Denison Kitchel (March 1, 1908 – October 10, 2002) was a
lawyer from
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, who was an influential advisor to and the campaign manager of
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Barry M. Goldwater in the
1964 U.S. presidential campaign against the
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 ...
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
.
Background
Kitchel was born in
Bronxville in
suburban
Westchester County
Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...
north of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
,
New York.
[ His great-grandfather, ]Harvey Denison Kitchel
Harvey Denison Kitchel (February 3, 1812 – September 11, 1895) was a Congregationalist minister who served as the president of Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, from 1866 until 1875.
Kitchel graduated from Middlebury in 1835 and ...
, a Congregationalist minister, was from 1866 to 1875 the president of Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
. Kitchel was the son of Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
native William Lloyd Kitchel (born 1869) and the former Grace Welch Wheeler (born 1872). His sister, Alice Lloyd Kitchel, was the namesake of his paternal grandmother. The older of his two paternal uncles, Cornelius P. Kitchel, was mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of Englewood, New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, from 1930 to 1933.
In 1930, Denison Kitchel graduated from Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
in New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
, Connecticut. In 1933, he completed Harvard Law School in Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, where he studied under Felix Frankfurter
Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an Austrian-American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 until 1962, during which period he was a noted advocate of judic ...
, who became an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
during the administration of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
. After law school, Kitchel headed west to join the Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
firm of Ellinwood & Ross, which became Evans, Kitchel & Jenckes.[ Kitchel was considered an authority on constitutional, labor, and ]international law
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
. He represented many clients in the metals industries. In 1953, the young attorney William H. Rehnquist, later appointed as the Chief Justice of the United States by President Ronald W. Reagan, joined Kitchel's firm.[
In April 1941, Kitchel married the former Naomi Douglas (1907–2004), an artist, a native of Santa Barbara, ]California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, and the daughter of the mining and railroad executive Walter Douglas and his wife, the former Edith Margaret Bell. Naomi Kitchel, who attended Stanford University, was the first woman trustee of the Phoenix Art Museum
The Phoenix Art Museum is the largest museum for visual art in the southwest United States. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the museum is . It displays international exhibitions alongside its comprehensive collection of more than 18,000 works of ...
, the founding chairman of Planned Parenthood in Phoenix, and a member of the National Federation of Republican Women
The National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW) is the women's wing of the Republican Party in the United States.
Overview
Founded in 1938 by Joyce Porter Arneill and Marion Martin, it is a grassroots political organization with more than 1, ...
. The couple had two sons, James Douglas Kitchel of Scottsdale and Harvey Denison Kitchel (namesake of his great-great-grandfather) of Jamul in San Diego County
San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...
, California, and four grandchildren. He served for three years in England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in the United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
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 opposing ...
and was discharged as a lieutenant colonel.[
]
1964 campaign
The Kitchel-Goldwater friendship began in 1935, when Goldwater was a young department-store executive in Phoenix. In 1952, Kitchel managed the first of Goldwater's five successful, nonconsecutive campaigns 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 ...
. He encouraged Goldwater's enthusiasm for the NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
and convinced the presidential candidate to support the unanimous 1954 United States Supreme Court decision ''Brown v. Board of Education
''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...
'', which led to the use of federal troops in 1957 in a test case to compel school desegregation
School integration in the United States is the process (also known as desegregation) of ending race-based segregation within American public and private schools. Racial segregation in schools existed throughout most of American history and rema ...
in Little Rock
( The "Little Rock")
, government_type = Council-manager
, leader_title = Mayor
, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_party = D
, leader_title2 = Council
, leader_name2 ...
, Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
.
Kitchel's judicious manner contrasted with Goldwater's early tendency to make controversial statements, to shoot from the hip. It was often said that Kitchel was the only man who could oppose Goldwater and still survive the conformity of the candidate's inner circle. Goldwater named Kitchel as campaign manager in January 1964. In doing so, he bypassed the key figures in the Draft Goldwater Committee The Draft Goldwater Committee was the organization primarily responsible for engineering the nomination of Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater for President of the United States on the 1964 Republican Party ticket.
Beginnings
The effort to draft Gold ...
, Goldwater's Senate campaign manager Stephen Shadegg, F. Clifton White and William A. Rusher.[ F. Clifton White, with William J. Gill, ''Suite 3505: The Story of the Draft Goldwater Movement'', (]New Rochelle
New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state o ...
: Arlington House Arlington House may refer to:
*Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
*Arlington House (London) a hostel for the homeless in London, England, and one of the Rowton Houses
*Arlington House, Margate, an eighteen-storey residential apartment bloc ...
, 1967) pp. 408-421 From the start, party leaders pressured Goldwater to replace Kitchel with a more experienced national figure. Some Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
financial contributors wanted Leonard W. Hall of New York, the chairman of the Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. Political action committee, political committee that assists the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republi ...
from 1953 to 1957, for the top campaign position, but Goldwater stood behind is longtime friend.
Kitchel once said that he had an active distaste for campaigning, or "kissing babies," as he called such demands. However, Kitchel exerted leadership regarding issues, strategies, and drafting policy statements. Kitchel wrote Goldwater's Senate speech, which explained his then opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, on constitutional and libertarian grounds. Then, 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 ...
Mark O. Hatfield of Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
, a moderate Republican and later a Senate colleague of Goldwater, who was the keynoter of the 1964 Republican National Convention
The 1964 Republican National Convention took place in the Cow Palace, Daly City, California, from July 13 to July 16, 1964. Before 1964, there had been only one national Republican convention on the West Coast, the 1956 Republican National Convent ...
in San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, introduced Kitchel at a caucus of the Oregon delegation as
a man of little background in national politics.... Just as voters this year have been confounding the pollsters, this man has confounded the professional politicians.
Kitchel and several others in the Goldwater inner circle were hesitant to allow Reagan's well-remembered half-hour televised address on Goldwater's behalf. The program, " A Time for Choosing", aired on October 27, 1964, under auspices of F. Clifton White's "Citizens for Goldwater-Miller
A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalent ...
" organization.[
After Goldwater's defeat, Shadegg published ''What Happened to Goldwater?: The Inside Story of the 1964 Republican Campaign'', which revealed that Kitchel had been an early member of the ]John Birch Society
The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, or libertarian ide ...
. ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reviewer recommended the book: "students of political organization and political philosophy will find many other minor fascinations in these pages, not least of which is the author's ambivalent attitude toward his hero."
Legacy
From 1957 to 1963, Kitchel was general counsel for the Arizona Republican Party
The Arizona Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Arizona. Its headquarters are in Phoenix. The party currently controls four of Arizona's nine U.S. House seats, both houses of the state legislature, and the governorship ...
. In 1958, when Goldwater was first reelected to the Senate, Kitchel wrote the state party platform in which he defined his conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
philosophy in eight short paragraphs, one of which reads:
Years later Kitchel revealed that he and Goldwater spent little time discussing a potential Goldwater Cabinet, considering the odds against the Republican nominee. "But there was a tentative agreement hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
the secretary of state was to be Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
, the secretary of the treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
etired_General_Electric_board_chairman.html" ;"title="General_Electric.html" ;"title="etired General Electric">etired General Electric board chairman">General_Electric.html" ;"title="etired General Electric">etired General Electric board chairmanRalph Cordiner, and I was to be the Attorney General of the United States, attorney general."
Kitchel penned two books, ''Too Grave a Risk'' (1963), an examination of the International Court of Justice and the chasm in the justice systems of most member nations compared to the United States,[ and ''The Truth About the Panama Canal'' (1978), a study of the consequences of agreements between the United States and the ]Republic of Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
over the control of the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...
waterway.[
In 1994, the Kitchel house at 2912 E. Sherran Lane in Phoenix, which was constructed in 1942, was added to the ]National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
. Kitchel's papers from 1947 to 1980 can be accessed at Online Archive of California.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitchel, Denison
1908 births
2002 deaths
Arizona Republicans
Barry Goldwater
Yale University alumni
Harvard Law School alumni
People from Bronxville, New York
Lawyers from Phoenix, Arizona
Military personnel from Phoenix, Arizona
United States Army colonels
United States Army personnel of World War II
John Birch Society members
New Right (United States)