Emerson Hugh De Lacy (May 9, 1910 – August 19, 1986) was an American politician and

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

. He served on the

Seattle City Council The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-lar ...

from 1937 to 1940 and as a member of 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 1945 to 1947. He represented the First Congressional District of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

as a

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 ...

Early years

De Lacy was born in Seattle, Washington, and educated in the public schools of the Queen Anne section of Seattle. He graduated from the University of Washington with a master of arts degree in 1932.

Career

From 1933 to 1937, De Lacy taught English at the University of Washington. De Lacy was elected to the

in 1937.

Harvey Klehr Harvey Elliott Klehr (born December 25, 1945) is a professor of politics and history at Emory University. Klehr is known for his books on the subject of the American Communist movement, and on Soviet espionage in America (many written jointly with ...

, ''The Heyday of American Communism: The Depression Decade.'' New York: Basic Books, 1984; pg. 256. He was subsequently elected as president of the

Washington Commonwealth Federation The Washington Commonwealth Federation (WCF) was a political pressure group established in the American state of Washington in 1934 as "Commonwealth Builders, Incorporated" (CBI). The organization changed its name to Washington Commonwealth Federa ...

, a left-wing

faction Faction or factionalism may refer to: Politics * Political faction, a group of people with a common political purpose * Free and Independent Faction, a Romanian political party * Faction (''Planescape''), a political faction in the game ''Planes ...

within the

Washington State Democratic Party The Washington State Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Seattle. It is also commonly referred to as ...

that included a number of members of the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...

. He was re-elected and served on Seattle City Council until 1940. According to historian of American Communism

, De Lacy was a secret member of the

at the time of his 1937 election. De Lacy's party membership was first publicly revealed by the former Executive Secretary of the Washington Commonwealth Federation,

Howard Costigan Howard Gary Costigan (1904–1985) was an American radio commentator, political functionary, and politician. Costigan is best remembered as the Executive Secretary of the Washington Commonwealth Federation during the second half of the 1930 while h ...

, who declared in sworn testimony delivered to the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

in 1954 that he had sat with De Lacy on the governing bureau of the Seattle district of the CPUSA from 1937 to 1939."Testimony of Howard Costigan,
''Investigation of Communist Activities in the Pacific Northwest Area — Part 1: Hearings Before the Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, Eighty-Third Congress, Second Session; October 3, 1952; March 16, May 28, June 2 and 9, 1954.''
Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1954; pg. 5987. De Lacy was elected to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

in 1944, replacing fellow Democrat

Warren G. Magnuson Warren Grant "Maggie" Magnuson (April 12, 1905May 20, 1989) was an American lawyer and politician who represented the state of Washington in Congress for 44 years, first as a Representative from 1937 to 1944, and then as a senator from 1944 to 1 ...

who had retired from the House to run (successfully) for

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 ...

. De Lacy was defeated by

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 ...

Homer Jones in the 1946 election. In 1947, De Lacy became editor of the Bulletin of the Machinists' Union in Seattle. From 1948 to 1950, he was state director of the Progressive Party of Ohio. He became a carpenter in 1951, and in 1960 he became a general building contractor. He retired from that role in 1967. DeLacy and his Washington Commonwealth Federation held monthly community fundraisers they called

hootenannies A hootenanny is a party involving music in the United States. It is particularly associated with folk music. Etymology Placeholder Hootenanny is an Appalachian colloquialism that was used in the early twentieth century U.S. as a placeholder name ...

. They introduced folk singers

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...

, and

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

to the word when they came to visit Seattle in 1941, who went on to popularize it as term for a folk music jam.

Personal life

On October 24, 1947, De Lacy was divorced from Betty De Lacy. In 1949, De Lacy married actress Hester Sondergaard.

Death

On August 19, 1986, De Lacy died in

Soquel, California Soquel (; Ohlone: ''Sokel'') is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, located on the northern coast of Monterey Bay. The population was 9,980 at the 2020 census. Geography Soquel is located a ...

References

External links

Hugh DeLacy papers
1938-1985. 4.87 cubic feet (11 boxes, 1 map tube, 1 package). At th
Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections

Hugh De Lacy
and th
Washington Commonwealth Federation
from

Strikes! Labor History Encyclopedia for the Pacific Northwest Strikes! Labor History Encyclopedia of the Pacific Northwest is a clearinghouse of information on the labor history of the region developed by the University of Washington and Professor James N. Gregory as part of the Pacific Northwest Labor and C ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:De Lacy, Hugh 1910 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American politicians American carpenters Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Washington (state) Machinists Members of the Communist Party USA People from Los Angeles Progressive Party (United States, 1948) politicians Seattle City Council members University of Washington faculty University of Washington alumni American socialists American Marxists Washington (state) socialists