term, he supported efforts to eliminate the B-1 bomber program. In 1973, Whalen authored the book "Your Right to Know: How the Free Flow of News Depends on the Journalist's Right to Protect His Sources," which has an introduction written by Walter Cronkite. His voting record increasingly put him at odds with his own party. Congressional Quarterly estimated that, in 1974, he voted against the majority of his party members 72% of the time. In 1977, he acknowledged that he had spoken with the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

leadership about switching parties. While Ohio state law would have made this difficult, he also considered running as an independent in 1978. Ultimately, he decided not to run for re-election in 1978. Whalen was succeeded by

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Tony P. Hall Tony Patrick Hall (born January 16, 1942) is an American politician, businessman, and diplomat who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Ohio's 3rd congressional district from 1979 to 2002. Hall had previously serv ...

. After he left Congress, Whalen switched his party registration to Democratic.

Later life

After his retirement from Congress, Whalen authored two books with his wife Barbara, a former columnist for the

Dayton Journal Herald The ''Dayton Daily News'' (''DDN'') is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately ...

and the voice of

Elsie the Cow Elsie the Cow is a cartoon cow developed as a mascot for the Borden Dairy Company in 1936 to symbolize the "perfect dairy product". Since the demise of Borden in the mid-1990s, the character has continued to be used in the same capacity for the c ...

. The first, "The Longest Debate: A Legislative History of the 1964 Civil Rights Act", chronicled the legislative process behind the passage of the Civil Rights Act. His second book, "The

Fighting McCooks The Fighting McCooks were members of a family of Ohioans who reached prominence as officers in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Two brothers, Daniel and John McCook, and thirteen of their sons were involved in the army, making the fami ...

– America's Famous Fighting Family", discussed a local family with a long military history. Whalen died in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

on June 27, 2011. He was 90.

References

Sources

* Whalen, Charles W. Jr. and Barbara Whalen. The Longest Debate: A Legislative History of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Cabin John, MD: Seven Locks Press, 1985. {{DEFAULTSORT:Whalen, Charles William 1920 births 2011 deaths Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Republican Party Ohio state senators Politicians from Dayton, Ohio University of Dayton alumni Harvard Business School alumni University of Dayton faculty Writers from Dayton, Ohio United States Army officers 20th-century American politicians Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Historians from Ohio United States Army personnel of World War II