HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

William David Upshaw (October 15, 1866 – November 21, 1952) served eight years in Congress (1919–1927), where he was such a strong proponent of the
temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emp ...
that he became known as the "driest of the drys." In Congress, Upshaw was a staunch defender of the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cath ...
, which was founded in his congressional district, and lost reelection because of major KKK scandals in the mid-1920s. In 1932, he ran for
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United St ...
on the
Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a Political parties in the United States, political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movement ...
ticket, finishing the race in fifth place.


Biography

Upshaw was born on October 15, 1866, in Georgia. He attended public schools in Atlanta, Georgia as a child, and graduated from
Mercer University Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 s ...
. Leaving college, he worked in agriculture and as a merchant in his father's business until being incapacitated by an accident in 1895 when he fell from a wagon and injured his back. Upshaw used a wheelchair for seven years, but gradually regained the ability to walk with crutches. His condition eventually improved enough that he told newspaper reporters that he was able to walk several steps unaided. Despite his improved ability to walk, Upshaw continued to regularly rely on his crutches. In Congress, some opponents accused him of using the crutches as "part of a costume" to elicit sympathy and support from voters after they caught him running at the
United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill at ...
without relying on any crutches. Upshaw's political career began when he became involved with the prohibition movement. He served as vice president of the Georgia
Anti-Saloon League The Anti-Saloon League (now known as the ''American Council on Addiction and Alcohol Problems'') is an organization of the temperance movement that lobbied for prohibition in the United States in the early 20th century. Founded in 1893 in Oberl ...
in 1906 and played a major role in passage of statewide prohibition in that state in 1907, making it the first dry state in the
Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
. The defense of prohibition was a major factor in the establishment of the second
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cath ...
("Klan of the 1920s") in 1915. The KKK coordinated its activities with the Anti-Saloon League to enforce prohibition. Upshaw was elected to the United States Congress as a Democrat representing Georgia's 5th District in 1919. Incumbent Democrat William S. Howard retired to run 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 power ...
, and Upshaw ran unopposed in the general election. He served four terms, until 1927. In Congress, Upshaw was an important supporter of the KKK and prohibition. Upshaw vocally defended the Klan during a congressional probe into their activities saying: "that he felt a sort of wounded pride in hearing the many criticisms hurled at the Klan, which was organized in my district and whose imperial wizard is one of the Knightliest, most patriotic men I have ever known." He suggested investigating all secret societies such as the Masons, etc. which may have contributed to the early conclusion of the probe. Upshaw was accused of being a secret member of the KKK, but he always denied the allegations. Internal Klan newsletters claimed that he was a member. According to the Georgia Historical Society, Upshaw was never proven to be a KKK member, but there was "little doubt" that he was a member. He was in frequent contact with leaders of the KKK in Georgia. In 1922, Upshaw came out strongly against a federal anti-
lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...
bill. He made several strong speeches against the bill, making racial remarks and arguing in favor of states' rights. He was a key political leader opposing federal laws intending to crack down on the KKK. His public support of the KKK undermined his reelection efforts in 1926 as his primary election opponent Leslie Jasper Steele connected him to the major scandals occurring within the KKK at that time. Upshaw was also exposed for taking payments from the Anti-Saloon League, which his opponent used to claim he was only supporting prohibition for financial reasons. Upshaw lost the
primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
and failed to secure the Democratic nomination to run for Congress for a fifth term. In Congress, Upshaw supported the creation of a
United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Departme ...
and was focused on eliminating what he considered alien doctrines from public education, such as
Bolshevism Bolshevism (from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined party of social revolution, f ...
. Known as the "Billy Sunday of Congress" and for his "colorful, bizarre antics" as a congressman, Upshaw was supported politically by the most powerful names in Southern Protestantism, including evangelist Bob Jones, Sr., the founder of what eventually became
Bob Jones University , motto_lang = Latin , mottoeng = We seek, we trust , top_free_label = , top_free = , type = Private university , established = , closed = , f ...
. Upshaw served as a member of the Board of Trustees from the founding of Bob Jones College in Lynn Haven,
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to th ...
in 1927, until he was dropped from the board in 1932 for failing to attend its annual meetings or file his voting proxies. Leaving Congress in 1927, Upshaw was elected as a vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention where he served two terms and made repeated attempts to restart his political career. In
1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
, he was the
Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a Political parties in the United States, political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movement ...
candidate for the
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United St ...
with Frank S. Regan of Illinois as his running mate. The ticket came in fifth, losing to
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 th ...
(who favored
repeal of prohibition The repeal of Prohibition in the United States was accomplished with the passage of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 5, 1933. Background In 1919, the requisite number of state legislatures ratified the Eig ...
), incumbent Republican President
Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...
, Socialist candidate
Norman Thomas Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was an American Presbyterian minister who achieved fame as a socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America. Early years Thomas was th ...
, and Communist candidate
William Z. Foster William Zebulon Foster (February 25, 1881 – September 1, 1961) was a radical American labor organizer and Communist politician, whose career included serving as General Secretary of the Communist Party USA from 1945 to 1957. He was previ ...
. In 1942 Upshaw was a candidate in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in Georgia, but again lost the election and failed to secure his party's nomination. Upshaw moved to California and turned to lecturing, writing, and ministering as a Christian evangelist in the later years of his life. He was ordained a Baptist minister in 1938, at age 72. He served as vice president and teacher at the Linda Vista Baptist Bible College and Seminary in
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
. While in California, he became involved with Roy Davis, a leading member of the KKK, to found an orphanage in
San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181 ...
. The charity ended in scandal when it was revealed that Davis had swindled donors out of their money. At age 85, a few months before Upshaw's death, he claimed to have been miraculously healed and had regained the ability to walk in a
William Branham William Marrion Branham (April 6, 1909 – December 24, 1965) was an American Christian minister and faith healer who initiated the post-World War II healing revival, and claimed to be a prophet with the anointing of Elijah, who had come t ...
revival meeting. Upshaw sent a letter describing his healing claim to each member of Congress. Among the widespread media reports was a story carried in the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' where Upshaw admitted to reporters that he had been able to walk without crutches prior to the Branham meeting. He claimed that his strength was improved and he could now walk farther than before the healing without the aid of crutches. Upshaw died on November 21, 1952, aged 86, in Glendale, California, and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park.


Electoral history

Source (popular vote): Source (electoral vote):


References


Sources

* * * *


External links

*
William D. UpshawDescribed (in French) as "the driest man in the United States;" along with photograph. Le Petit Journal, Montreal, 10 June 1934
{{DEFAULTSORT:Upshaw, William D. 1866 births 1952 deaths People from Newnan, Georgia American Protestants Prohibition Party (United States) presidential nominees Candidates in the 1932 United States presidential election 20th-century American politicians American politicians with disabilities Georgia (U.S. state) Prohibitionists Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Ku Klux Klan members American temperance activists 20th-century far-right politicians in the United States