Homer S. Ferguson
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Homer Samuel Ferguson (February 25, 1889December 17, 1982) was an American attorney, professor, judge, United States senator from Michigan,
Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
to the Philippines, and later a judge on the United States Court of Military Appeals.


Education and early career

Ferguson attended public schools and the University of Pittsburgh. He graduated from the University of Michigan at
Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...
in 1913, was admitted to the
bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...
the same year and commenced practice in Detroit. He was judge of the circuit court for
Wayne County, Michigan Wayne County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2020, the United States Census placed its population at 1,793,561, making it the 19th-most populous county in the United States. The county seat is Detroit. The coun ...
, from 1929 to 1942 and also professor of law at
Detroit College of Law The Michigan State University College of Law (Michigan State Law or MSU Law) is the law school of Michigan State University, a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan. Established in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law, it was the fi ...
(now part of
Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...
) from 1929 to 1939.


Senator

Elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1942 and was reelected in 1948, serving from January 3, 1943, to January 3, 1955. Ferguson successfully was re-elected in 1948 over Democrat Frank E. Hook in a year dominated by the Democratic party's upset wins. The election was contested by Hook, who alleged fraud; a subcommittee uncovered unethical practices in the election cycle, though it exonerated Ferguson, who was seated. He unsuccessfully ran for reelection to a third-term in 1954, defeated by
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 ...
Patrick V. McNamara Patrick Vincent McNamara (October 4, 1894 – April 30, 1966) was an American politician. A Democrat, he served as a United States Senator from Michigan from 1955 until his death from a stroke in Bethesda, Maryland in 1966. Early life and ...
. While in the Senate, he served as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee in the 83rd United States Congress. In 1943, Ferguson was one of 12 senators who sponsored or co-sponsored the Rescue Resolution, which would have declared that Congress "recommends and urges the creation by the President of a commission of diplomatic, economic, and military experts to formulate and effectuate a plan of immediate action designed to save the surviving Jewish people of Europe from extinction at the hands of Nazi Germany." In 1948, he served as chairman of the Investigations Subcommittee of the Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments, which held hearings on such matters as export control violations, for which Soviet
spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...
William Remington was called in to testify; the trial of Nazi war criminal Ilse Koch; and the Mississippi
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
's sale of postal jobs, which Mississippians from rural areas attested to purchasing. On July 30, 1948, his committee heard testimony from ex-Soviet spy
Elizabeth Bentley Elizabeth Terrill Bentley (January 1, 1908 – December 3, 1963) was an American spy and member of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). She served the Soviet Union from 1938 to 1945 until she defected from the Communist Party and Soviet intelligenc ...
. Bentley testified before 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 ...
the next day, followed by Whittaker Chambers a few days later – setting off the
Hiss Case Alger Hiss (November 11, 1904 – November 15, 1996) was an American government official accused in 1948 of having spied for the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Statutes of limitations had expired for espionage, but he was convicted of perjury in con ...
, used by both Richard Nixon and
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 ...
for their own political agendas. Ferguson sponsored an anti-lynching bill, which was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in June 1949. The House of Representatives had approved several anti-lynching bills. Due to opposition from Southern Democrats, no anti-lynching bill was ever approved by the full Senate. He introduced the Senate version of the bill that inserted "under God" into the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954. Michigan's 17th congressional district United States House of Representatives Republican Charles G. Oakman had previously introduced a House version. The bill became law on Flag Day, June 14, 1954. Also in 1954, Ferguson proposed several amendments to the Bricker Amendment.


Later life

Ferguson served as United States Ambassador to the Philippines from 1955 to 1956 and was judge of the United States Court of Military Appeals in Washington, D.C., from 1956 to until his retirement 1971. He served as senior judge on the United States Court of Military Appeals from 1971 to 1976. In 1976, he retired and moved back to Michigan and resided in Grosse Pointe until his death in 1982. He is interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit. Ferguson's involvement behind the scenes in influencing the failed investigation, trial, and slander of Preston Tucker by the
Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
has long been speculated. Lloyd Bridges portrayed Ferguson in the 1988 film '' Tucker: The Man and His Dream'' in which Tucker was played by the elder actor's son Jeff Bridges.


References


Sources


The Political Graveyard


External links


Homer Ferguson Papers 1939-1976
collection maintained by University of Michigan * * * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Homer Samuel 1889 births 1982 deaths Activists for African-American civil rights American anti-lynching activists Ambassadors of the United States to the Philippines Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Detroit) Detroit College of Law faculty Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces Michigan lawyers Michigan Republicans Michigan state court judges People from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Republican Party United States senators from Michigan University of Michigan Law School alumni 20th-century American judges University of Pittsburgh alumni 20th-century American diplomats 20th-century American politicians United States Article I federal judges appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower