Mark Odom Hatfield (July 12, 1922 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and educator from the state of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. 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 ...

, he served for 30 years as a

United States senator 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 powe ...

from Oregon, and also as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. A native Oregonian, he served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in the Pacific Theater during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

after graduating from

Willamette University Willamette University is a private liberal arts college with locations in Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United States. Originally named the Oregon Institute, the school was an unaffiliated ...

. After the war he earned a graduate degree from Stanford University before returning to Oregon and Willamette as a professor. While still teaching, Hatfield served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. He won election to the Oregon Secretary of State's office at the age of 34 and two years later was elected as the 29th Governor of Oregon. He was the youngest person to ever serve in either of those offices, and served two terms as governor before election to 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 ...

. In the Senate he served for thirty years, and now holds the record for longest tenure of any Senator from Oregon. At the time of his retirement, he was seventh most senior Senator and the second most senior Republican. In 1968, he was considered a candidate to be

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

's running mate for the Republican Party presidential ticket. Hatfield served as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations on two occasions. With this role, he was able to direct funding to Oregon and research-related projects. Numerous Oregon institutions, buildings and facilities are named in his honor, including the

Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse The Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse is a federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon. It is named in honor of former U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield. It is used by the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. The federal gover ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, the Mark O. Hatfield Library at

(his alma mater), the Hatfield Government Center light-rail station in Hillsboro, the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government in the College of Urban and Public Affairs at

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decad ...

, and the

Hatfield Marine Science Center The Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC) is a marine science research and education center next to Yaquina Bay of the Pacific Ocean in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is operated by Oregon State University in cooperation with five state and federa ...

in Newport. Outside of Oregon, a research center at the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

is also named in his honor for his support of medical research while in the Senate. Hatfield died in Portland on August 7, 2011, after a long illness.

Early life

Hatfield was born in

Dallas, Oregon Dallas is a city and the county seat of Polk County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,854 at the 2020 census. Dallas is along Rickreall Creek, about west of Salem, at an elevation of above sea level. It is part of the Salem Met ...

, on July 12, 1922, the only son of Dovie E. (Odom) Hatfield, a schoolteacher, and Charles Dolen Hatfield, a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Hatfield's father was from California and his mother from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. When he was five years old, his maternal grandmother took over the household while his mother, Dovie attended Oregon State College (now

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering c ...

) and graduated with a teaching degree after four years. Dovie taught school in Dallas for two years before the family moved to Salem, where she taught junior high school. Encouraged by his mother, Hatfield's first experience with politics came at the age of 10, when he campaigned in his neighborhood for 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 Gr ...

's 1932 re-election campaign.Walth, Brent. "Mark of distinction". ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 18 ...

'', December 29, 1996. In the late 1930s Hatfield worked as a tour guide at the new Oregon State Capitol Building in Salem, using his key to enter the governor's office, where he sat in the governor's chair. On June 10, 1940, the 17-year-old Hatfield, driving his mother's car, struck and killed a pedestrian, Alice Marie Lane, as she crossed the street.''Lane v. Hatfield'', 173 Or. 79, 143 P.2d 230 (1943). Hatfield was not held criminally liable for the crash, but was found civilly liable to the family. The case made its way to the

, also in Salem. While attending Willamette, Hatfield became a brother of Alpha Phi Omega and Kappa Gamma Rho, which he later helped become a chapter of Beta Theta Pi. (In 1964, Hatfield was elected to the National position of Third Vice President of Alpha Phi Omega). In college he also worked part-time for then Oregon Secretary of State

Earl Snell Earl Wilcox Snell (July 11, 1895 – October 28, 1947) was an American politician, businessman, and member of the Republican Party, serving in the Oregon House of Representatives, as the Oregon Secretary of State, and as the 23rd Governor of Or ...

, where he learned how to build a political base by sending out messages to potential voters after reading about life changes posted in newspapers, such as deaths and graduations. He also sketched out a political career path beginning with the state legislature and culminating in a spot in the United States Senate, with a blank for any position beyond the Senate. Hatfield graduated from Willamette in 1943 with a

Bachelor of Arts 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 year ...

degree after three years at the school. While at the school he lost his only election, for student body president. Hatfield joined the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

after graduation, taking part in the

battles at Iwo Jima and

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

as a landing craft officer where he witnessed the carnage of the war. A

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

, he also witnessed the effects of the

atomic bombing of Hiroshima The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...

, as one of the first Americans to see the ruins of the city (later, as Senator, Hatfield opposed arms proliferation and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

). After Japan, he served in

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

, where he witnessed firsthand the wealth divide between the peasant Vietnamese and the colonial French bourgeoisie. After his discharge as a

Lieutenant (junior grade) Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), ...

, he spent one year at Willamette's law school, but decided politics or teaching better suited him. ark Hatfield ''

Statesman Journal The ''Statesman Journal'' is the major daily newspaper published in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1851 as the ''Oregon Statesman'', it later merged with the ''Capital Journal'' to form the current newspaper, the second-oldest in Orego ...

'', March 28, 2004. Hatfield then enrolled at Stanford University, where he obtained a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in political science in 1948. He returned to Salem and Willamette after Stanford and began working as an assistant professor in political science. During his tenure as professor, he built a political base by sending out messages and speaking at any public forum where he could get an invitation.

Political career

Mark Hatfield's career in public office spanned five decades as he held office in both the legislative and executive branches of Oregon's state government, including two terms as governor. On the national stage he became the longest serving U.S. Senator from Oregon and a candidate for the Republican Vice Presidential nomination in 1968. In the U.S. Senate he would twice serve as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, and twice be investigated for possible ethics violations.

Oregon

In 1950 while teaching

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and serving as dean of students at Willamette, Hatfield began his political career by winning election to the Oregon House of Representatives as a Republican. He defeated six others for the seat at a time when state assembly elections were still determined by county-wide votes. He served for two terms representing Marion County and Salem in the lower chamber of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. At the time he was the youngest legislator in Oregon and still lived at his parents' home.Eells, p. 25. Hatfield would teach early-morning classes and then walk across the street to the Capitol to legislate. In 1952 he won re-election to his seat in the Oregon House. He also received national attention for his early support for coaxing

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

to run for President of the United States as a Republican.Eells, p. 27. This earned him a spot as a delegate at the Republican National Convention that year. While in college he saw firsthand the discrimination against African Americans in Salem when he was tasked by his fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega, after a dinner with driving their guest, black artist

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplish ...

back to Portland, as African Americans were prohibited from staying in hotels in Salem. In 1953, he introduced and passed legislation in the House that prohibited discrimination based on race in public accommodations before federal legislation and court decisions did so on a national level. In 1954, Hatfield ran and won a seat in the Oregon State Senate representing Marion County. While in the legislature, he continued to apply the grassroots strategy he learned from Earl Snell, but expanded it to cover the entire state to increase his political base. After serving in the state senate, he became the youngest secretary of state in Oregon history after winning election in 1956 at age 34. Hatfield defeated fellow state senator

Monroe Sweetland Monroe Mark Sweetland (January 20, 1910 – September 10, 2006) was an American politician in the state of Oregon. A native of the state, he served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly starting in 1953 for a total of ten years. A De ...

for the office, receiving 51.3% of the vote in the November general election.Swarthout, John M
The 1956 Election in Oregon.
''The Western Political Quarterly'', Vol. 10, No. 1. (March, 1957), pp. 142-150. He took office on January 7, 1957, and remained until he resigned on January 12, 1959.Oregon Blue Book: Secretary of State Agency History, page 16.
Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on April 28, 2021. For his first run for

Governor of Oregon The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...

in 1958, the Republican Party opposed his candidacy going into the primary election. The large political base he had cultivated allowed him to win the party's primary despite the party's opposition. In the primary he defeated

Oregon State Treasurer The Oregon State Treasurer is a constitutional officer within the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon, elected by statewide vote to serve a four-year term. As chief financial officer for the state, the office holder head ...

Sig Unander for the Republican nomination.Swarthout, John M
"The 1958 Election in Oregon."
''The Western Political Quarterly'', Vol. 12, No. 1, Part 2. (March, 1959), pp. 328-344. In July 1958, after the primary election, Hatfield married Antoinette Kuzmanich, a counselor at Portland State College (now

). The marriage during the campaign drew some attention as the Catholic Kuzmanich converted to Hatfield's Baptist religion. They had four children: Elizabeth, Mark Jr., Theresa and Charles ("Visko"). He continued his campaign for the governor's office after the wedding, but avoided most public appearances with fellow Republican candidates for office and did not mention them during his campaign, despite requests by other Republicans for joint appearances. In the November general election Hatfield faced Democratic incumbent Robert D. Holmes. In the final days of the campaign U.S. Senator

Wayne Morse Wayne Lyman Morse (October 20, 1900 – July 22, 1974) was an American attorney and United States Senator from Oregon. Morse is well known for opposing his party's leadership and for his opposition to the Vietnam War on constitutional grounds. ...

, a Democrat, implied Hatfield lied in his trial regarding the deadly car accident when he was 17. This tactic backfired as the press denounced the comments, as did Holmes and other Democrats. Hatfield defeated Holmes, winning 55.3% of the vote in the election. That same election saw the Democratic Party gain a majority in both chambers of the state legislature for the first time since 1878. Holmes' defeat was attributed in part to the image and charisma portrayed by Hatfield and in part due to the campaign issues such as the declining economy, increased taxation, capital punishment, labor, and education. After the election, Holmes attempted to appoint David O'Hara as Secretary of State to replace Hatfield, who would have to resign to become governor. Hatfield appointed Howell Appling, Jr. to the office, and O'Hara challenged the appointment in state court. The

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.constitutional issue, with the appointment of Appling confirmed. He was the youngest governor in the history of Oregon at that point in time at the age of 36. In 1962 Hatfield had been considered a possible candidate to run against Morse for his Senate seat, but Hatfield instead ran for re-election.Balmer, Donald G
"The 1962 Election in Oregon"
. ''The Western Political Quarterly'', Vol. 16, No. 2, A Symposium: The 1962 Elections in the West (June, 1963), Western Political Science Association. pp. 453-459. He faced

Oregon Attorney General The Oregon Attorney General is a statutory office within the executive branch of the state of Oregon, and serves as the chief legal officer of the state, heading its Department of Justice with its six operating divisions. The attorney general is ch ...

Robert Y. Thornton in the general election, winning with 345,497 votes to Thornton's 265,359. He became the state's first two-term governor in the 20th century when he was re-elected in 1962, and later became only the second governor up to that point in the state's history to serve two full-terms. Hatfield gave the keynote speech at the

1964 Republican National Convention The 1964 Republican National Convention took place in the Cow Palace, Daly City, California, from July 13 to July 16, 1964. Before 1964, there had been only one national Republican convention on the West Coast, the 1956 Republican National Convent ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

that nominated Barry Goldwater and served as temporary chairman of the party during the convention. He advocated a moderate approach for the party and opposed the extreme conservatism associated with Goldwater and his supporters. He also was the only governor to vote against a resolution by the National Governors' Conference supporting the Johnson Administration's policy on the

, as Hatfield opposed the war, but pledged "unqualified and complete support" for the troops.The Viet Nam Race.
''Time'', October 14, 1966. He preferred the use of

economic sanctions Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they ma ...

to end the war. Hatfield was a popular Governor who supported Oregon's traditional industries of timber and agriculture, but felt that in the postwar era expansion of industry and funding for transportation and education needed to be priorities. While governor he worked to begin the diversification of the state's economy, such as recruiting industrial development and holding trade missions. As part of the initiative, he helped to found the Oregon Graduate Center in what is now the

Silicon Forest Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic tab ...

in Washington County in 1963.Nelson, Bryce
"Oregon Graduate Center: A New Portland Scientific Institution".
''

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

'', New Series, Vol. 157, No. 3793 (September 8, 1967), American Association for the Advancement of Science. pp. 1151-1154. A graduate level school in the Portland area (

Portland State Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

was still a college with no graduate programs at this time) was seen by business leaders as essential to attracting new industries and by

Tektronix Tektronix, Inc., historically widely known as Tek, is an American company best known for manufacturing test and measurement devices such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and video and mobile test protocol equipment. Originally an independent ...

as needed to retain highly skilled workers. In lieu of the standard portrait for former governors, Hatfield is represented by a marble bust at the Oregon State Capitol.

National

Limited to two terms as governor, Hatfield announced his candidacy in the 1966 U.S. Senate election for the seat vacated by the retiring

Maurine Neuberger Maurine Neuberger-Solomon, best known as Maurine Neuberger (née Brown; January 9, 1907February 22, 2000) was an American politician who served as a United States senator for the State of Oregon from November 1960 to January 1967. She was the fo ...

. During the

, and during an election year, he was one of the only people to vote against a resolution by a governors' conference that expressed support for the U.S. involvement in the war in 1966.Balmer, Donald G
The 1966 Election in Oregon.
''The Western Political Quarterly'', Vol. 20, No. 2, Part 2. (June, 1967), pp. 593–601. At that time the war was supported by 75 percent of the public, and was also supported by Hatfield's opponent in the November election. He won the primary election with 178,782 votes compared to a combined 56,760 votes for three opponents. Hatfield then defeated Democratic Congressman Robert Duncan in the election. In order to finish his term as governor, which ended on January 9, 1967, he delayed taking his oath of office in the Senate until January 10 instead of the usual January 3. Hatfield's re-election victory for governor in 1962 and successful Senate campaign in 1966 made him something of a national figure. In 1968, Hatfield was on

's short list for

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

, and received the strong backing of his friend, the Rev.

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

. Hatfield was considered too liberal by many conservatives and Southern moderates, and Nixon chose the more centrist

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Governor

Spiro Agnew Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second vice president to resign the position, the other being John ...

. Hatfield would later find himself at odds with Nixon over Vietnam and other issues, including a threat by Hatfield to reduce funding for the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

's legal department in 1973 during the

Watergate Scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...

, after Nixon had failed to use funds appropriated for renovating dams on the Columbia River. As a senator Hatfield took positions that made him hard to classify politically. In the Summer of 1969, he had told

Murray Rothbard Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School, economic historian, political theorist, and activist. Rothbard was a central figure in the 20th-century American libertarian ...

that he had "committed himself to the cause of libertarianism." Rothbard remarked concerning Hatfield, "obviously his voting record is not particularly libertarian – it's very good on foreign policy and the draft, but it's not too great on other things", adding that "in the abstract, at least, he is very favorable to libertarianism." Hatfield was opposed to

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

and the death penalty, though as governor he chose not to commute the sentence of a convicted murderer and allowed that execution to go forward. As a prominent evangelical Christian, he opposed government-sponsored school prayer and supported civil rights for minorities. Hatfield voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and the

Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 The Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, or Grove City Bill, is a United States legislative act that specifies that entities receiving federal funds must comply with civil rights legislation in all of their operations, not just in the program ...

, as well as to override

President Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

's veto, for the nomination of

Thurgood Marshall Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...

the Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

and the

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

establishing

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and sometimes referred to as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Mond ...

as a

federal holiday Federal holidays in the United States are the eleven calendar dates that are designated by the U.S. government as holidays. On U.S. federal holidays, non-essential federal government offices are closed and federal government employees are paid ...

. Hatfield voted against the Supreme Court nominations of

Clement Haynsworth Clement Furman Haynsworth Jr. (October 30, 1912 – November 22, 1989) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He was also an unsuccessful nominee for the United States Supreme Court in 1969 ...

and George Harrold Carswell, but voted in favor of the nominations of

William Rehnquist William Hubbs Rehnquist ( ; October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American attorney and jurist who served on the U.S. Supreme Court for 33 years, first as an associate justice from 1972 to 1986 and then as the 16th chief justice from ...

Robert Bork Robert Heron Bork (March 1, 1927 – December 19, 2012) was an American jurist who served as the solicitor general of the United States from 1973 to 1977. A professor at Yale Law School by occupation, he later served as a judge on the U.S. Cour ...

and

Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 1 ...

. Hatfield was the only Senator who voted for both Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas. In 1970, with Senator George McGovern (D-South Dakota), he co-sponsored the McGovern-Hatfield Amendment, which called for a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

.Egan, Timothy. Oregon's Hatfield to Retire After 5 Terms in Senate. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', December 2, 1995. In 1973 he explained to the Eugene Register-Guard his "Neighborhood Government Act" which he repeatedly introduced in congress. It would have permitted Americans to divert their personal federal tax money from Washington to their local community. He explained that his long-term goal was to have all social services provided at the neighborhood level. Mark Hatfield 1986

In 1981, Hatfield served as the chairman of the Congressional Joint Committee on Presidential Inaugurations, overseeing the first inauguration of Ronald Reagan in January of that year. On December 2, 1981, Hatfield was one of four senators to vote against an amendment to President Reagan's MX missiles proposal that would divert the silo system by $334 million as well as earmark further research for other methods that would allow giant missiles to be based. The vote was seen as a rebuff of the Reagan administration. In the 1980s, Hatfield co-sponsored

nuclear freeze The Nuclear Freeze campaign was a mass movement in the United States during the 1980s to secure an agreement between the U.S. and Soviet governments to halt the testing, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons. Background The idea of simply ...

legislation with Senator Edward M. Kennedy, as well as co-authoring a book on the topic. He also advocated for the closure of the

N-Reactor The N-Reactor was a water/graphite-moderated nuclear reactor constructed during the Cold War and operated by the U.S. government at the Hanford Site in Washington; it began production in 1963. It was a one-of-a-kind design in the U.S., being bo ...

at the Hanford Nuclear Site in the 1980s, though he was a supporter of

nuclear fusion Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei are combined to form one or more different atomic nuclei and subatomic particles ( neutrons or protons). The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manife ...

programs. The N-Reactor was used for producing weapons grade plutonium while producing electricity. Hatfield frequently broke with his party on issues of national defense and foreign policy in support for

non-interventionism Non-interventionism or non-intervention is a political philosophy or national foreign policy doctrine that opposes interference in the domestic politics and affairs of other countries but, in contrast to isolationism, is not necessarily opposed t ...

, such as military spending and the ban on travel to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, while often siding with them on environmental and conservation issues. Senator Hatfield supported increased logging on federal lands. He was the lone Republican to vote against the 1981 fiscal year's appropriations bill for the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

. He was rated as the sixth most respected senator in a 1987 survey by fellow senators. In 1991, Hatfield voted against authorizing military action against

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

in the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

, one of only two members of his party to do so in the Senate. Most famously, in 1995, Hatfield was the deciding vote against a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

Scandal and rebukes

Hatfield was sometimes called "Saint Mark" because of his squeaky-clean reputation, but in 1984 columnist Jack Anderson revealed that Hatfield's wife Antoinette, a Washington, D.C., real estate lawyer, had been paid $55,000 by Greek arms dealer Basil Tsakos in connection with a real estate purchase. Tsakos had been lobbying Hatfield, then Appropriations Committee chairman, to support a trans-Africa oil pipeline megaproject. The Hatfields apologized and donated $55,000 to a Portland hospital.Headliners.
''

'', January 20, 1985. The Senate Ethics Committee investigated and decided to take no action. However, after Hatfield's death, an FBI report released under Freedom of Information law revealed that Tsakos had been indicted for bribery and had offered to plead guilty to lesser charges (though this never occurred), and that the Department of Justice had decided against charging Hatfield in the case. In 1991, it was also revealed that Hatfield had failed to report a number of expensive gifts from the president of the University of South Carolina, James B. Holderman. Again, he apologized. But the

Senate Ethics Committee The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics is a select committee of the United States Senate charged with dealing with matters related to senatorial ethics. It is also commonly referred to as the Senate Ethics Committee. Senate rules require the ...

rebuked Hatfield for the latter act. Hatfield received another rebuke from the Senate after the Ethics Committee investigated two gifts that he had received in the form of forgiven loans from a former congressman and a California businessman. Mark O

His final re-election campaign came in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

against businessman

Harry Lonsdale Harold K. Lonsdale (January 19, 1932 – November 11, 2014) was an American scientist, businessman, and politician. A Democrat, he ran for United States Senate in the U.S. state of Oregon three times, losing twice in the primaries and once as the ...

.Oreskes, Michael
'Anti-Incumbent Fever' Threatens Oregon Senator.
''

'', October 23, 1990. Lonsdale aggressively went after Hatfield with television attack ads that attacked Hatfield as out of touch on issues such as abortion and timber management and accused the incumbent of being too closely allied with special interest groups in Washington. Lonsdale's tactics moved him even with, and then ahead of Hatfield in some polls. Hatfield, who had typically stayed above the fray of negative campaigning, was forced to respond in kind with attack ads of his own. He raised $1 million in a single month after trailing Lonsdale in the polls before the November election. He defeated the Democrat with 590,095 (53.7 percent) votes to 507,743 (46.2 percent) votes.

Length of service

In 1993, he became the longest-serving senator from Oregon, surpassing the record of 9,726 days in office previously held by

Charles McNary Charles Linza McNary (June 12, 1874February 25, 1944) was an American Republican Party (United States), Republican politician from Oregon. He served in the United States Senate, U.S. Senate from 1917 to 1944 and was Party leaders of the United ...

. In 1995, Hatfield was the only Republican in the Senate to vote against the proposed balanced budget amendment, and was the deciding vote that prevented the passage of the bill. In 1996 the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, a group he served on previously, granted him their Distinguished Service Award. Hatfield retired in 1996, having never lost an election in 46 years and 11 campaigns as an elected official. During his tenure he gained billions of dollars in the form of federal appropriations for projects in Oregon. This included funding for transportation projects, environmental protection of wilderness areas and scenic rivers, research facilities, and health care facilities.

Later years and legacy

After retiring from political office, he returned to Oregon and teaching, joining the faculty of

George Fox University George Fox University is a private Christian university in Newberg, Oregon. Founded as a school for Quakers in 1891, it is now the largest private university in Oregon with more than 4,000 students combined between its main campus in Newberg, it ...

in Newberg, Oregon. In 2006, he was named the Herbert Hoover Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Politics at the school. Additionally, he taught at the Hatfield School of Government at

, which is named in his honor, and lectured at

and

Lewis & Clark College Lewis & Clark College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Originally chartered in 1867 as the Albany Collegiate Institute in Albany, Oregon, the college was relocated to Portland in 1938 and in 1942 adopted the name Lewis & C ...

while living in Portland. In July 1999, Hatfield and his wife were passengers on a tour bus when a car collided with the bus.Walth, Brent and Jonathan Nelson. Deadly accident drives Hatfields to campaign for bus seat belts... ''

'', July 30, 1999. They received only minor injuries, but the experience led them to advocate for seat belts to be required on buses. Numerous buildings, organizations, awards, and outdoor areas have been named in honor of Hatfield. These include: * The Mark O. Hatfield Library at Willamette University *Awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree from

Whittier College Whittier College (Whittier Academy (1887–1901)) is a private liberal arts college in Whittier, California. It is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and, as of fall 2022, had approximately 1,300 (undergraduate and graduate) students. It was ...

in 1963. *

* Hatfield School of Government at

* The Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center at the

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

* Mark O. Hatfield Research Center at

Oregon Health & Science University Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a public research university focusing primarily on health sciences with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland, Oregon. The institution was founded in 1887 as the University of Oregon Med ...

(OHSU) * The

Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness The Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness is a wilderness area located on the northern side of Mount Hood in the northwestern Cascade Range, Cascades of the U.S. state of Oregon, near the Columbia River Gorge and within Mount Hood National Forest. Prior to ...

* Mark O. Hatfield Institute for International Understanding at Southwestern Oregon Community College *

Hatfield Government Center station Hatfield Government Center is a light rail station on the in downtown Hillsboro, Oregon, United States, owned and operated by TriMet. The station is the western terminus of the MAX Blue Line. Opened in 1998, it is located in the same block as the ...

at the western terminus of the

MAX Blue Line The MAX Blue Line is a light rail service in Portland, Oregon, United States, operated by TriMet as part of the MAX Light Rail system. It travels east–west for approximately —the longest in the network—between Hillsboro, Beaverton, Po ...

light rail in Hillsboro *

* The Mark Hatfield trailhead at the western end of the

Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

in the

Columbia River Gorge The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the st ...

; * The Mark Hatfield Award for clinical research in Alzheimer's disease * The Mark O. Hatfield Leadership Award presented by the

Council for Christian Colleges and Universities The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) is a global organization of evangelical Christian colleges and universities. The headquarters is in Washington, D.C. History In 1976, presidents of colleges in the Christian College Co ...

* The Mark O. Hatfield Distinguished Historians Forum, speaker series presented by the Oregon Historical Society. Work is underway to start a Mark O. Hatfield Memorial Trail in the Columbia River Gorge, a 60-mile trail through much of the Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness area. From February 2000 to May 2008 Hatfield served on the board of directors for Oregon Health & Science University. His papers and book collection are stored in the Willamette University Archives and Special Collections, inside the Mark O. Hatfield Library. Senator Hatfield merited his own chapter in

Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of '' ...

's ''The Greatest Generation''. In 2014, a 90-minute documentary about Hatfield's Life and Career called ''The Gentleman of the Senate: Oregon's Mark Hatfield'' was released. Hatfield was admitted to the Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research hospital at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland in November 2010 for observation after his health began to decline. Mark Hatfield died at a care facility in Portland on August 7, 2011, after several years of illness. A specific cause of death was not immediately given.

Works authored

A selection of items Hatfield authored or contributed to:Search results for 'au:Mark O Hatfield'.
WorldCat. Retrieved on June 17, 2008.

Author

*''Not Quite So Simple'' (1968), *''Conflict and Conscience'' (1971), *''Between a Rock and a Hard Place'' (1976), *''Against the Grain: Reflections of a Rebel Republican'' (2000),

Contributor

*''Amnesty?: The Unsettled Question of Vietnam'' (1973), *''Social Power and Political Freedom'' (1980), (introduction) *''Freeze! How You Can Help Prevent Nuclear War'' (1982), (with

Edward Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...

) *''Real Christianity'' (1982), (introduction) *''What About the Russians: A Christian Approach to US-Soviet Conflict'' (1984), *''Vice Presidents of the United States: 1789-1993'' (1997), (editor)

References

External links

Hatfield tribute page
from Willamette University
Hatfield Records
from the

Oregon State Archives The Archives Division of the Office of the Secretary of State of Oregon, or the Oregon State Archives, is an agency of the Oregon Secretary of State charged with preserving and providing access to government records. The Oregon State Archives is ...

Mark O. Hatfield (1922–2011)
from the Oregon Historical Society
Hatfield voting record
from the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

''
Hatfield retrospective
from George Fox University * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hatfield, Mark Odom 1922 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American politicians 20th-century Protestants 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century Protestants Alpha Phi Omega American anti–Vietnam War activists American anti-war activists American evangelicals American male non-fiction writers United States Navy personnel of World War II American political writers Burials at Willamette National Cemetery Death in Oregon George Fox University faculty Republican Party governors of Oregon Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Members of the United States Assay Commission Military personnel from Oregon Non-interventionism North Salem High School (Salem, Oregon) alumni Oregon Graduate Institute people Oregon Health & Science University people Republican Party Oregon state senators People from Dallas, Oregon Politicians from Salem, Oregon Recipients of the Four Freedoms Award Republican Party United States senators from Oregon Secretaries of State of Oregon Stanford University alumni United States Navy officers Willamette University College of Law alumni Willamette University faculty Writers from Portland, Oregon