Harry Pulliam Cain (January 10, 1906 – March 3, 1979) was an American politician who served as a United States
Senator from
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 ...
who served as a
Republican from 1946 to 1953. Cain is mainly remembered for 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 ...
and often highly-controversial views as a member of the Senate and as a friend and supporter of Senator
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visi ...
. Prior to his term in the Senate, he had served as the 23rd mayor of
Tacoma, Washington. Following his Senate term he was widely recognized as a defender of the
civil liberties
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...
of individuals accused of being security risks during the
Eisenhower Administration and as a community activist and moderate Republican until his death in 1979.
In a 1972 interview, Cain described himself as being, "...basically a political
pragmatist – from time to time and for different reasons a conservative, militant, liberal, moderate, purist, radical and now and again what some call a
populist." Acknowledging that his career had been known for its inconsistencies, he said, "The record consists of doing the best I could when confronted by any situation demanding action."
Early life and education
Harry Pulliam Cain and his twin brother were born in
Nashville, Tennessee. Both parents were of Scots-Irish descent who had moved from
Virginia,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = " Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...
, and
Kentucky. Their boys were taught a strong appreciation for their southern heritage and family history. The family moved to Tacoma in 1911. Both parents were accomplished writers. His mother suffered from
depression and committed
suicide in 1917. Shortly after her death, Cain suffered an attack of
Bell's palsy
Bell's palsy is a type of facial paralysis that results in a temporary inability to control the facial muscles on the affected side of the face. In most cases, the weakness is temporary and significantly improves over weeks. Symptoms can vary f ...
, crippling his ability to speak. He eventually regained his speech.
Cain attended the Tacoma public schools and then, in 1920, enrolled at
Hill Military Academy in
Portland, Oregon, where he was a star athlete and edited the school newspaper. He spent 1924 and 1925 working as a reporter for the now-defunct ''
Portland News-Telegram
The ''East Side News'' was a newspaper serving Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon, founded in 1906. It was financed by the Scripps-Canfield publishing house of Seattle, but in complete secrecy, due to a promise E. W. Scripps had made to Sam Jac ...
''. He attending the
Sewanee: The University of the South in
Sewanee, Tennessee, graduating in 1929. His intellectual hero was the eighteenth-century British philosopher and statesman,
Edmund Burke. Upon graduation he received an offer of work from ''
The New York Times''.
Career
Before moving to
New York City, Cain visited his father in Tacoma but finding him in ill health, decided to remain. He was employed by the Tacoma branch of The Bank of California, N.A. (now
Union Bank, N.A.) where he remained until 1939.
When Tacoma was selected to host the 1939 Golden Jubilee Celebration, celebrating fifty years of Washington statehood, Cain was selected as its festival director. The success of the event led Cain to run for the non-partisan position of Mayor of Tacoma in a special election to complete the two-year term of the interim mayor who decided not to run again. A conservative Democrat, Cain voted twice for President
Franklin Roosevelt but became disenchanted with the
New Deal after 1936. Cain placed third in the
primary election. Four days before the
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
, the leading candidate died of a stroke and Cain's name was added to the ballot. The dead candidate's supporters backed Cain and he was elected mayor at the age of 34.
Mayor of Tacoma
Cain's terms as mayor were characterized by his enthusiasm and very public approach to governing, including a weekly radio program that was uncommon for the time. His first term was also characterized by the build-up for
World War II at the shipyards and military bases around Tacoma, and for the collapse of the
Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Following the Japanese attack at
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...
, Cain was one of only two elected officials on the West Coast to publicly oppose the government's internment of 110,000 Japanese.
In 1942, Cain was re-elected mayor by the largest plurality in Tacoma's history. His second term was characterized by his aggressive efforts to clean up long-existing vice, to obtain funding for wartime housing, to institute a long-range planning process for the city, to reform the outdated
City Commission
City commission government is a form of local government in the United States. In a city commission government, voters elect a small commission, typically of five to seven members, typically on a plurality-at-large voting basis.
These commissione ...
form of government, and opposition from his fellow city commissioners to each of the above.
World War II
He took a leave of absence in May 1943 to enter the
United States Army as a Major. Following training at the Army's
School of Military Government, Cain was assigned to
Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories
The Allied Military Government of Occupied Territories (originally abbreviated AMGOT, later AMG) was the form of military rule administered by Allied forces during and after World War II within European territories they occupied.
Notable AMGOT ...
(AMGOT) in
Algiers, Algeria
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...
. After field training in
Sicily, Cain participated in the invasion of Italy, landing on the beachhead at
Salerno, Italy attached to a glider regiment of the U.S.
82nd Airborne Division
The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from thori ...
on September 15, 1943. Cain was placed in charge of 29 towns and villages near
Naples, Italy trying to meet the needs of starving displaced civilians caught between the two armies. Cain later served in various staff positions on the staff of the newly formed
Allied Control Commission (ACC) and the
Rome Area Command of the
U.S. Fifth Army
The United States Army North (ARNORTH) is a formation of the United States Army. An Army Service Component Command (ASCC) subordinate to United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM), ARNORTH is the joint force land component of NORTHCOM. . He was present during the fighting for
Monte Cassino and the invasion of
Anzio, two of the bloodiest battles of the Italian campaign.
In March 1944, Cain was assigned to
SHAEF headquarters in
London, England where he directed the psychological warfare and public relations division of the G-5 Civil Affairs staff. Promoted to
Lieutenant Colonel, he worked with many famous writers and journalists including
Archibald MacLeish and
Edward R. Murrow
Edward Roscoe Murrow (born Egbert Roscoe Murrow; April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965) was an American broadcast journalist and war correspondent. He first gained prominence during World War II with a series of live radio broadcasts from Europe ...
. In April 1944, Cain was approached by political supporters in Washington state to run as a Republican for the open U.S. Senate seat in the
1944 election. Although Cain was unable to campaign actively, he won the Republican primary and faced popular Democratic Representative
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 19 ...
in the general election. Cain ran a respectable campaign, but fell behind in the final weeks of the campaign, losing to Magnuson by 88,000 votes.
While he was running for the Senate and carrying out his staff duties in London, the
Invasion of Normandy and
Operation Market Garden had taken place and Cain had missed both of them. He longed for an assignment in the field with a combat unit. In September, he was assigned to the
XVIII Airborne Corps
The XVIII Airborne Corps is a corps of the United States Army that has been in existence since 1942 and saw extensive service during World War II. The corps is designed for rapid deployment anywhere in the world and is referred to as "Americ ...
, commanded by Major General
Matthew Ridgway
General Matthew Bunker Ridgway (March 3, 1895 – July 26, 1993) was a senior officer in the United States Army, who served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1952–1953) and the 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1953–1955). Alth ...
, as Assistant Chief of Staff for Civil Affairs (G-5). During the
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war ...
in December, Ridgway's Corps was instrumental in plugging the gap and Cain was in the thick of the fighting. Responsible for trying to protect and feed the civilians caught in the middle, Cain received a battlefield promotion to Colonel.
Cain participated in the planning for
Operation Varsity, the elimination of the
Ruhr Pocket, and the Allied push into Northern Germany. He was slightly wounded 24 hours before the end of hostilities on May 7, 1945. A day later, Cain delivered a speech at the burial of approximately 200 concentration camp victims near the town of
Hagenow
Hagenow () is a German town in the southwest of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in the district of Ludwigslust-Parchim, 30 kilometers south of Schwerin. Its population is approximately 11,300 inhabitants (2013).
Hagenow is part of the Hamburg Met ...
, Germany. General Ridgway remembered the speech in his memoirs as "one of the most effective I have ever heard."
Cain's last military assignment was inspecting General
George S. Patton's controversial military government procedures during the military occupation of
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
.
U.S. Senate
After the war, Cain resumed his duties as mayor of Tacoma, but resigned on June 15, 1946, to run again for the Senate. He was elected to the Senate on November 5, 1946, defeating Democrat
Hugh B. Mitchell, an affable, competent, and decidedly uncharismatic campaigner who had recently been appointed to the position, by more than 60,000 votes. In this campaign Cain first began to raise the allegations of ties to
Communist front organizations against Mitchell and other state Democrats.
Cain served in the Senate from December 26, 1946, to January 3, 1953. He became associated with the midwestern, conservative bloc of the Republican Party led by
Robert A. Taft
Robert Alphonso Taft Sr. (September 8, 1889 – July 31, 1953) was an American politician, lawyer, and scion of the Republican Party's Taft family. Taft represented Ohio in the United States Senate, briefly served as Senate Majority Lead ...
and
Arthur H. Vandenberg
Arthur Hendrick Vandenberg Sr. (March 22, 1884April 18, 1951) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Michigan from 1928 to 1951. A member of the Republican Party, he participated in the creation of the United Nati ...
. His term was controversial and marked by often inflammatory rhetoric and positions on issues that were sometimes seen as being at odds with the best interests of his constituents. Cain later discussed his approach to serving in the Senate in a 1949 interview. "I had decided to listen only to my conscience and my instinct and do what seemed right at the time. Why not? A man in public office might as well play it the way he thinks he should. There is no sure way to stay in public office."
He voted for the
Taft-Hartley Act, against a 70-group Air Force, against an expansion in
Social Security benefits and generally against public power. He was generally considered to be the real estate industry's strongest supporter in Congress and once made an extended speech attacking
''Time Magazine'' for including him on a list of the "Senate's Most Expendable" members. He engaged in two notable filibusters; the first a 6 ¾ hour successful effort to block the nomination of former Washington Governor and Senator
Mon C. Wallgren to be director of the
National Security Resources Board The National Security Resources Board was a United States government agency created by the National Security Act of 1947 whose purpose was to advise the President, in times of war, on how to mobilize natural resources, manpower, and the scientific e ...
, and a longer 12 ½ hour unsuccessful effort to block an extension of federal rent controls. While in the Senate, he generally supported the efforts of Senator Joseph McCarthy and others to identify and dismiss government employees who were alleged to be Communist security risks. During the
Korean War, he opposed the firing of General
Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was ...
and supported extending the war to the Chinese mainland.
As Cain's term in the Senate wound down, he was targeted by the National Democratic Party for defeat in what otherwise looked like a very promising Republican year. With Hugh Mitchell running for Governor, Cain's opponent would be the popular six-term Congressman,
Henry M. Jackson. The two fought a tough, bruising campaign, based largely on Cain's record in the Senate. Jackson overcame a national Republican landslide to beat Cain by more than 130,000 votes.
Cain once responded to a comment that he had been a 'reactionary' in the U.S. Senate. "... as a reactionary I reacted strongly against measures believed to be adverse to the public interest. It seldom bothered me that a number of my positions were supported only by a small minority. Had I been concerned with self rather than country I would have acted much differently. I was often angry and too impatient for my own good."
Subversive Activities Control Board
At the urging of some of his former Senate colleagues, President
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
appointed Cain to the
Subversive Activities Control Board, where he served from 1953–1956.
Cain went about his new duties, generally supporting the recommendations brought to the board by
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
Herbert Brownell Jr. Cain soon became aware of numerous cases in which the government's internal security program, while legal, often violated the
civil liberties
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...
of the accused and sometimes denied them
due process under the law. He began to speak out against what he believed to be the excesses of the program in a series of speeches to national civil liberties groups, to the point that
White House Chief of Staff Sherman Adams
Llewelyn Sherman Adams (January 8, 1899 – October 27, 1986) was an American businessman and politician, best known as White House Chief of Staff for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the culmination of an 18-year political career that also inclu ...
and members of the
Justice Department considered him disloyal. The
Eisenhower Administration, under pressure from the
right wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authori ...
of their party, saw their internal security program as a means of eliminating security risks from government; Cain saw the program as often trampling on the civil rights of the accused. The confrontation came to a head in a contentious meeting between Cain and the President in the
White House on June 7, 1955. Cain determined that he would not to be re-appointed to the position and resigned on June 17, 1955.
On October 23, 1956, a banquet in Cain's honor was held at the
National Press Club and attended by more than 350 civil liberties advocates, labor leaders and political admirers, including many of the individuals who Cain had helped. A plaque was presented to Cain with the following inscription: "In Tribute to Harry P. Cain / Champion of Human Dignity, Defender of Constitutional Rights in the Search For National Security / From Those Whose Loyalty to Country He Vindicated, and Those Whose Faith in Freedom He Strengthened / Presented at Testimonial Dinner / National Press Club, Washington, D.C. / 23 October 1956."
Later career
Never wealthy, Cain returned to Tacoma with limited prospects and even less money. Both major parties found him unpredictable. To make matters worse, his marriage was unraveling. He lectured briefly at
Yale University and looked for a job. He found it in
Miami, Florida where old friends hired him to manage the public relations and, later, the community relations of a large Miami-based savings and loan association.
In May 1957, he was called to testify at
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), ''Death of a Salesman'' (194 ...
's trial for contempt of Congress. He was Miller's "expert witness on communism" and he testified that he "did not believe" that Miller had written his plays "under the discipline of the Communist Party". His testimony was unusual in that normally only the government produced 'expert testimony' to demonstrate that the defendant was a Communist. In January 1964 he testified in a libel trial brought on behalf of
John Goldmark, a Washington state legislator who had been defeated partially on the basis of allegations that his membership in the
ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
was tantamount to being a member of a Communist-front organization. Cain testified that the ACLU had never been on the Attorney General's list of such organizations and Goldmark won a sizable award from the defendants.
Cain became a familiar face on Miami television, hosting and interviewing national political personalities on a weekly public affairs program that the bank sponsored. He also became active in numerous community and civic activities. The Cains divorced in 1958. Later that year he married LaVonne Kneisley, a family friend since the mid-1930s.
He remained active in Republican politics and worked to liberalize and broaden the face of the party in
Dade County and throughout the state. In 1962 he managed the congressional campaign of Republican newcomer Robert A. Peterson against
Claude Pepper. Peterson lost, but Cain established himself as a viable political force in Florida. He considered running for the U.S. Senate in 1964 and again in 1968, but his moderate positions on social issues were in variance with the state party. He chaired the Florida Citizens for
Johnson-
Humphrey, the Democratic Party ticket, in 1964, but supported
Nelson Rockefeller and then
Richard Nixon in 1968 based on his opposition to the
Vietnam War. In 1972, he supported his old opponent, Henry Jackson, for the Democratic presidential nomination and campaigned with him in Florida.
In 1972, Cain was appointed to the Metropolitan
Miami-Dade
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...
County Commission. He championed one of the first indoor smoking bans in the country and other measures ensuring equal rights in jobs, housing and public accommodation. In failing health, he was defeated for re-election in 1976.
Personal life
He married Marjorie Dils of
Seattle, Washington, in 1934. They had two children: Harry Jr. (Buzzy) and Candy. In 1935–1936, the couple took an extended trip to
England and
Germany, where they immersed themselves in theater and he studied British banking methods and listened to the colorful orators in London's
Hyde Park. While in Germany, Cain attended several mass rallies where
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
and other top
Nazi leaders spoke and returned home convinced that Germany presented a major world threat, making more than 150 speeches to local and statewide groups about what he had seen.
Death
He died of complications from
emphysema at his home in
Miami Lakes, Florida
Miami Lakes is a suburb of Miami, an incorporated town and former census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. US Census, 31,628 people live in Miami Lakes.
History
The development was constructed by Sengra (now the ...
, on March 3, 1979. He was cremated and his ashes scattered on his favorite golf course 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 i ...
.
[Smith, ''Raising Cain'', pp. 277–282.]
References
Bibliography
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External links
Congressional Biographyprovides finding aid to article subject from the Special Collections, Washington State Historical Society (WSHS)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cain, Harry P.
1906 births
1979 deaths
20th-century American politicians
Mayors of Tacoma, Washington
People from Miami Lakes, Florida
Republican Party United States senators from Washington (state)
Sewanee: The University of the South alumni
American twins
Washington (state) Republicans