Leonard Beck Jordan (May 15, 1899June 30, 1983) was an American politician who served as the 23rd
governor of
Idaho and a
United States Senator for over ten years.
Early life and education
Born in
Mount Pleasant, Utah, Jordan's father was a county judge and his mother was a schoolteacher; the family relocated to northeast
Oregon and he was educated in the public schools of
Enterprise, the seat of
Wallowa County
Wallowa County () is the northeastern most county in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,391, making it Oregon's fifth-least populous county. Its county seat is Enterprise. According to ''Oregon Geographic Name ...
.
From a large family, Jordan worked on a ranch then enlisted in the
U.S. Army at age 18 in 1917. After two years in the service, he attended the
University of Oregon in
Eugene
Eugene may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...
on a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
scholarship, and was a
halfback for the
Webfoots.
Jordan graduated in 1923, and was awarded a key to Phi Beta Kappa. He married classmate Grace Edington on December 30, 1924.
Career
Jordan was commissioned as a second lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
in the U.S. Army during World War I, but did not serve overseas. After college, he was a sheep rancher in Hells Canyon
Hells Canyon is a canyon in the Western United States, located along the border of eastern Oregon, a small section of eastern Washington and western Idaho. It is part of the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area which is also located in p ...
in Idaho during the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
at Kirkwood Bar, and then settled in Grangeville in 1940, where he established a farm implement business, a real estate agency, and an automobile dealership.
Jordan was elected to the Idaho Senate in 1946 but lost his seat in 1948.
Governor (1951–1955)
Jordan successfully ran for governor in 1950.
During his four-year term, slot machines were banned; employment, unemployment, and job training services were merged; and the state highway commission was initiated. Jordan did not run for re-election in 1954 because it was not allowed at the time. Starting with the 1946 election, Idaho changed from two-year to four-year terms for governor, but disallowed self-succession (re-election). Jordan's successor as governor was the former 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 ...
, Robert Smylie, who successfully lobbied the 1955 legislature to propose an amendment to the state constitution to allow gubernatorial re-election, which was approved by voters in the 1956 general election. (Smylie was re-elected in 1958 and 1962, and sought a fourth term in 1966, but was defeated in the primary.)
In 1955, Jordan was appointed by President Eisenhower as Chairman of the United States section of the International Joint Commission with Canada.
U.S. Senate career
Appointment and special election of 1962
In August 1962, Jordan was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Governor Smylie, following the death of Henry Dworshak in July. In November, Jordan defeated Democratic congresswoman Gracie Pfost
Gracie Bowers Pfost (March 12, 1906 – August 11, 1965) was the first woman to represent Idaho in the United States Congress, serving five terms as a Democrat in the House of Representatives. Pfost represented the state's 1st district from 1953 ...
of Nampa
The Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA) is the national news agency of the Namibia, Republic of Namibia. It was founded in 1987 under the name Namibia Press Association as a SWAPO partisan press agency, and resuscitated after Namibian War of Independence ...
in the special election to complete the remaining four years of the term.
Election of 1966
Jordan was elected to a full term in 1966, defeating former Democratic congressman Ralph R. Harding
Ralph R. Harding (September 9, 1929 – October 26, 2006) was a former congressman from eastern Idaho; he served two terms as a Democrat from 1961 to 1965.
Early life
Born in Malad City, Idaho, Harding served as a missionary for the Church of J ...
of Blackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...
.
Legislative record
In the Senate, Jordan helped 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 ...
establish the Sawtooth National Recreation Area in 1972, and voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Januar ...
, as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement ...
and the confirmation of Thurgood Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court. He also voted in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men and ...
.
In August 1971, Jordan announced that he would not seek re-election in 1972, and was succeeded by Jim McClure, the three-term Republican congressman
A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...
from the first district
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
. At age 73, Jordan was the first from Idaho to voluntarily retire from the U.S. Senate.
Election results
:Source:^ Jordan was appointed to the vacant seat in August 1962
Legacy and death
A state office building in Boise, near the state capitol
This is a list of state and territorial capitols in the United States, the building or complex of buildings from which the government of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia and the organized territories of the United States, exercise its ...
, was named for him in December 1973. Jordan died at age 84 in Boise on June 30, 1983, and his wife died two years later. They are interred at Cloverdale Memorial Park in west Boise.
Daughter Patricia (1927–2010) married Charles F. Story, Jr. (1926–2014) of Spokane in 1951;
and they later lived in Boise. Eldest son Joseph (1929–2015) graduated from the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) in 1952 and served three years in the U.S. Army. He went to graduate school in civil engineering at Iowa State University in Ames and was a district vice president with Morrison-Knudsen in Alaska. Youngest son Stephen (1932–2015) graduated from the University of Idaho in Moscow in 1955 in mechanical engineering, and worked for General Electric.
References
External links
Jordan's Congressional papers, 1962–1972
are housed a
Albertsons Library
Boise State University
Len Jordan Digital Collection
features photographs of his career as Governor of Idaho from 1950 to 1954 and United States Senator from 1962 to 1973
You Tube video
- Kirkwood Bar in Hells Canyon
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Len
1899 births
1983 deaths
Republican Party governors of Idaho
People from Mount Pleasant, Utah
Republican Party United States senators from Idaho
University of Oregon alumni
People from Grangeville, Idaho
Ranchers from Idaho
20th-century American politicians
American United Methodists
20th-century Methodists