Dewey Jackson Short (April 7, 1898 – November 19, 1979) was an American politician from
Missouri. He was
US Representative for 12 terms (1929-1931, 1935-1957). 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 ...
, he was a staunch opponent of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt's
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
.
Early life
Short was born in
Galena, Missouri on April 7, 1898, to Jackson Grant Short and Permelia C. Long. Short attended
Galena High School and
Marionville College Marionville can refer to:
*Marionville, Missouri
Marionville is a city in Lawrence County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,225 at the 2010 census.
Marionville is known for its large population of white squirrels.
History
Marionv ...
. He served in the infantry during
World War I and graduated from
Baker University in 1919 and from
Boston University in 1922. Short also attended
Harvard University,
Heidelberg University, the
University of Berlin, and
Oxford University. He was a professor of
ethics,
psychology, and
political philosophy at
Southwestern College in
Winfield, Kansas
Winfield is a city and county seat of Cowley County, Kansas, United States. It is situated along the Walnut River in South Central Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,777. It is home to Southwestern College.
Hi ...
in 1923, 1924, and 1926–1928. Short was a pastor of the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church,
Springfield, Missouri, in 1927. He married Helen Gladys Hughes of Washington, DC, on April 20, 1937. The couple had no children.
Politics
Short was elected as a
Republican to the
Seventy-first Congress
The 71st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislature of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1929, to Ma ...
(March 4, 1929 – March 3, 1931) and was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1930 to the
Seventy-second Congress
The 72nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1931 ...
. He resumed his former professional pursuits and was a delegate to the
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...
in 1932. Short was an unsuccessful candidate in 1932 for nomination to the
United States Senate but was elected to the
Seventy-fourth Congress
The 74th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1935, ...
and the ten succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1957). At the
1940 Republican National Convention
The 1940 Republican National Convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from June 24 to June 28, 1940. It nominated Wendell Willkie of New York for president and Senator Charles McNary of Oregon for vice president.
The contest for the 19 ...
in
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, Short received 108 delegate votes for the party's
vice presidential nomination and was the runner-up to the eventual nominee,
Charles L. McNary, who received votes from 848 delegates.
He served as chairman of the
Committee on Armed Services in the
Eighty-third Congress
The 83rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1953, until January 3, 1955, during the last two weeks of the Truman administration, with ...
. On April 30, 1955, he was presented with an Honorary Ozark Hillbilly Medallion by the
Springfield
Springfield may refer to:
* Springfield (toponym), the place name in general
Places and locations Australia
* Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast)
* Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council)
* Springfield, Queenslan ...
, Missouri, Chamber of Commerce during a broadcast of
ABC-TV's ''
Ozark Jubilee''.
[http://cinema.library.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=7&ti=1,7&Search_Arg=Ozark%20Jubilee&SL=None&Search_Code=FTIT&CNT=50&PID=btmXdnYjjVi5ZAsXWDCvTULvgMRRb&SEQ=20100729195402&SID=1 ] Short did not sign the 1956
Southern Manifesto
The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the 84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places. The manife ...
.
Short was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1956 to the
Eighty-fifth Congress
The 85th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1957 ...
. He was defeated by
Charles H. Brown, the vote being 90,986 for Brown to 89,926 for Short. In 1945, he had served as a congressional delegate to inspect
concentration camps in
Germany. Short served as
Assistant Secretary of the Army
Assistant Secretary of the Army is a title used to describe various civilian officials in the United States Department of the Army.
Present Assistant Secretaries of the Army
At present, there are five offices bearing the title of Assistant Secret ...
from March 15, 1957, to January 20, 1961, and was later President Emeritus of the
National Rivers and Harbors Congress. Short died in
Washington, D.C. on November 19, 1979, and was interred in Galena Cemetery, Galena, Missouri.
Richard Nixon cited Short as perhaps the finest orator he had ever seen in his book, ''In the Arena''.
Quotes
''"I deeply and sincerely regret that this body has degenerated into a supine, subservient, soporific, superfluous, supercilious, pusillanimous body of nitwits, the greatest ever gathered beneath the dome of our National Capitol, who cowardly abdicate their powers and, in violation of their oaths to protect and defend the Constitution against all of the Nation's enemies, both foreign and domestic, turn over these constitutional prerogatives, not only granted but imposed upon them,to a group of tax-eating, conceited autocratic bureaucrats a bunch of theoretical, intellectual, professorial nincompoops out of Columbia University, at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue who were never elected by the American people to any office and who are responsible to no constituency. These brain trusters and 'new dealers' are the ones who wrote this resolution, instead of the Members of this House whose duty it is, and whose sole duty it is, to draft legislation."''
--- Delivered in the
U.S. 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
on January 23, 1935.
''"Mr. Jefferson founded the Democratic Party and President Roosevelt has dumfounded it."
''"I have always been old-fashioned enough to believe it is much better to 'git up and get' than it is to 'sit down and set.' The only animal I know which can sit and still produce dividends is the old hen."''
''"I know that without change there would be no progress, but I am not going to mistake mere change for progress."''
''"I look at the Supreme Court and know why Jesus wept."''
See also
*
Assistant Secretary of the Army
Assistant Secretary of the Army is a title used to describe various civilian officials in the United States Department of the Army.
Present Assistant Secretaries of the Army
At present, there are five offices bearing the title of Assistant Secret ...
References
Wiley, Robert S., ''Dewey Short, Orator of the Ozarks''. Cassville, Miss.: Litho Printers and Bindery, 1985.
External links
Retrieved on 2009-02-21
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Short, Dewey Jackson
Alumni of the University of Oxford
United States Army personnel of World War I
Baker University alumni
Boston University alumni
Harvard University alumni
Heidelberg University alumni
1940 United States vice-presidential candidates
People from Stone County, Missouri
1898 births
1979 deaths
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri
Old Right (United States)
20th-century American politicians
Military personnel from Missouri
People from Galena, Missouri
Southwestern College (Kansas) alumni