Glen Hearst Taylor (April 12, 1904 – April 28, 1984) was an American politician, entertainer, businessman, and
U.S. senator
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 powe ...
from
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
.
He was the
vice presidential candidate on the
Progressive Party ticket in the
1948 election.
[ Taylor was otherwise a member of 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 ...
. By one measure, Taylor was the second-most liberal member of the U.S. Senate, trailing only Wayne Morse
Wayne Lyman Morse (October 20, 1900 – July 22, 1974) was an American attorney and United States Senator from Oregon. Morse is well known for opposing his party's leadership and for his opposition to the Vietnam War on constitutional grounds.
...
of Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, and the fourth-most liberal member of Congress overall between 1937 and 2002.
Early life
Born in a boarding house in Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
, Taylor was the twelfth of thirteen children of Pleasant John Taylor and Olive Higgins Taylor. His father was a retired Texas ranger and wandering preacher, and the family was with him in Portland for a protracted soul-saving meeting.
The family homesteaded in North Central Idaho, near Kooskia, and Taylor attended the public schools. In 1919, after completing eighth grade, he joined his older brother's stock theater company,[ and between 1926 and 1944, he became the owner and manager of various entertainment enterprises. Taylor was also a country-western singer; his older sister, Lena, became famous as a jazz singer under the name Lee Morse in the 1920s.][U.S. Senator Glen H. Taylor (1904–1094)](_blank)
/ref>
Taylor was inspired to run for political office by King Camp Gillette's book ''The People's Corporation'' and Stuart Chase
Stuart Chase (March 8, 1888 – November 16, 1985) was an American economist, social theorist, and writer. His writings covered topics as diverse as general semantics and physical economy. His thought was shaped by Henry George, by economic philoso ...
's 1932 book ''A New Deal''. In 1935 Taylor unsuccessfully attempted to organize a Farmer–Labor Party in Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
and Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
.[Pratt, William C]
"Glen H. Taylor: Public Image and Reality"
'' Pacific Northwest Quarterly'', January 1969. (accessed January 20, 2012)
Career
By the late 1930s, Taylor had settled in Eastern Idaho at Pocatello. His first political campaign was in 1938 for an open seat 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 the second district, but he finished a distant fourth in the Democratic primary.
Taylor first ran 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 ...
in 1940 in a special election to fill the remaining term of the late William Borah
William Edgar Borah (June 29, 1865 – January 19, 1940) was an outspoken History of the United States Republican Party, Republican United States Senator, one of the best-known figures in History of Idaho, Idaho's history. A Progressivism ...
, but lost to appointee John W. Thomas
John William Thomas (January 4, 1874 – November 10, 1945) was an American politician, a United States Senator from Idaho. A Republican, he served for a total of over ten years in two different seats, both times appointed after his predecessor ...
, with 47.1 to 52.9 percent. Despite being labeled as "semi-socialistic" and "communistic," he ran again in 1942 against Thomas and lost a closer race, 48.5 to 51.5 percent. Taylor lost both elections to Thomas because of stiff opposition from state Democratic Party leaders. Between elections, Taylor supported himself as a painter's assistant and sheet metal worker in California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
In his third try for the Senate, Taylor ran for the other Idaho seat in 1944, defeating conservative incumbent D. Worth Clark in the Democratic primary, and 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 ...
C. A. Bottolfsen in the general election. Taylor, the first professional actor ever elected to Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
, had never been east of Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
prior to his election.
In the Senate, Taylor, known as "The Singing Cowboy," acquired a reputation for eccentric behavior. Upon his arrival in Washington, D.C., Taylor rode his horse, Nugget, up the steps of the U.S. Capitol
The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the Legislature, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is form ...
building. Nugget also accompanied Taylor during a 1947 tour of the country highlighting his antiwar activism and opposition to U.S. foreign policy of the time.
When Taylor moved to Washington in preparation to be sworn in
Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to giv ...
in January 1945, the housing shortage caused by 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 ...
was still in full swing and so he and his family had a difficult time finding a place to live. In response, Taylor, a musician and songwriter, stood outside the US Capitol building and sang, "O give us a home, near the Capitol dome, with a yard for two children to play ..." to the tune of " Home on the Range". He and his family were offered several places to rent.
Taylor was appointed to the Committee on Banking and Currency after telling Senator Robert F. Wagner
Robert Ferdinand Wagner I (June 8, 1877May 4, 1953) was an American politician. He was a Democratic U.S. Senator from New York from 1927 to 1949.
Born in Prussia, Wagner migrated with his family to the United States in 1885. After graduating ...
of New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
that he was qualified for the post because he had been a depositor with several banks. In October 1945, Taylor submitted a resolution
Resolution(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate
* Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body
* New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...
to the Senate "favoring the creation of a world republic."
In July 1946, at a convention of the National Lawyers Guild in Cleveland, Senator Taylor said: Success of monopolies in dealing with the present Congress is evident in the wrecking of price control, profit-guaranteeing tax rebates, blocking of power projects in the Columbia and Missouri Valleys, pigeonholing of the minimum wage bill and in the emasculation of the 1944 Kilgore Reconversion Bill and the 1945 Murray Full-Employment Bill.
Monopolies have so influenced our foreign policy that it serves monopoly and monopolistic aims.
On election night in 1946, Taylor made national headlines by allegedly breaking the jaw of local Republican leader Ray McKaig in a hotel lobby in Boise. Taylor claimed that McKaig had called him an obscene name, and struck him first with a punch that broke his nose, but McKaig denied those claims. McKaig, 66, claimed that while he was lying on the floor Taylor proceeded to kick him in the face, but Taylor denied that claim. Later, when Taylor lost his reelection bid in the 1950 primary, McKaig sent a telegram that said, "You may have broken my jaw, but I just broke your back!!!"
Taylor also feuded with other Idaho Democrats, often making critical remarks about Charles C. Gossett
Charles Clinton Gossett (September 2, 1888 – September 20, 1974) was an American politician who served as the 20th governor of Idaho and a United States Senator from Idaho, but was in both offices less than a year in the 1940s. He was a member ...
, who resigned as governor in November 1945 to have his successor appoint him to the vacant Senate seat. During the 1946 Democratic primary in June, Taylor openly supported Gossett's opponent, George E. Donart, calling the appointed incumbent Gossett a "conservative" who "hobnobbed" with Republicans in Congress.
In the Senate, Taylor became noted for lengthy speeches that were often critical of President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
's policies, particularly in foreign affairs. He was particularly critical of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...
, both of which he believed brought the United States closer to war with the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. Taylor was decidedly less critical of the Soviet Union than most of his Senate colleagues, once noting that there was no need to criticize Soviet policy when there were 90 other senators willing to do it every day.
Civil rights activism
Taylor was an early proponent of the Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
and, as senator, openly opposed supporters and policies of racial segregation
Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...
. He advocated for racial equality, and an immediate end to Jim Crow discrimination in arenas such as jobs, housing, voting, and the courts. In 1946, he pushed his way onto the Senate floor to interrupt and oppose Southern senators filibustering against making the anti-discrimination Fair Employment Practices Committee
A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks.
Types
Variations of fairs incl ...
permanent, as it only ensured non-discrimination in government funded defense jobs 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 ...
. In January 1947, Taylor requested for the Senate to delay the swearing-in of Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
Senator Theodore G. Bilbo
Theodore Gilmore Bilbo (October 13, 1877 – August 21, 1947) was an American politician who twice served as governor of Mississippi (1916–1920, 1928–1932) and later was elected a U.S. Senator (1935–1947). A lifelong Democrat, he was a fil ...
, who had been re-elected in 1946, pending investigation of charges against Bilbo for corruption and civil rights violations. As a result, Bilbo, well known for his segregationist, racially-charged rhetoric, was never formally seated for his final Senate term. The impasse was not completely resolved until Bilbo's death in August 1947.
Taylor was arrested on May 1, 1948, in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
, by Police Commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor, for attempting to use a door reserved for African Americans, rather than the whites-only door, while Taylor was attempting to attend a meeting of the Southern Negro Youth Congress
The Southern Negro Youth Congress was an American organization established in 1937 at a conference in Richmond, Virginia. The Southern Negro Youth Congress consisted of young leaders who participated in the National Negro Congress. The first gath ...
. He was later convicted of disorderly conduct. He appealed his conviction to the Court of Appeals of Alabama (part of which became the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals in 1969), but lost the appeal. When Taylor refused to return to Alabama to serve a 180-day sentence of hard labor, Idaho Governor C. A. Robins
Charles Armington Robins (December 8, 1884 – September 20, 1970) was an American physician and the 22nd governor of Idaho.
Early years
Born in Iowa at Defiance in Shelby County, at age four Robins moved west with his family to Colorado, ...
declined to extradite him.
Roswell comments
In July 1947, Taylor was asked by a United Press
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...
reporter what he thought about reports that remnants of a UFO had been found by the Air Force near Roswell, New Mexico
Roswell () is a city in, and the County seat, seat of, Chaves County, New Mexico, Chaves County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Chaves County forms the entirety of the List of micropolitan areas in New Mexico, Roswell micropolitan area. As of ...
. Taylor replied that he almost hoped flying saucers would turn out to be spaceships from another planet: "They could end our petty arguments on earth." He went on to say that no matter what the UFOs turned out to be, they "can't be laughed off."
"Even if it is only a psychological phenomenon, it is a sign of what the world is coming to," Taylor explained. "If we don't ease the tensions, the whole world will be full of psychological cases and eventually turn into a global nuthouse."
1948 vice presidential nomination
In 1948 Taylor was chosen as the vice presidential candidate on the Progressive ticket headed by former Vice President Henry A. Wallace
Henry Agard Wallace (October 7, 1888 – November 18, 1965) was an American politician, journalist, farmer, and businessman who served as the 33rd vice president of the United States, the 11th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and the 10th U.S. S ...
of Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
.[ Taylor agreed to be the nominee despite accurately foreseeing that this step meant he would be heavily defeated in his next Senate campaign.] The unabashedly leftist Wallace/Taylor ticket failed to carry any states and won only 2.4 percent of the nationwide popular vote. The nomination prompted an effort by conservatives within the Idaho Democratic Party
The Idaho Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Idaho.
While the party has been in the minority for most of the state's history, it has produced several notable public figures, including former U.S. sena ...
to expel him from its ranks, but was defeated.
1950 reelection run
In 1950, former Senator David Worth Clark
David Worth Clark, aka D. Worth Clark (April 2, 1902June 19, 1955), was a Democratic congressman and United States Senator from Idaho, its first U.S. Senator born in the state.
Early years
Clark was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho and attended publ ...
sought to regain his Senate seat from Taylor. Taylor's run on the Progressive ticket earned him a reputation as an "incorrigible leftist" in Idaho and contributed to his primary defeat in his reelection campaign in 1950.[Schwantes, Carlos A]
In Mountain Shadows: A History of Idaho
p. 242. (accessed January 20, 2012) Taylor was defeated in the Democratic primary by Clark, who in turn lost in the general election to conservative Republican Herman Welker
Herman Orville Welker (December 11, 1906 – October 30, 1957) was an American politician from the state of Idaho. He was a member of the Idaho Republican Party and served one term in the United States Senate, from 1951 to 1957.
Early years
Born ...
.
Election results
Source:
* 1940 was a special election (November) to complete the final two years of the term vacated by the death of William Borah
William Edgar Borah (June 29, 1865 – January 19, 1940) was an outspoken History of the United States Republican Party, Republican United States Senator, one of the best-known figures in History of Idaho, Idaho's history. A Progressivism ...
on January 19, 1940. Thomas, a former U.S. senator (1928–1933), was appointed to the seat by Governor C. A. Bottolfsen on January 27.
Later career
Taylor served as president of Coryell Construction Company from 1950 to 1952 but was forced to resign after being labeled a "security risk," jeopardizing a government contract. Afterwards, he was often forced to work manual labor construction jobs. He ran again for the Senate in 1954 but was decisively beaten by Republican incumbent Henry Dworshak, winning only 37.2 percent of the vote. His sixth and final Senate attempt came in 1956; he narrowly lost the Democratic primary to 32-year-old lawyer Frank Church
Frank Forrester Church III (July 25, 1924 – April 7, 1984) was an Americans, American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Idah ...
, and then got 5.1 percent of the vote in the general election as a write-in candidate. In March 1958, Taylor proposed that Church take a lie detector test
Lie detection is an assessment of a verbal statement with the goal to reveal a possible intentional deceit. Lie detection may refer to a cognitive process of detecting deception by evaluating message content as well as non-verbal cues. It also ma ...
about fraud in the 1956 primary.
In 1958, Taylor and his wife Dora moved to Millbrae, California
Millbrae is a city located in northern San Mateo County, California, United States. To its northeast is San Francisco International Airport, San Bruno is on its northwest, and Burlingame on its southeast. It is bordered by San Andreas Lake to ...
, and began making hairpieces by hand based on a hairpiece Taylor made for himself in the early 1940s.[ By 1960, Taylor Topper Inc. had become the major manufacturer of hair replacements in the United States. Taylor told '']The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' in 1978 that he was very familiar with them: "I was 18, a juvenile leading man in a traveling show, and my hair had begun to fall out. There isn't much demand for bald juvenile leading men, and I tried everything – sheep dip, what have you – and that just made it fall out faster."
Taylor explained that he had run for public office without the hairpiece and found that voters "didn't have much use for bald politicians" but that "I ran the fourth time with it and won." His original toupée
A toupée ( ) is a hairpiece or partial wig of natural or synthetic hair worn to cover partial baldness or for theatrical purposes. While toupées and hairpieces are typically associated with male wearers, some women also use hairpieces to len ...
was made from a tin pie plate, which he lined with pink felt and swatches of human hair. In 1958, he was granted a patent (#2,850,023) for his innovative product. Glen and Dora Taylor were successful manufacturing hairpieces, and Taylor Toppers became famous. The company, now known as Taylormade Hair Replacement, is still active in Millbrae.[Pimsleur, J. L]
"OBITUARY – Dora Taylor"
''San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'', June 21, 1997. (accessed January 20, 2012)
Personal life
Glen and Dora Taylor had three sons between 1935 and 1946, Glen Arod (Dora spelled backward) and then Paul Jon and Greg.[
Taylor died at 80 in April 1984 from complications from ]Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
; Dora Taylor remained in the San Mateo County
San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Daly ...
area until her death at 93 in 1997. They are interred at Skylawn Memorial Park in San Mateo.
Filmography
Television
References
Further reading
Senator Glen H. Taylor, ''The Way It Was With Me'' (memoir), Lyle Stuart, Secaucus, New Jersey, 1979
External links
Taylormade (hair): History
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Glen H.
1904 births
1984 deaths
Activists for African-American civil rights
American entertainers
American anti-racism activists
Deaths from dementia in California
Deaths from Alzheimer's disease
Democratic Party United States senators from Idaho
Idaho Democrats
People from Idaho County, Idaho
Businesspeople from Portland, Oregon
People from Pocatello, Idaho
Progressive Party (United States, 1948) politicians
1948 United States vice-presidential candidates
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American politicians