Lee Earl Emerson (December 19, 1898 – May 21, 1976) was an American politician who served in both the Vermont House of Representatives and the

Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-m ...

. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 63rd

Lieutenant Governor of Vermont The lieutenant governor of Vermont is elected for a two-year term and chosen separately from the governor. The Vermont Lieutenant Governor's main responsibilities include acting as governor when the governor is out of state or incapacitated, presi ...

and the 69th

governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of 2 years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold gubernatorial elections every ...

. When he was first elected in the

1950 Vermont gubernatorial election The 1950 Vermont gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1950. Incumbent Republican Harold J. Arthur, who had become governor following the resignation of Ernest W. Gibson Jr., did not run for a full term as Governor of Vermont. Repu ...

, he received over 70% of the vote, something no Republican since has equaled. Despite his success in 1950, he lost the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Vermont in 1958 to Congressman Winston L. Prouty. He also lost the 1960 primary for Vermont's seat in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

to incumbent Governor Robert T. Stafford.

Early life

Emerson was born in

Hardwick, Vermont Hardwick is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,920 at the 2020 census. It contains the unincorporated villages of Hardwick, East Hardwick, and Mackville. The town is a commercial center for the region's farm ...

on December 19, 1898, and moved to Barton at the age of 16. He graduated from Barton Academy in 1917, and served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a member of the Students' Army Training Corps. Emerson received an

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from Syracuse University in 1921 and an

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from George Washington University Law School in 1926. He practiced law in Barton.

Political career

He was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the Vermont House of Representatives in 1938 and served two terms. He was elected

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

in his second term, serving from 1941 to 1943. He was elected to the

in 1942, served from 1943 to 1945, and was elected President Pro Tempore. He was elected Lieutenant Governor of Vermont in 1944 and 1946, serving from 1945 to 1949. Throughout much of Vermont's history Governors and Lieutenant Governors had served two one-year terms, and later one two-year term as part of the Republican Party's "Mountain Rule." However, Ernest W. Gibson, Jr. had successfully challenged the established structure to win the governorship in 1946. Gibson defeated Emerson in the 1948 Republican primary and went on to win reelection to a second term. Emerson's fellow conservative

Harold J. Arthur Harold John Arthur (February 9, 1904 – July 19, 1971) was the List of Governors of Vermont, 68th governor of Vermont from 1950 to 1951. He also served as the List of lieutenant governors of Vermont, 64th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 194 ...

succeeded Emerson as Lieutenant Governor. When Arthur unexpectedly became governor in 1950 after Gibson resigned to accept a federal judgeship, Arthur served out Gibson's term but declined to run for a full term himself, clearing the way for Emerson's comeback. Emerson was elected Governor in 1950 and reelected in 1952, serving from 1951 to 1955. (Arthur instead ran for the U.S. House and lost the Republican primary to Winston Prouty, who went on to win the general election.) As Governor, he recommended that Vermont citizens serving in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

be paid a bonus by the state. He supported studies of the feasibility of building a natural gas pipeline for Vermont and of possible racial discrimination in the state. Also during his administration, legislation known as the Forest Act was passed, providing assistance for municipalities to establish forests. Emerson also played a role in "The Novikoff Affair," in which a

tenure Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

Alex B. Novikoff Alex Benjamin Novikoff ( ) was a Russian Empire-born American biologist who is recognized for his pioneering works in the discoveries of cell organelles. A victim of American Cold War antagonism to communism that he supported, he is also reco ...

was dismissed for alleged Communist sympathies that were never substantiated.

Post gubernatorial career

In 1958, he ran unsuccessfully 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 pow ...

, losing the

nomination to Winston Prouty. In 1960, Emerson was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for Vermont's seat in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, losing to incumbent Governor Robert T. Stafford. Stafford went on to victory in the general election, defeating one term incumbent

William H. Meyer William Henry Meyer (December 29, 1914 – December 16, 1983) was an American politician and Member of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont. Biography Born in Philadelphia, he attended the public schools of the city and gra ...

, the first

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 ...

elected statewide in more than 100 years. (Myer had defeated Harold Arthur in the 1958 general election for the U.S. House seat.)

Personal

Emerson married Dorcas M. Ball on August 4, 1927. They had two children, Nancy and Cynthia.

Death and burial

He died in Berlin, Vermont, on May 26, 1976. He is buried at Welcome O. Brown Cemetery in Barton.

Footnotes

External links

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emerson, Lee E. 1898 births 1976 deaths People from Barton, Vermont United States Army personnel of World War I Syracuse University alumni George Washington University Law School alumni Vermont lawyers Speakers of the Vermont House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives Republican Party Vermont state senators Presidents pro tempore of the Vermont Senate Lieutenant Governors of Vermont Republican Party governors of Vermont Burials in Vermont 20th-century American politicians People from Hardwick, Vermont