Charles William Whalen Jr (July 31, 1920 – June 27, 2011) was an American politician from Ohio. Whalen was a member of the Republican Party who served in the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

Ohio State Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such t ...

, and the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. In his six terms in the U.S. House, Whalen established himself in the liberal wing of the Republican Party and led opposition to U.S. involvement in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

Early life

Born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, Whalen graduated from Oakwood High School, from the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a Private university, private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the U ...

with a degree in

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

in 1942, and from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Graduate School of Business in 1946. He enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was discharged as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

in 1946. After his discharge from the service, he worked at his father's company, Dayton Dress Company as a vice president from 1946 to 1952, and was a professor of economics and chairman of the department at the

from 1962 to 1966.

Ohio state legislator

In 1954, Whalen was elected to the

where he served for three terms until his election to the

in 1960. He served three terms in the Senate before entering Congress. In 1962, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for

Lieutenant Governor of Ohio The position of lieutenant governor of Ohio was established in 1852. The lieutenant governor becomes Governor of Ohio, governor if the governor resigns, dies in office or is removed via impeachment conviction. Before 1852, the president of the Oh ...

. In a crowded primary, his main opponent in the race was

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

, a former two-term Lieutenant Governor who also served as

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

for 11 days after the resignation of

Frank Lausche Frank John Lausche (; November 14, 1895 – April 21, 1990) was an American Democratic politician from Ohio. He served as the 47th mayor of Cleveland and the 55th and 57th governor of Ohio, and also served as a United States Senator from Ohi ...

. Whalen finished second taking 15.8% of the vote in the six-way primary. As a Senator, Whalen fought for a Fair Housing Law in Ohio.

U.S. representative

Whalen next ran for Congress in 1966. During the election, he walked 880 miles around his district to meet voters. In the general election, he defeated freshman incumbent Rodney Love with 53.8% of the vote. In five more races, Whalen was never seriously challenged. He won 78% of the vote in 1968, a year when Hubert H. Humphrey won his district. He followed that in 1970 and 1972 with 76% and 74%, respectively. In 1974, a year that the Republicans faced fallout from the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...

, he was the only Republican with no challengers in the primary or general election. Whalen had a liberal voting record in the House, although he opposed abortion, due to his Catholic faith. In 1967, he and four other Republicans authored a position paper “How to End the Draft: The Case for an All-Volunteer Army” and introduced legislation to end the draft. He was also an opponent of the

who supported legislation to reduce the military budget and to introduce a timetable for the withdrawal of American forces from Vietnam. In 1971, he and

Lucien Nedzi Lucien Norbert Nedzi (May 28, 1925 – June 9, 2025) was an American attorney and politician from Michigan who served as public administrator of Wayne County, Michigan, from 1955 to 1961 and a member of the United States House of Representatives ...

introduced the Nedzi-Whalen Amendment to a military procurement bill that would have prohibited the use of funds for the bill to be used in Southeast Asia after the end of 1971. In his final term, he supported efforts to eliminate the

B-1 bomber B1, B.I, B.1 or B-1 may refer to: Biology and chemistry * Bradykinin receptor B1, a human protein * Cinnamtannin B1, a condensed tannin found in cinnamon * Combretastatin B-1, a stilbenoid found in ''Combretum sp.'' * Fumonisin B1, a toxins pr ...

program. In 1973, Whalen authored the book "Your Right to Know: How the Free Flow of News Depends on the Journalist's Right to Protect His Sources," which has an introduction written by

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' from 1962 to 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trust ...

. His voting record increasingly put him at odds with his own party.

Congressional Quarterly ''Congressional Quarterly'', or ''CQ'', is an American publication that is part of the privately owned publishing company CQ Roll Call, which covers the United States Congress. ''CQ'' was formerly acquired by the U.K.-based Economist Group and ...

estimated that, in 1974, he voted against the majority of his party members 72% of the time. In 1977, he acknowledged that he had spoken with the Democratic Party leadership about switching parties. While Ohio state law would have made this difficult, he also considered running as an independent in 1978. Whalen was one of three House Republicans to oppose a tax cut bill sponsored by

Jack Kemp Jack French Kemp (July 13, 1935 – May 2, 2009) was an American politician, professional Gridiron football, football player, and U.S. Army veteran. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party from New York, he served a ...

(R-NY) and

William Roth William Victor Roth Jr. (July 22, 1921 – December 13, 2003) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington, Delaware. He was a veteran of World War II and a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republi ...

(R-DE), the other two being

Millicent Fenwick Millicent Vernon Fenwick (née Hammond; February 25, 1910 – September 16, 1992) was an American fashion editor, politician, and diplomat. A four-term Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey, she was reno ...

(R-NJ) and Paul Findley (R-IL). Ultimately, he decided not to run for re-election in 1978. Whalen was succeeded 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Tony P. Hall Tony Patrick Hall (born January 16, 1942) is an American politician, businessman, and diplomat who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives, representing Ohio's 3rd congressional district fro ...

. After he left Congress, Whalen switched his party registration to Democratic.

Later life

After his retirement from Congress, Whalen authored two books with his wife Barbara, a former columnist for the Dayton Journal Herald and the voice of

Elsie the Cow Elsie the Cow is a cartoon cow developed as a mascot for the Borden Dairy Company in 1936 to symbolize the "perfect dairy product". Since the demise of Borden in the mid-1990s, the character has continued to be used in the same capacity for the ...

. The first, "The Longest Debate: A Legislative History of the 1964 Civil Rights Act", chronicled the legislative process behind the passage of the Civil Rights Act. His second book, "The

Fighting McCooks The Fighting McCooks were members of a family of Ohioans who reached prominence as officers in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Two brothers, Daniel and John McCook, and thirteen of their sons were involved in the army, making the fam ...

– America's Famous Fighting Family", discussed a local family with a long military history.

Death

Whalen died in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

on June 27, 2011. He was 90.

References

Sources

* Whalen, Charles W. Jr. and Barbara Whalen. The Longest Debate: A Legislative History of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Cabin John, MD: Seven Locks Press, 1985. {{DEFAULTSORT:Whalen, Charles William 1920 births 2011 deaths Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Republican Party Ohio state senators Politicians from Dayton, Ohio University of Dayton alumni Harvard Business School alumni University of Dayton faculty Writers from Dayton, Ohio United States Army officers Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Historians from Ohio United States Army personnel of World War II Ohio Democrats 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly