Frederick Van Nuys (April 16, 1874 – January 25, 1944) was a

United States senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. Born in Falmouth, he attended the

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

s and graduated from Earlham College (

Richmond, Indiana Richmond is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County and is part of the Dayton, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 36,812. Situa ...

) in 1898 and from Indiana Law School (now

Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law The Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (IU McKinney) is located on the campus of Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana, the urban campus of Indiana University. In the summer of 2001 ...

) in 1900. He was admitted to the bar in 1900 and commenced practice in Shelbyville moving shortly afterward to Anderson. From 1906 to 1910 he was prosecuting attorney of Madison County and was a member of the Indiana Senate from 1913 to 1916, serving as

president pro tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

in 1915. He moved to Indianapolis in 1916 and continued the practice of law; he was

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the U.S. District of Indiana from 1920 to 1922. According to an interview in the

Literary Digest ''The Literary Digest'' was an influential American general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, ''Public Opinion'' and '' Current ...

, he pronounced his last name "van-NIECE". He was elected 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 ...

to the U.S. Senate 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 ...

, soundly defeating longtime incumbent and Majority Leader James Eli Watson. He was an opponent of the Eighteenth Amendment and called for changes to the

Volstead Act The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, was an act of the 66th United States Congress, designed to carry out the intent of the 18th Amendment (ratified January 1919), which established the prohibition of alcoholic d ...

. In 1937, he joined with 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 ...

in introducing an 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 in the Senate. The House of Representatives passed a similar bill by a wide 277-120 margin but was successfully filibustered in the Senate in 1938. While in the Senate he was chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments (

76th Congress The 76th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1939, ...

) and a member of the Committee on the Judiciary ( 77th and 78th Congresses). Although he was a Democrat who was elected as part of

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 the ...

’s sweeping victory, Van Nuys was not always a reliable supporter of

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

policies and opposed the president’s plan to enlarge the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. He also stayed outside of the Indiana Democratic Party political machine opposing the party in patronage matters. His positions led some forces in the Democratic Party, including the AFL–CIO to oppose his renomination in 1938. Loyalists to Governors

Paul McNutt Paul Vories McNutt (July 19, 1891 – March 24, 1955) was an American diplomat and politician who served as the 34th governor of Indiana, high commissioner to the Philippines, administrator of the Federal Security Agency, chairman of the ...

and

M. Clifford Townsend Maurice Clifford Townsend (August 11, 1884 – November 11, 1954) was an American politician and the 35th governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from 1937 to 1941. During his term, he led relief efforts during and after the Great Flood of 1937. ...

sought to "eliminate" him from the Senate, which was welcomed by the Roosevelt administration. After initially threatening to run as an independent, he secured support for the Democratic nomination and faced Republican newspaper publisher

Raymond E. Willis Raymond Eugene Willis (August 11, 1875March 21, 1956) was a United States senator from Indiana. Born in Waterloo, Indiana, he attended the public schools and graduated from Wabash College in 1896. He learned the printer's trade in Waterloo and mo ...

in 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 ( ...

. Van Nuys won the election by a mere 5,100 votes, which led Willis to appeal to the Senate for a recount, alleging election irregularities. The Senate denied the recount on the grounds that the affected votes would not have changed the results. In 1943 a confidential analysis by

Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...

of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the British

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

stated of Van Nuys: He died on January 25, 1944, at his home in Vienna, Virginia, after a short illness and was buried in East Maplewood Cemetery,

Anderson, Indiana Anderson, named after Chief William Anderson, is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Madison County. Anderson is ...

. Governor

Henry Schricker Henry Frederick Schricker (August 30, 1883 – December 28, 1966) was an American politician who served as the 36th and 38th Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from 1941 to 1945 and from 1949 to 1953. He is the only Indiana governor elected ...

appointed Samuel D. Jackson to succeed him in the Senate.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Nuys, Frederick Democratic Party Indiana state senators United States Attorneys for the District of Indiana Democratic Party United States senators from Indiana 1874 births 1944 deaths Earlham College alumni American people of Dutch descent Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law alumni

See also

References

External links