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Claude Pepper

Claude Denson Pepper (September 8, 1900 – May 30, 1989) was an American politician of the Democratic Party. He represented Florida in the United States Senate from 1936 to 1951, and the Miami area in the United States House of Representatives from 1963 until 1989. He was considered a spokesman for left-liberalism and the elderly.[1][2]

Claude Pepper
Chair of the House Rules Committee
In office
January 3, 1983 – May 30, 1989
Preceded byRichard W. Bolling
Succeeded byJoe Moakley
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida
In office
January 3, 1963 – May 30, 1989
Preceded byBob Sikes
Succeeded byIleana Ros-Lehtinen
Constituency3rd district (1963–1967)
11th district (1967–1973)
14th district (1973–1983)
18th district (1983–1989)
United States Senator
from Florida
In office
November 4, 1936 – January 3, 1951
Preceded byWilliam Luther Hill
Succeeded byGeorge Smathers
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the Taylor County district
In office
1929–1931
Preceded byW. T. Hendry
Succeeded byA. H. Wentworth
Personal details
Born
Claude Denson Pepper

(1900-09-08)September 8, 1900
near Dudleyville, Alabama, U.S.
DiedMay 30, 1989(1989-05-30) (aged 88)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Mildred Webster
(m. 1936; died 1979)
EducationUniversity of Alabama (AB)
Harvard University (LLB)
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1918
RankPrivate
UnitStudent Army Training Corps
Battles/warsWorld War I

Born in Chambers County, Alabama, Pepper established a legal practice in Perry, Florida, after graduating from Harvard Law School. After serving a single term in the Florida House of Representatives, Pepper won a 1936 special election to succeed Senator Duncan U. Fletcher. Pepper became one of the most prominent liberals in Congress, supporting legislation such as the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. After World War II, Pepper's conciliatory views towards the Soviet Union and opposition to President Harry Truman's 1948 re-nomination engendered opposition within the party. Pepper lost the 1950 Senate Democratic primary to Congressman George Smathers, and returned to private legal practice the following year.

In 1962, Pepper won election to a newly created district in the United States House of Representatives. He emerged as a staunch anti-Communist, and strongly criticized Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Pepper served as chairman of the House Committee on Aging, and pursued reforms to Social Security and Medicare. From 1983 to 1989, he served as chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee. He died in office in 1989, and was honored with a state funeral. In 2000, the United States Postal Service issued a 33¢ Distinguished Americans series postage stamp honoring Pepper.

Early life edit

Claude Denson Pepper was born on September 8, 1900, in Chambers County, Alabama,[3] the son of farmers Lena Corine Talbot (1877–1961) and Joseph Wheeler Pepper (1873–1945).[3] Pepper was the fourth child born to his parents; the first three died in infancy.[3] Pepper was an only child until he was ten years old; his younger siblings were Joseph, Sara and Frank.[3] He attended school in Dudleyville and Camp Hill, and graduated from Camp Hill High School in 1917.[3] He then operated a hat cleaning and repair business, taught school in Dothan and worked in an Ensley steel mill before beginning studies at the University of Alabama.[3]

While in college he joined the Army for World War I and served in the Student Army Training Corps (SATC, precursor to the Reserve Officers' Training Corps).[3] The war ended before he saw active service, and after the SATC was disbanded, Pepper joined the ROTC.[4] While lifting ammunition crates during a training event, Pepper suffered a double hernia, which required surgery to correct.[3][4] After graduating from the University of Alabama with his A.B. degree in 1921, Pepper was able to use his veterans' and disability benefits to attend Harvard Law School, and he received his LL.B. in 1924.[3]

Career edit

Pepper taught law at the University of Arkansas (where his students included J. William Fulbright) and then moved to Perry, Florida, where he opened a law practice.[3] Pepper was a member of the Florida Democratic Party's executive committee from 1928 to 1929.[5]

He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1928 and served from 1929 to 1931.[3][6][7][8] During his term, Pepper served as chairman of the House's Committee on Constitutional Amendments.[9] In response to the Great Depression, Governor Doyle E. Carlton proposed austerity measures including layoffs of state employees and large tax cuts.[10] Pepper was among those who opposed Carlton's program, and popular support was with Carlton, so Pepper was among many legislators who lost when they ran for renomination in 1930.[10]

After being defeated for renomination, Pepper moved his law practice to Tallahassee, the state capital.[9] In 1931, he met Mildred Webster outside the governor's office.[9] They began dating, and they married in St. Petersburg on December 29, 1936.[9] They remained married until her death in 1979, and had no children.[9]

Florida government edit

Pepper served on the Florida Board of Public Welfare from 1931 to 1932,[9] and was a member of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners in 1933.[5]

U.S. Senate edit

 
Newsman covering U.S. Senator Claude Pepper's campaign in 1938.

In 1934, Pepper ran for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, challenging incumbent Park Trammell. Pepper lost to Trammell in the primary runoff 51%–49%.[11] But Pepper was unopposed in the 1936 special election following the death of Senator Duncan U. Fletcher, and succeeded William Luther Hill, who had been appointed pending the special election. In the Senate, Pepper became a leading New Dealer and close ally of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was unusually articulate and intellectual, and, collaborating with labor unions, he was often the leader of the liberal-left forces in the Senate. His reelection in a heavily fought primary in 1938 solidified his reputation as the most prominent liberal in Congress. His campaign based on a wages-hours bill, which soon became the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. He sponsored the Lend-Lease Act. He joined other Southern senators to filibuster an anti-lynching bill in 1937,[12] but broke with them to support anti-poll tax legislation in the 1940s.[13]

In 1943, a confidential analysis by Isaiah Berlin of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the British Foreign Office described Pepper as:

A loud-voiced and fiery New Deal politician. Before Pearl Harbor, he was a most ardent interventionist. He is equally Russophile and apt to be critical of British Imperial policy. He is an out and out internationalist and champion of labour and negro rights (Florida has no poll tax) and thus a passionate supporter of the Administration's more internationalist policies. He is occasionally used by the President for the purpose of sending up trial balloons in matters of foreign policy. With all these qualities, he is, in his methods, a thoroughly opportunist politician.[14]

Because of the power of the Conservative Coalition, he usually lost on domestic policy. He was, however, more successful in promoting an international foreign policy based on friendship with the Soviet Union. In 1946, Pepper appeared frequently in the national press and began to eye the 1948 presidential race. He considered running with his close friend and fellow liberal, former Vice President Henry A. Wallace, with whom he was active in the Southern Conference for Human Welfare.[15]

"Eisenhower Boom" edit

Pepper was re-elected in 1944.

By 1947, momentum was growing for the Draft Eisenhower movement. On September 10, 1947, US General Dwight D. Eisenhower disclaimed any association with the movement.[16] In mid-September 1947, US Representative W. Sterling Cole of New York voiced opposition to the nomination of Eisenhower or any other military leader, including George C. Marshall and Douglas MacArthur.[17] In December 1947, an actor impersonating Eisenhower sang "Kiss Me Again" during a political dinner in Washington, DC, whose attendees including President Truman (Democratic incumbent) and numerous Republican potential candidates: the song's refrain ran "but it's too soon. Some time next June, ask me, ask me again, ask me, ask me again."[18] On April 3, 1948, Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), led by members Adolf A. Berle Jr. and Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr., declared its decision to support a ticket of Eisenhower and Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas.[19] On April 5, 1948, Eisenhower stated his position remained unchanged: he would not accept a nomination.[20] In mid-April 1948, American labor unions had entered the debate, as William B. Green, president of the American Federation of Labor, criticized the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) for supporting the "Eisenhower Boom".[21]

On July 2, 1948, the White House sent George E. Allen, friend and adviser to both Truman and Eisenhower, to the general to persuade him to make yet another denial about his candidacy.[22] On July 3, 1948, Democratic state organizations in Georgia and Virginia openly backed Eisenhower, as did former New York state court judge Jeremiah T. Mahoney.[23][24][25][26] The same day, Progressive presumptive candidate Wallace scorned the Eisenhower boom's southern supporters, saying, "They have reason to believe that Ike is reactionary because of his testimony on the draft and UMT [Universal Military Training]."[27] On July 4, 1948, rumors abounded, e.g., Eisenhower would accept an "honest draft"[28] or (from the Los Angeles Times) Eisenhower would accept the nomination if made by Truman himself.[29] On July 5, 1948, a New York Times survey completed the previous day revealed that support for Eisenhower as Democratic nominee for president was "increasing among delegates", fueled by an "Anti-Truman Group" led by James Roosevelt of California, Jacob Arvey of Illinois, and William O'Dwyer of New York.[30][31][32] US Senator John C. Stennis of Mississippi declared his support for Eisenhower.[33] At 10:30 PM that night, Eisenhower issued an internal memo at Columbia for release by the university's PR director that "I will not, at this time, identify myself with any political party, and could not accept nomination for public office or participate in a partisan political contest."[34] Support persisted nonetheless,[35] and on July 6, 1948, a local Philadelphia group seized on Eisenhower's phrases about "political party" and "partisan political contest" and declared their continued support for him.[36] The same day, Truman supporters expressed their satisfaction with the Eisenhower memo and confidence in the nomination.[37] By July 7, 1948, the week before the 1948 Democratic National Convention, the Draft Eisenhower movement drifted onwards, despite flat denials by Eisenhower[38] and despite public declarations of confidence by Truman [39] and Democratic Party national chairman J. Howard McGrath.[40] Nevertheless, 5,000 admirers gathered in front of Eisenhower's Columbia residence to ask him to run.[41]

In 1948, Pepper supported not his friend Henry A. Wallace but Eisenhower.[1] In fact, on July 7, 1948, Pepper went further than any other supporter with an extraordinary proposal:

Senator Claude Pepper of Florida called on the Democratic party today to transform itself temporarily into a national movement, draft Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower as a "national" and hence "nonpartisan" Presidential candidate and promise him substantial control of the party's national convention opening in Philadelphia next week.
It would be necessary, Mr. Pepper suggested, for the convention to invite General Eisenhower to write his own platform and to pick the Vice~Presidential nominee.
Moreover, the Senator said, the general should be assured that the Democrats would never make partisan claims on him, and he should be presented not as a "Democratic" candidate but the candidate of a convention "speaking not as Democrats but simply as Americans."[42]

Pepper managed to gain support from ADA.[43] The Draft Ike movement gained support from the CIO, the Liberal Party of New York State, Democratic local leaders (Jacob Arvey of Chicago, Frank Hague of New Jersey, Mayor William O'Dwyer of New York City, and Mayor Hubert Humphrey of Minneapolis), as well as ADA leaders Leon Henderson and James Roosevelt II.[44] Eisenhower made repeated statements that he would not accept the Democratic Party's nomination well into July, just ahead of the 1948 Democratic National Convention.[45] When Eisenhower, who accepted to become president of Columbia University in January 1948) made three statements refusing the nomination during July 1948, Pepper and others gave up and provided lukewarm support to Harry S. Truman.[citation needed] His third and last denial, sent by telegram to Pepper, ended the "Eisenhower Boom", and delegates began to reconsider Truman.[46] (Pepper also made a bid for presidential candidacy but withdrew it.[47]) On the evening of July 9, 1948, Roosevelt conceded at "Eisenhower-for-President headquarters" that the general would not accept a nomination.[48] During the convention (July 12–14, 1948) and after, concern persisted that the Eisenhower Boom had weakened Truman's hopes in the November 1948 elections.[49][50]

In 1950, Pepper lost his bid for a third full term in 1950 by a margin of over 60,000 votes. Ed Ball, a power in state politics who had broken with Pepper, financed his opponent, U.S. Representative George A. Smathers. A former supporter of Pepper, Smathers repeatedly attacked "Red Pepper" for having far-left sympathies, condemning both his support for universal health care and his alleged support for the Soviet Union. Pepper had traveled to the Soviet Union in 1945 and, after meeting Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, declared he was "a man Americans could trust."[51] Because of his left-of-center sympathies with people like Wallace and actor-activist Paul Robeson and because of his bright red hair, he became widely nicknamed "Red Pepper".[1]

At a speech made on November 11, 1946, before a pro-Soviet group known as Ambijan, which supported the creation of a Soviet Jewish republic in the far east of the USSR, Pepper told his listeners that "Probably nowhere in the world are minorities given more freedom, recognition and respect than in the Soviet Union [and] nowhere in the world is there so little friction, between minority and majority groups, or among minorities." Democracy was "growing" in that country, he added, and he asserted that the Soviets were making such contributions to democracy "that many who decry it might well imitate and emulate rather than despair."

Two years later, on November 21, 1948, speaking to the same group, he again lauded the Soviet Union, calling it a nation which has recognized the dignity of all people, a nation wherein discrimination against anybody on account of race is a crime, and which was in fundamental sympathy with the progress of mankind.[52]

Communist allegations edit

Regarding the 1950 Florida Senate election, President Harry Truman called George Smathers into a meeting at the White House and reportedly said, "I want you to do me a favor. I want you to beat that son-of-a-bitch Claude Pepper."[51] Pepper had been part of an unsuccessful 1948 campaign to "dump Truman" as the Democratic presidential nominee. Smathers ran against him in the Democratic primary (which at the time in Florida was tantamount to election, the Republican Party still being in infancy there). The contest was extremely heated, and revolved around policy issues, especially charges that Pepper represented the far left and was too supportive of Stalin. Pepper's opponents circulated widely a 49-page booklet titled The Red Record of Senator Claude Pepper.[53] Pepper was defeated in the primary by Smathers.

Law practice edit

Pepper returned to law practice in Miami and Washington, failing in a comeback bid to regain a Senate seat in the 1958 Democratic primary in which he challenged his former colleague, Spessard Holland.[54] However, Pepper did carry eleven counties, including populous Dade County where he later staged a remarkable comeback.

U.S. House edit

 
Portrait of Pepper in the Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives

In 1962, Pepper was elected to the United States House of Representatives from a newly created liberal district around Miami and Miami Beach established due to population growth in the area, becoming one of very few former United States Senators in modern times (the only other examples being James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. from New York, Hugh Mitchell from Washington, Alton Lennon from North Carolina, Garrett Withers from Kentucky, and Magnus Johnson from Minnesota) to be elected to the House after their Senate careers.[citation needed] (Matthew M. Neely from West Virginia and Charles A. Towne from New York via Minnesota were also elected to the House after their Senate careers, but they had been elected to the House before their Senate careers as well.)

Pepper remained a member of the House until his death in 1989, rising to chair of the powerful Rules Committee in 1983. Despite a reputation as a leftist in his youth, Pepper turned staunchly anti-communist in the last third of his life, opposing Cuban leader Fidel Castro and supporting aid to the Nicaraguan Contras. Pepper voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968,[55][56] and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[57] Pepper would be the only Representative from Florida who would vote in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[58]

In the early 1970s, Pepper chaired the Joint House–Senate Committee on Crime; then, in 1977, he became chair of the new House Select Committee on Aging, which became his base as he emerged as the nation's foremost spokesman for the elderly, especially regarding Social Security programs. He succeeded in strengthening Medicare.[citation needed] In 1980 the committee under Pepper's leadership initiated what became a four-year investigation into health care scams that preyed on older people; the report, published in 1984 and commonly called "The Pepper Report", was entitled "Quackery, a $10 Billion Scandal".[59]

In the 1980s, he worked with Alan Greenspan in a major reform of the Social Security system that maintained its solvency by slowly raising the retirement age, thus cutting benefits for workers retiring in their mid-60s, and in 1986 he obtained the passage of a federal law that abolished most mandatory retirement ages.[citation needed] In his later years, Pepper, who customarily began each day by eating a bowl of tomato soup with crackers, sported a replaced hip and hearing aids in both ears, but continued to remain an important and often lionized figure in the House.[citation needed]

In 1988, Pepper sponsored a legislation to create the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).[60] Enacted during his final term, the NCBI has revolutionized the exchange, sharing and analysis of genetic information and aided researchers worldwide to achieve advances in medical, computational and biological sciences.[60]

Pepper became known as the "grand old man of Florida politics". He was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1938 and 1983. During this time, Republicans often joked that he and House Speaker Tip O'Neill were the only Democrats who really drove President Ronald Reagan crazy.

Personal life and death edit

On May 26, 1989, Pepper was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H. W. Bush.[61] Four days later, Pepper died in his sleep from stomach cancer.[61] His body lay in state for two days in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol;[62] he was the 26th American so honored and was the last person to lie in state in the Capitol rotunda with an open casket. Pepper was buried at Oakland Cemetery in Tallahassee.[63] A special election was held in August 1989 to fill his seat, won by Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who served until retiring at the conclusion of the 115th Congress.[64]

Legacy edit

 
Statue of Claude Pepper in Miami

A number of places in Florida are named for Pepper, including the Claude Pepper Center[65] at Florida State University (housing a think tank devoted to intercultural dialogue in conjunction with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and an institute on aging)[66] and the Claude Pepper Federal Building in Miami, as well as several public schools.[67][68] Large sections of U.S. Route 27 in Florida are named Claude Pepper Memorial Highway.[69] Since 2002, the Democratic Executive Committee (DEC) of Lake County has held an annual "Claude Pepper Dinner" to honor Pepper's tireless support for senior citizens.[70] The Claude Pepper Building (building number 31) at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland is also named for him.[71]

Pepper's wife Mildred was well known and respected for her humanitarian work and was honored with a number of places in Florida named in her honor.[72][73][74] A year after his passing, Claude Pepper was honored in a play written by Shepard Nevel and directed by Phillip Church. Pepper[75] premiered in June 1990 to a full house at the Colony Theater in Miami Beach. In 1993, Bradenton, Florida actor Kelly Reynolds portrayed Pepper in several performances held at area schools, libraries and nursing homes.[76]

Awards edit

In 1982, Pepper received the Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, an annual presentation of the Jefferson Awards.[77]

In 1983, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[78][79]

In 1985, the Roosevelt Institute awarded Pepper its Four Freedoms medal.[80]

Also in 1985, Pepper was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters from Florida State University for his public service.[81]

Pepper would be posthumously inducted into the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame on February 29, 2012, in a ceremony held by Florida Governor Rick Scott in the Florida State Capitol. He was one of the first three along with Mary McLeod Bethune and Charles Kenzie Steele Sr to be inducted into it.[82]

Bibliography edit

  • Eyewitness to a Century with Hays Gorey (1987) – an autobiography

See also edit

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ a b c Thomas, Reginald (May 31, 1989). "Claude Pepper, Fiery Fighter For Elderly Rights, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  2. ^ "Courtly Champion of America's Elderly". The New York Times Magazine. November 29, 1981. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Kabat, Ric A. (October 1, 1993). "From Camp Hill to Harvard Yard: The Early Years of Claude D. Pepper". The Florida Historical Quarterly. Cocoa, FL: Florida Historical Society. pp. 153–179. JSTOR 30148692.
  4. ^ a b Danese, Tracy E. (1997). Claude Pepper and Ed Ball: A Study in Contrasting Political Purposes. Tallahassee, FL: Florida State University. p. 70.
  5. ^ a b Directory of the American Political Science Association. Chicago, IL: Northwestern University. 1945. p. 116.
  6. ^ "ELECTION NOTICE". Tallahassee Democrat. November 30, 1928. p. 11.
  7. ^ . Archived from the original on September 6, 2016.
  8. ^ "AGE 1WO ANTI-CARLTON ELEMENT LOSES IN BIG RACES". The Tampa Tribune. June 5, 1930. p. 2.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Rawls, Mallary (May 4, 2015). "Claude Pepper's Time in Tallahassee". Florida State University Special Collections. Tallahassee, FL.
  10. ^ a b "Anti-Carlton Element Loses in Big Races". The Tampa Tribune. Tampa, FL. June 5, 1920. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "FL US Senate – D Runoff Race – Jun 26, 1934". 1934.
  12. ^ Hobbs, Tameka Bradley (2000). (PDF) (Thesis). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 13, 2006.
  13. ^ Bloch Rubin, Ruth (2017). Building the Bloc : Intraparty Organization in the US Congress. Cambridge University Press. pp. 134–36. ISBN 978-1-108-22696-7. OCLC 1027206038.
  14. ^ Hachey, Thomas E. (Winter 1973–1974). "American Profiles on Capitol Hill: A Confidential Study for the British Foreign Office in 1943". Wisconsin Magazine of History. 57 (2): 141–153. JSTOR 4634869.
  15. ^ "Claude D. Pepper – Encyclopedia of Alabama".
  16. ^ "Eisenhower Boom is Deplored by Him: Eisenhower Decries Boom for Him As Landon Offers Kansas Backing". The New York Times. September 10, 1947. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  17. ^ "Cole of House Hits Eisenhower Boom". The New York Times. September 14, 1947. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  18. ^ "Eisenhower Boom a Gridiron Morsel". The New York Times. December 14, 1947. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  19. ^ "Democrats Urged to Run Eisenhower". The New York Times. April 4, 1948. p. 45. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  20. ^ "Eisenhower Says Position Is 'Absolutely Unchanged'". The New York Times. April 6, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  21. ^ "Green Hits CIO Talk of Eisenhower Boom". The New York Times. April 14, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  22. ^ "Eisenhower Query Laid to President: Newspaper Says George Allen Will Ask Clear Declination". The New York Times. July 3, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  23. ^ "Georgia, Virginia Back Eisenhower, Denounce Truman". The New York Times. July 3, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  24. ^ "Virginia Raises Eisenhower Boom". The New York Times. July 3, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  25. ^ "Georgia Champion Boom for Eisenhower". The New York Times. July 3, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  26. ^ "Eisenhower Draft Urged by Mahoney: 'Strongest' Candidate, Ex-Justice Says". The New York Times. July 3, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  27. ^ "Eisenhower Draft Urged by Mahoney: 'Strongest' Candidate, Ex-Justice Says". The New York Times. July 3, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  28. ^ "Quoting Eisenhower as Receptive Denied". The New York Times. July 5, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  29. ^ "Report Says Eisenhower Asks Choice by Truman". The New York Times. July 5, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  30. ^ "Eisenhower Boom Gaining Headway in Fight on Truman: Survey of 48 States Reveals Battle Faced by President in Swings of Delegates". The New York Times. July 5, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  31. ^ "50 Top Democrats Back Rights Plank: They Meet in Minneapolis and Issue Statement". The New York Times. July 5, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  32. ^ "Illinois May Nominate: Arvey Predicts Convention Stampede for Eisenhower". The New York Times. July 5, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  33. ^ "Stennis for Eisenhower". The New York Times. July 6, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  34. ^ "Eisenhower Says He Couldn't Accept Nomination for Any Public Office". The New York Times. July 6, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  35. ^ Moscow, Warren (July 7, 1948). "Eisenhower Boom Rolls on into Party Despite His Stand". The New York Times. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  36. ^ "Committee Presses Eisenhower Draft". The New York Times. July 6, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  37. ^ "Eisenhower Stand Buoys Truman Men". The New York Times. July 6, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  38. ^ "Eisenhower Draft Wanes Amid Split: Eisenhower Draft Recedes As New York Leaders Split". The New York Times. July 8, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  39. ^ "Truman's Confidence Grows: Aides See Opposition Halted". The New York Times. July 7, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  40. ^ "Eisenhower's No 'Final' to M'Grath: Democratic Chairman Holds Truman Nomination Assured". The New York Times. July 8, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  41. ^ "5,000 Admirers Call at Eisenhower Home". The New York Times. July 8, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  42. ^ "Pepper Proposes New Party Policy; Advocates Dropping Partisanship and Drafting Eisenhower as a Crisis President". The New York Times. July 7, 1948. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  43. ^ "A.D.A. is Target of Republicans: Humphrey Linked to Group Described as Subversive". The New York Times. October 11, 1964. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  44. ^ "In the Nation: Ike and Teddy". The New York Times. June 26, 1979. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  45. ^ Moscow, Warren (July 7, 1948). "Eisenhower Boom Rolls on into Party Despite His Stand". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  46. ^ "Eisenhower Draft Recedes As New York Leaders Split". The New York Times. July 8, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  47. ^ Lawrence, W.H. (July 14, 1948). "Barkley to Be Truman Running Mate: Floor Fight Looming on Civil Rights". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  48. ^ "James Roosevelt Bows to General: Prime Mover in Eisenhower Boom Accepts 'No'". The New York Times. July 10, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  49. ^ Krock, Arthur (July 11, 1948). "Anti-Truman Campaign a Boomerang to Party". The New York Times. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  50. ^ "Liberals Seen Set to Back President: Former Eisenhower Groups Begin Task of Retracing Steps to Truman's Side". The New York Times. July 22, 1948. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  51. ^ a b Fund, John. Political Journal: George Smathers, RIP, January 24, 2007.
  52. ^ Claude Pepper, "Keep up Your Great Fight—Continue Your Great Work", Ambijan Bulletin 7, 7 (December 1948), pp. 6–7.
  53. ^ Pepper & Gorey (1987), p. 205.
  54. ^ "Pepper Loses In Florida Primary". Los Angeles Times. September 10, 1958.[permanent dead link]
  55. ^ "H.R. 7152. PASSAGE".
  56. ^ "To Pass H.R. 2516, A Bill to Establish Penalties for Interference With Civil Rights. Interference With a Person Engaged in One of the 8 Activities Protected Under This Bill Must Be Racially Motivated to Incur the Bill's Penalties".
  57. ^ "To Pass H.R. 6400, the 1965 Voting Rights Act".
  58. ^ "H.R. 7152. Civil Rights Act of 1964. Adoption of a Resolution (H. Res. 789) Providing for House Approval of the Bill As Amended by the Senate. 1964/h182 -- House Vote #182 -- Jul 2, 1964". GovTrack.us. from the original on May 2, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  59. ^ "Quackery, a $10 Billion Scandal: A Report of the Subcommittee on Health and Long-Term Care, Select Committee on Aging, US House of Representatives" (PDF). US Government Printing Office. 1984. Lay summary: Bellamy, Jann (October 30, 2014). ""Quackery: A $10 Billion Scandal" « Science-Based Medicine". Science-Based Medicine.
  60. ^ a b Dubey, R. C. (2005). A Textbook Of Biotechnology. New Delhi, India: S. Chand & Company. p. 115. ISBN 978-8-1219-2507-5.
  61. ^ a b Rosebblatt, Robert A. (May 31, 1989). "Rep. Pepper, Crusader for Elderly, Dies at 88". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA.
  62. ^ "Lying in State or in Honor". US Architect of the Capitol (AOC). Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  63. ^ Kennedy, John (June 6, 1989). "Pepper is Laid to Rest as Friends Pay Respects". Sun-Sentinel. Deerfield Beach, FL.
  64. ^ Dan, Sewell (August 30, 1989). "Cuban-Americans, GOP Celebrate Winning Claude Pepper's Congressional Seat". Associated Press. New York, NY.
  65. ^ "Claude Pepper Center – Pepper Legacy Today".
  66. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 19, 2001. Retrieved August 24, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  67. ^ Designs for Democracy. "1960s Modern Federal Buildings: Office Building, Miami, Florida". Archives.gov. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  68. ^ "Claude Pepper Elementary School". Dade Schools.net. Miami, FL: Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  69. ^ "List of designated Roads in Florida" (PDF). FDOT.gov. Tallahassee, FL: Florida Department of Transportation. pp. 1, 4, 8, 14–17, 21–26, 28, 32, 45, 48, 53–54. Retrieved December 15, 2019.[permanent dead link]
  70. ^ "Claude pepper Dinner". Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, FL. August 15, 2006.
  71. ^ NIH Office of Management. "Building 31, Claude Pepper Building". orf.od.nih.gov. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  72. ^ City of Sweetwater, Elderly Program: Mildred & Claude Pepper Senior Center May 5, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, retrieved April 22, 2014
  73. ^ Elderly Housing Development & Operations Corp., Claude and Mildred Pepper Towers May 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, April 19, 2012
  74. ^ Florida State University, Mildred and Claude Pepper Library July 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, 2010
  75. ^ "ACT OF DEVOTION THE ONE-MAN PLAY ABOUT THE LATE CLAUDE PEPPER REPRESENTS YEARS OF WORK BY ITS AUTHOR". Sun Sentinel. June 26, 1990. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  76. ^ "Claude Pepper comes to life in play", Sarasota Herald Tribune, December 6, 1993, p. 1B [1]
  77. ^ . Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  78. ^ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  79. ^ Wade, Larry (July 14, 1983). "American Academy of Achievement fills Coronado with famous names" (PDF). Coronado Journal.
  80. ^ "Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Awards". Roosevelt Institute.org. Hyde Park, NY: Franklin D. Roosevelt Institute. September 29, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  81. ^ "Honorary Degrees Awarded" (PDF). Ir.fsu.edu. Florida State University. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  82. ^ "Claude Pepper among first inductees into Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame". FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY NEWS. March 2, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2021.

Further reading edit

  • Clark, James C., "Claude Pepper and the Seeds of His 1950 Defeat, 1944–1948", Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 74, no. 1 (Summer 1995), pp. 1–22. in JSTOR
  • Clark, James C. Red Pepper and Gorgeous George: Claude Pepper's Epic Defeat in the 1950 Democratic Primary (2011)
  • Crispell, Brian Lewis, Testing the Limits: George Armistead Smathers and Cold War America (1999)
  • Danese, Tracy E. Claude Pepper and Ed Ball: Politics, Purpose, and Power (2000)
  • Denman, Joan E. "Senator Claude D. Pepper: Advocate of Aid to the Allies, 1939–1941", Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 83, no. 2 (Fall 2004), pp. 121–148. in JSTOR
  • Finley, Keith M. Delaying the Dream: Southern Senators and the Fight Against Civil Rights, 1938–1965 (Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 2008).
  • Swint, Kerwin C., Mudslingers: The Twenty-five Dirtiest Political Campaigns of All Time. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2006.

External links edit

  • Biographical Directory of the US Congress
  • Claude Pepper Library May 8, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  • Claude Pepper Foundation
  • Claude Pepper Center
  • Appearances on C-SPAN
  • Oral History Interview with Claude Pepper from Oral Histories of the American South
  • Claude D. Pepper, Late a Representative from Florida. Washington, D.C. Government Printing Office 1990.
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Florida
(Class 3)

1936, 1938, 1944
Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Florida
1936–1951
Served alongside: Charles O. Andrews, Spessard Holland
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of the Senate Patents Committee
1944–1947
Position abolished
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 3rd congressional district

1963–1967
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 11th congressional district

1967–1973
Succeeded by
New constituency Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 14th congressional district

1973–1983
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of the House Aging Committee
1977–1983
Succeeded by
New constituency Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 18th congressional district

1983–1989
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of the House Rules Committee
1983–1989
Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Most Senior Living U.S. senator
Sitting or Former

March 13, 1985 – May 30, 1989
Succeeded by
Preceded by Persons who have lain in state or honor in the United States Capitol rotunda
1989
Succeeded by

claude, pepper, claude, denson, pepper, september, 1900, 1989, american, politician, democratic, party, represented, florida, united, states, senate, from, 1936, 1951, miami, area, united, states, house, representatives, from, 1963, until, 1989, considered, sp. Claude Denson Pepper September 8 1900 May 30 1989 was an American politician of the Democratic Party He represented Florida in the United States Senate from 1936 to 1951 and the Miami area in the United States House of Representatives from 1963 until 1989 He was considered a spokesman for left liberalism and the elderly 1 2 Claude PepperChair of the House Rules CommitteeIn office January 3 1983 May 30 1989Preceded byRichard W BollingSucceeded byJoe MoakleyMember of the U S House of Representatives from FloridaIn office January 3 1963 May 30 1989Preceded byBob SikesSucceeded byIleana Ros LehtinenConstituency3rd district 1963 1967 11th district 1967 1973 14th district 1973 1983 18th district 1983 1989 United States Senatorfrom FloridaIn office November 4 1936 January 3 1951Preceded byWilliam Luther HillSucceeded byGeorge SmathersMember of the Florida House of Representatives from the Taylor County districtIn office 1929 1931Preceded byW T HendrySucceeded byA H WentworthPersonal detailsBornClaude Denson Pepper 1900 09 08 September 8 1900near Dudleyville Alabama U S DiedMay 30 1989 1989 05 30 aged 88 Washington D C U S Political partyDemocraticSpouseMildred Webster m 1936 died 1979 wbr EducationUniversity of Alabama AB Harvard University LLB Military serviceAllegianceUnited StatesBranch serviceUnited States ArmyYears of service1918RankPrivateUnitStudent Army Training CorpsBattles warsWorld War IClaude Pepper s voice source source Claude Pepper thanks the guest chaplain James P Cassidy for delivering the invocation for the day s legislative sessionRecorded September 6 1984Born in Chambers County Alabama Pepper established a legal practice in Perry Florida after graduating from Harvard Law School After serving a single term in the Florida House of Representatives Pepper won a 1936 special election to succeed Senator Duncan U Fletcher Pepper became one of the most prominent liberals in Congress supporting legislation such as the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 After World War II Pepper s conciliatory views towards the Soviet Union and opposition to President Harry Truman s 1948 re nomination engendered opposition within the party Pepper lost the 1950 Senate Democratic primary to Congressman George Smathers and returned to private legal practice the following year In 1962 Pepper won election to a newly created district in the United States House of Representatives He emerged as a staunch anti Communist and strongly criticized Cuban leader Fidel Castro Pepper served as chairman of the House Committee on Aging and pursued reforms to Social Security and Medicare From 1983 to 1989 he served as chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee He died in office in 1989 and was honored with a state funeral In 2000 the United States Postal Service issued a 33 Distinguished Americans series postage stamp honoring Pepper Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2 1 Florida government 2 2 U S Senate 2 2 1 Eisenhower Boom 2 2 2 Communist allegations 2 3 Law practice 2 4 U S House 3 Personal life and death 4 Legacy 5 Awards 6 Bibliography 7 See also 8 Footnotes 9 Further reading 10 External linksEarly life editClaude Denson Pepper was born on September 8 1900 in Chambers County Alabama 3 the son of farmers Lena Corine Talbot 1877 1961 and Joseph Wheeler Pepper 1873 1945 3 Pepper was the fourth child born to his parents the first three died in infancy 3 Pepper was an only child until he was ten years old his younger siblings were Joseph Sara and Frank 3 He attended school in Dudleyville and Camp Hill and graduated from Camp Hill High School in 1917 3 He then operated a hat cleaning and repair business taught school in Dothan and worked in an Ensley steel mill before beginning studies at the University of Alabama 3 While in college he joined the Army for World War I and served in the Student Army Training Corps SATC precursor to the Reserve Officers Training Corps 3 The war ended before he saw active service and after the SATC was disbanded Pepper joined the ROTC 4 While lifting ammunition crates during a training event Pepper suffered a double hernia which required surgery to correct 3 4 After graduating from the University of Alabama with his A B degree in 1921 Pepper was able to use his veterans and disability benefits to attend Harvard Law School and he received his LL B in 1924 3 Career editPepper taught law at the University of Arkansas where his students included J William Fulbright and then moved to Perry Florida where he opened a law practice 3 Pepper was a member of the Florida Democratic Party s executive committee from 1928 to 1929 5 He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1928 and served from 1929 to 1931 3 6 7 8 During his term Pepper served as chairman of the House s Committee on Constitutional Amendments 9 In response to the Great Depression Governor Doyle E Carlton proposed austerity measures including layoffs of state employees and large tax cuts 10 Pepper was among those who opposed Carlton s program and popular support was with Carlton so Pepper was among many legislators who lost when they ran for renomination in 1930 10 After being defeated for renomination Pepper moved his law practice to Tallahassee the state capital 9 In 1931 he met Mildred Webster outside the governor s office 9 They began dating and they married in St Petersburg on December 29 1936 9 They remained married until her death in 1979 and had no children 9 Florida government edit Pepper served on the Florida Board of Public Welfare from 1931 to 1932 9 and was a member of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners in 1933 5 U S Senate edit nbsp Newsman covering U S Senator Claude Pepper s campaign in 1938 In 1934 Pepper ran for the Democratic nomination for U S Senate challenging incumbent Park Trammell Pepper lost to Trammell in the primary runoff 51 49 11 But Pepper was unopposed in the 1936 special election following the death of Senator Duncan U Fletcher and succeeded William Luther Hill who had been appointed pending the special election In the Senate Pepper became a leading New Dealer and close ally of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt He was unusually articulate and intellectual and collaborating with labor unions he was often the leader of the liberal left forces in the Senate His reelection in a heavily fought primary in 1938 solidified his reputation as the most prominent liberal in Congress His campaign based on a wages hours bill which soon became the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 He sponsored the Lend Lease Act He joined other Southern senators to filibuster an anti lynching bill in 1937 12 but broke with them to support anti poll tax legislation in the 1940s 13 In 1943 a confidential analysis by Isaiah Berlin of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the British Foreign Office described Pepper as A loud voiced and fiery New Deal politician Before Pearl Harbor he was a most ardent interventionist He is equally Russophile and apt to be critical of British Imperial policy He is an out and out internationalist and champion of labour and negro rights Florida has no poll tax and thus a passionate supporter of the Administration s more internationalist policies He is occasionally used by the President for the purpose of sending up trial balloons in matters of foreign policy With all these qualities he is in his methods a thoroughly opportunist politician 14 Because of the power of the Conservative Coalition he usually lost on domestic policy He was however more successful in promoting an international foreign policy based on friendship with the Soviet Union In 1946 Pepper appeared frequently in the national press and began to eye the 1948 presidential race He considered running with his close friend and fellow liberal former Vice President Henry A Wallace with whom he was active in the Southern Conference for Human Welfare 15 Eisenhower Boom edit Pepper was re elected in 1944 By 1947 momentum was growing for the Draft Eisenhower movement On September 10 1947 US General Dwight D Eisenhower disclaimed any association with the movement 16 In mid September 1947 US Representative W Sterling Cole of New York voiced opposition to the nomination of Eisenhower or any other military leader including George C Marshall and Douglas MacArthur 17 In December 1947 an actor impersonating Eisenhower sang Kiss Me Again during a political dinner in Washington DC whose attendees including President Truman Democratic incumbent and numerous Republican potential candidates the song s refrain ran but it s too soon Some time next June ask me ask me again ask me ask me again 18 On April 3 1948 Americans for Democratic Action ADA led by members Adolf A Berle Jr and Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr declared its decision to support a ticket of Eisenhower and Supreme Court Justice William O Douglas 19 On April 5 1948 Eisenhower stated his position remained unchanged he would not accept a nomination 20 In mid April 1948 American labor unions had entered the debate as William B Green president of the American Federation of Labor criticized the Congress of Industrial Organizations CIO for supporting the Eisenhower Boom 21 On July 2 1948 the White House sent George E Allen friend and adviser to both Truman and Eisenhower to the general to persuade him to make yet another denial about his candidacy 22 On July 3 1948 Democratic state organizations in Georgia and Virginia openly backed Eisenhower as did former New York state court judge Jeremiah T Mahoney 23 24 25 26 The same day Progressive presumptive candidate Wallace scorned the Eisenhower boom s southern supporters saying They have reason to believe that Ike is reactionary because of his testimony on the draft and UMT Universal Military Training 27 On July 4 1948 rumors abounded e g Eisenhower would accept an honest draft 28 or from the Los Angeles Times Eisenhower would accept the nomination if made by Truman himself 29 On July 5 1948 a New York Times survey completed the previous day revealed that support for Eisenhower as Democratic nominee for president was increasing among delegates fueled by an Anti Truman Group led by James Roosevelt of California Jacob Arvey of Illinois and William O Dwyer of New York 30 31 32 US Senator John C Stennis of Mississippi declared his support for Eisenhower 33 At 10 30 PM that night Eisenhower issued an internal memo at Columbia for release by the university s PR director that I will not at this time identify myself with any political party and could not accept nomination for public office or participate in a partisan political contest 34 Support persisted nonetheless 35 and on July 6 1948 a local Philadelphia group seized on Eisenhower s phrases about political party and partisan political contest and declared their continued support for him 36 The same day Truman supporters expressed their satisfaction with the Eisenhower memo and confidence in the nomination 37 By July 7 1948 the week before the 1948 Democratic National Convention the Draft Eisenhower movement drifted onwards despite flat denials by Eisenhower 38 and despite public declarations of confidence by Truman 39 and Democratic Party national chairman J Howard McGrath 40 Nevertheless 5 000 admirers gathered in front of Eisenhower s Columbia residence to ask him to run 41 In 1948 Pepper supported not his friend Henry A Wallace but Eisenhower 1 In fact on July 7 1948 Pepper went further than any other supporter with an extraordinary proposal Senator Claude Pepper of Florida called on the Democratic party today to transform itself temporarily into a national movement draft Gen Dwight D Eisenhower as a national and hence nonpartisan Presidential candidate and promise him substantial control of the party s national convention opening in Philadelphia next week It would be necessary Mr Pepper suggested for the convention to invite General Eisenhower to write his own platform and to pick the Vice Presidential nominee Moreover the Senator said the general should be assured that the Democrats would never make partisan claims on him and he should be presented not as a Democratic candidate but the candidate of a convention speaking not as Democrats but simply as Americans 42 Pepper managed to gain support from ADA 43 The Draft Ike movement gained support from the CIO the Liberal Party of New York State Democratic local leaders Jacob Arvey of Chicago Frank Hague of New Jersey Mayor William O Dwyer of New York City and Mayor Hubert Humphrey of Minneapolis as well as ADA leaders Leon Henderson and James Roosevelt II 44 Eisenhower made repeated statements that he would not accept the Democratic Party s nomination well into July just ahead of the 1948 Democratic National Convention 45 When Eisenhower who accepted to become president of Columbia University in January 1948 made three statements refusing the nomination during July 1948 Pepper and others gave up and provided lukewarm support to Harry S Truman citation needed His third and last denial sent by telegram to Pepper ended the Eisenhower Boom and delegates began to reconsider Truman 46 Pepper also made a bid for presidential candidacy but withdrew it 47 On the evening of July 9 1948 Roosevelt conceded at Eisenhower for President headquarters that the general would not accept a nomination 48 During the convention July 12 14 1948 and after concern persisted that the Eisenhower Boom had weakened Truman s hopes in the November 1948 elections 49 50 In 1950 Pepper lost his bid for a third full term in 1950 by a margin of over 60 000 votes Ed Ball a power in state politics who had broken with Pepper financed his opponent U S Representative George A Smathers A former supporter of Pepper Smathers repeatedly attacked Red Pepper for having far left sympathies condemning both his support for universal health care and his alleged support for the Soviet Union Pepper had traveled to the Soviet Union in 1945 and after meeting Soviet leader Joseph Stalin declared he was a man Americans could trust 51 Because of his left of center sympathies with people like Wallace and actor activist Paul Robeson and because of his bright red hair he became widely nicknamed Red Pepper 1 At a speech made on November 11 1946 before a pro Soviet group known as Ambijan which supported the creation of a Soviet Jewish republic in the far east of the USSR Pepper told his listeners that Probably nowhere in the world are minorities given more freedom recognition and respect than in the Soviet Union and nowhere in the world is there so little friction between minority and majority groups or among minorities Democracy was growing in that country he added and he asserted that the Soviets were making such contributions to democracy that many who decry it might well imitate and emulate rather than despair Two years later on November 21 1948 speaking to the same group he again lauded the Soviet Union calling it a nation which has recognized the dignity of all people a nation wherein discrimination against anybody on account of race is a crime and which was in fundamental sympathy with the progress of mankind 52 Communist allegations edit Regarding the 1950 Florida Senate election President Harry Truman called George Smathers into a meeting at the White House and reportedly said I want you to do me a favor I want you to beat that son of a bitch Claude Pepper 51 Pepper had been part of an unsuccessful 1948 campaign to dump Truman as the Democratic presidential nominee Smathers ran against him in the Democratic primary which at the time in Florida was tantamount to election the Republican Party still being in infancy there The contest was extremely heated and revolved around policy issues especially charges that Pepper represented the far left and was too supportive of Stalin Pepper s opponents circulated widely a 49 page booklet titled The Red Record of Senator Claude Pepper 53 Pepper was defeated in the primary by Smathers Law practice edit Pepper returned to law practice in Miami and Washington failing in a comeback bid to regain a Senate seat in the 1958 Democratic primary in which he challenged his former colleague Spessard Holland 54 However Pepper did carry eleven counties including populous Dade County where he later staged a remarkable comeback U S House edit nbsp Portrait of Pepper in the Collection of the U S House of RepresentativesIn 1962 Pepper was elected to the United States House of Representatives from a newly created liberal district around Miami and Miami Beach established due to population growth in the area becoming one of very few former United States Senators in modern times the only other examples being James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr from New York Hugh Mitchell from Washington Alton Lennon from North Carolina Garrett Withers from Kentucky and Magnus Johnson from Minnesota to be elected to the House after their Senate careers citation needed Matthew M Neely from West Virginia and Charles A Towne from New York via Minnesota were also elected to the House after their Senate careers but they had been elected to the House before their Senate careers as well Pepper remained a member of the House until his death in 1989 rising to chair of the powerful Rules Committee in 1983 Despite a reputation as a leftist in his youth Pepper turned staunchly anti communist in the last third of his life opposing Cuban leader Fidel Castro and supporting aid to the Nicaraguan Contras Pepper voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968 55 56 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 57 Pepper would be the only Representative from Florida who would vote in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 58 In the early 1970s Pepper chaired the Joint House Senate Committee on Crime then in 1977 he became chair of the new House Select Committee on Aging which became his base as he emerged as the nation s foremost spokesman for the elderly especially regarding Social Security programs He succeeded in strengthening Medicare citation needed In 1980 the committee under Pepper s leadership initiated what became a four year investigation into health care scams that preyed on older people the report published in 1984 and commonly called The Pepper Report was entitled Quackery a 10 Billion Scandal 59 In the 1980s he worked with Alan Greenspan in a major reform of the Social Security system that maintained its solvency by slowly raising the retirement age thus cutting benefits for workers retiring in their mid 60s and in 1986 he obtained the passage of a federal law that abolished most mandatory retirement ages citation needed In his later years Pepper who customarily began each day by eating a bowl of tomato soup with crackers sported a replaced hip and hearing aids in both ears but continued to remain an important and often lionized figure in the House citation needed In 1988 Pepper sponsored a legislation to create the National Center for Biotechnology Information NCBI 60 Enacted during his final term the NCBI has revolutionized the exchange sharing and analysis of genetic information and aided researchers worldwide to achieve advances in medical computational and biological sciences 60 Pepper became known as the grand old man of Florida politics He was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1938 and 1983 During this time Republicans often joked that he and House Speaker Tip O Neill were the only Democrats who really drove President Ronald Reagan crazy Personal life and death editOn May 26 1989 Pepper was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H W Bush 61 Four days later Pepper died in his sleep from stomach cancer 61 His body lay in state for two days in the Rotunda of the U S Capitol 62 he was the 26th American so honored and was the last person to lie in state in the Capitol rotunda with an open casket Pepper was buried at Oakland Cemetery in Tallahassee 63 A special election was held in August 1989 to fill his seat won by Republican Ileana Ros Lehtinen who served until retiring at the conclusion of the 115th Congress 64 Legacy edit nbsp Statue of Claude Pepper in MiamiA number of places in Florida are named for Pepper including the Claude Pepper Center 65 at Florida State University housing a think tank devoted to intercultural dialogue in conjunction with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and an institute on aging 66 and the Claude Pepper Federal Building in Miami as well as several public schools 67 68 Large sections of U S Route 27 in Florida are named Claude Pepper Memorial Highway 69 Since 2002 the Democratic Executive Committee DEC of Lake County has held an annual Claude Pepper Dinner to honor Pepper s tireless support for senior citizens 70 The Claude Pepper Building building number 31 at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda Maryland is also named for him 71 Pepper s wife Mildred was well known and respected for her humanitarian work and was honored with a number of places in Florida named in her honor 72 73 74 A year after his passing Claude Pepper was honored in a play written by Shepard Nevel and directed by Phillip Church Pepper 75 premiered in June 1990 to a full house at the Colony Theater in Miami Beach In 1993 Bradenton Florida actor Kelly Reynolds portrayed Pepper in several performances held at area schools libraries and nursing homes 76 Awards editIn 1982 Pepper received the Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged an annual presentation of the Jefferson Awards 77 In 1983 he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement 78 79 In 1985 the Roosevelt Institute awarded Pepper its Four Freedoms medal 80 Also in 1985 Pepper was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters from Florida State University for his public service 81 Pepper would be posthumously inducted into the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame on February 29 2012 in a ceremony held by Florida Governor Rick Scott in the Florida State Capitol He was one of the first three along with Mary McLeod Bethune and Charles Kenzie Steele Sr to be inducted into it 82 Bibliography editEyewitness to a Century with Hays Gorey 1987 an autobiographySee also editList of United States Congress members who died in office 1950 99 List of members of the American Legion List of members of the House Un American Activities Committee Draft Eisenhower movementFootnotes edit a b c Thomas Reginald May 31 1989 Claude Pepper Fiery Fighter For Elderly Rights Dies at 88 The New York Times Retrieved December 28 2018 Courtly Champion of America s Elderly The New York Times Magazine November 29 1981 Retrieved December 28 2018 a b c d e f g h i j k Kabat Ric A October 1 1993 From Camp Hill to Harvard Yard The Early Years of Claude D Pepper The Florida Historical Quarterly Cocoa FL Florida Historical Society pp 153 179 JSTOR 30148692 a b Danese Tracy E 1997 Claude Pepper and Ed Ball A Study in Contrasting Political Purposes Tallahassee FL Florida State University p 70 a b Directory of the American Political Science Association Chicago IL Northwestern University 1945 p 116 ELECTION NOTICE Tallahassee Democrat November 30 1928 p 11 Guides UF Federal Documents at University of Florida Home Archived from the original on September 6 2016 AGE 1WO ANTI CARLTON ELEMENT LOSES IN BIG RACES The Tampa Tribune June 5 1930 p 2 a b c d e f Rawls Mallary May 4 2015 Claude Pepper s Time in Tallahassee Florida State University Special Collections Tallahassee FL a b Anti Carlton Element Loses in Big Races The Tampa Tribune Tampa FL June 5 1920 p 2 via Newspapers com FL US Senate D Runoff Race Jun 26 1934 1934 Hobbs Tameka Bradley 2000 Lynched twice the murder of A C Williams PDF Thesis Archived from the original PDF on September 13 2006 Bloch Rubin Ruth 2017 Building the Bloc Intraparty Organization in the US Congress Cambridge University Press pp 134 36 ISBN 978 1 108 22696 7 OCLC 1027206038 Hachey Thomas E Winter 1973 1974 American Profiles on Capitol Hill A Confidential Study for the British Foreign Office in 1943 Wisconsin Magazine of History 57 2 141 153 JSTOR 4634869 Claude D Pepper Encyclopedia of Alabama Eisenhower Boom is Deplored by Him Eisenhower Decries Boom for Him As Landon Offers Kansas Backing The New York Times September 10 1947 Retrieved December 29 2018 Cole of House Hits Eisenhower Boom The New York Times September 14 1947 Retrieved December 29 2018 Eisenhower Boom a Gridiron Morsel The New York Times December 14 1947 Retrieved December 29 2018 Democrats Urged to Run Eisenhower The New York Times April 4 1948 p 45 Retrieved December 28 2018 Eisenhower Says Position Is Absolutely Unchanged The New York Times April 6 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Green Hits CIO Talk of Eisenhower Boom The New York Times April 14 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Eisenhower Query Laid to President Newspaper Says George Allen Will Ask Clear Declination The New York Times July 3 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Georgia Virginia Back Eisenhower Denounce Truman The New York Times July 3 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Virginia Raises Eisenhower Boom The New York Times July 3 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Georgia Champion Boom for Eisenhower The New York Times July 3 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Eisenhower Draft Urged by Mahoney Strongest Candidate Ex Justice Says The New York Times July 3 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Eisenhower Draft Urged by Mahoney Strongest Candidate Ex Justice Says The New York Times July 3 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Quoting Eisenhower as Receptive Denied The New York Times July 5 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Report Says Eisenhower Asks Choice by Truman The New York Times July 5 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Eisenhower Boom Gaining Headway in Fight on Truman Survey of 48 States Reveals Battle Faced by President in Swings of Delegates The New York Times July 5 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 50 Top Democrats Back Rights Plank They Meet in Minneapolis and Issue Statement The New York Times July 5 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Illinois May Nominate Arvey Predicts Convention Stampede for Eisenhower The New York Times July 5 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Stennis for Eisenhower The New York Times July 6 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Eisenhower Says He Couldn t Accept Nomination for Any Public Office The New York Times July 6 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Moscow Warren July 7 1948 Eisenhower Boom Rolls on into Party Despite His Stand The New York Times Retrieved December 29 2018 Committee Presses Eisenhower Draft The New York Times July 6 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Eisenhower Stand Buoys Truman Men The New York Times July 6 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Eisenhower Draft Wanes Amid Split Eisenhower Draft Recedes As New York Leaders Split The New York Times July 8 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Truman s Confidence Grows Aides See Opposition Halted The New York Times July 7 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Eisenhower s No Final to M Grath Democratic Chairman Holds Truman Nomination Assured The New York Times July 8 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 5 000 Admirers Call at Eisenhower Home The New York Times July 8 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Pepper Proposes New Party Policy Advocates Dropping Partisanship and Drafting Eisenhower as a Crisis President The New York Times July 7 1948 Retrieved December 28 2018 A D A is Target of Republicans Humphrey Linked to Group Described as Subversive The New York Times October 11 1964 Retrieved December 28 2018 In the Nation Ike and Teddy The New York Times June 26 1979 Retrieved December 28 2018 Moscow Warren July 7 1948 Eisenhower Boom Rolls on into Party Despite His Stand The New York Times Retrieved December 28 2018 Eisenhower Draft Recedes As New York Leaders Split The New York Times July 8 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Lawrence W H July 14 1948 Barkley to Be Truman Running Mate Floor Fight Looming on Civil Rights The New York Times Retrieved December 28 2018 James Roosevelt Bows to General Prime Mover in Eisenhower Boom Accepts No The New York Times July 10 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 Krock Arthur July 11 1948 Anti Truman Campaign a Boomerang to Party The New York Times Retrieved December 29 2018 Liberals Seen Set to Back President Former Eisenhower Groups Begin Task of Retracing Steps to Truman s Side The New York Times July 22 1948 Retrieved December 29 2018 a b Fund John Political Journal George Smathers RIP January 24 2007 Claude Pepper Keep up Your Great Fight Continue Your Great Work Ambijan Bulletin 7 7 December 1948 pp 6 7 Pepper amp Gorey 1987 p 205 Pepper Loses In Florida Primary Los Angeles Times September 10 1958 permanent dead link H R 7152 PASSAGE To Pass H R 2516 A Bill to Establish Penalties for Interference With Civil Rights Interference With a Person Engaged in One of the 8 Activities Protected Under This Bill Must Be Racially Motivated to Incur the Bill s Penalties To Pass H R 6400 the 1965 Voting Rights Act H R 7152 Civil Rights Act of 1964 Adoption of a Resolution H Res 789 Providing for House Approval of the Bill As Amended by the Senate 1964 h182 House Vote 182 Jul 2 1964 GovTrack us Archived from the original on May 2 2013 Retrieved August 7 2021 Quackery a 10 Billion Scandal A Report of the Subcommittee on Health and Long Term Care Select Committee on Aging US House of Representatives PDF US Government Printing Office 1984 Lay summary Bellamy Jann October 30 2014 Quackery A 10 Billion Scandal Science Based Medicine Science Based Medicine a b Dubey R C 2005 A Textbook Of Biotechnology New Delhi India S Chand amp Company p 115 ISBN 978 8 1219 2507 5 a b Rosebblatt Robert A May 31 1989 Rep Pepper Crusader for Elderly Dies at 88 Los Angeles Times Los Angeles CA Lying in State or in Honor US Architect of the Capitol AOC Retrieved September 1 2018 Kennedy John June 6 1989 Pepper is Laid to Rest as Friends Pay Respects Sun Sentinel Deerfield Beach FL Dan Sewell August 30 1989 Cuban Americans GOP Celebrate Winning Claude Pepper s Congressional Seat Associated Press New York NY Claude Pepper Center Pepper Legacy Today Archived copy Archived from the original on November 19 2001 Retrieved August 24 2008 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Designs for Democracy 1960s Modern Federal Buildings Office Building Miami Florida Archives gov Washington DC National Archives and Records Administration Retrieved December 15 2019 Claude Pepper Elementary School Dade Schools net Miami FL Miami Dade County Public Schools Retrieved December 15 2019 List of designated Roads in Florida PDF FDOT gov Tallahassee FL Florida Department of Transportation pp 1 4 8 14 17 21 26 28 32 45 48 53 54 Retrieved December 15 2019 permanent dead link Claude pepper Dinner Orlando Sentinel Orlando FL August 15 2006 NIH Office of Management Building 31 Claude Pepper Building orf od nih gov Bethesda MD National Institutes of Health Retrieved December 15 2019 City of Sweetwater Elderly Program Mildred amp Claude Pepper Senior Center Archived May 5 2014 at the Wayback Machine retrieved April 22 2014 Elderly Housing Development amp Operations Corp Claude and Mildred Pepper Towers Archived May 14 2014 at the Wayback Machine April 19 2012 Florida State University Mildred and Claude Pepper Library Archived July 23 2012 at the Wayback Machine 2010 ACT OF DEVOTION THE ONE MAN PLAY ABOUT THE LATE CLAUDE PEPPER REPRESENTS YEARS OF WORK BY ITS AUTHOR Sun Sentinel June 26 1990 Retrieved November 14 2021 Claude Pepper comes to life in play Sarasota Herald Tribune December 6 1993 p 1B 1 National Jefferson Awards Foundation Archived from the original on November 24 2010 Retrieved August 5 2013 Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement www achievement org American Academy of Achievement Wade Larry July 14 1983 American Academy of Achievement fills Coronado with famous names PDF Coronado Journal Franklin D Roosevelt Four Freedoms Awards Roosevelt Institute org Hyde Park NY Franklin D Roosevelt Institute September 29 2015 Retrieved December 15 2019 Honorary Degrees Awarded PDF Ir fsu edu Florida State University Retrieved May 28 2023 Claude Pepper among first inductees into Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY NEWS March 2 2012 Retrieved August 11 2021 Further reading editClark James C Claude Pepper and the Seeds of His 1950 Defeat 1944 1948 Florida Historical Quarterly vol 74 no 1 Summer 1995 pp 1 22 in JSTOR Clark James C Red Pepper and Gorgeous George Claude Pepper s Epic Defeat in the 1950 Democratic Primary 2011 Crispell Brian Lewis Testing the Limits George Armistead Smathers and Cold War America 1999 Danese Tracy E Claude Pepper and Ed Ball Politics Purpose and Power 2000 Denman Joan E Senator Claude D Pepper Advocate of Aid to the Allies 1939 1941 Florida Historical Quarterly vol 83 no 2 Fall 2004 pp 121 148 in JSTOR Finley Keith M Delaying the Dream Southern Senators and the Fight Against Civil Rights 1938 1965 Baton Rouge LSU Press 2008 Swint Kerwin C Mudslingers The Twenty five Dirtiest Political Campaigns of All Time Westport CT Praeger Publishers 2006 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Claude Pepper Biographical Directory of the US Congress Claude Pepper Papers at Florida State University Claude Pepper Library Archived May 8 2014 at the Wayback Machine Claude Pepper Foundation Claude Pepper Center Appearances on C SPAN Oral History Interview with Claude Pepper from Oral Histories of the American South Claude D Pepper Late a Representative from Florida Washington D C Government Printing Office 1990 Party political officesPreceded byDuncan U Fletcher Democratic nominee for U S Senator from Florida Class 3 1936 1938 1944 Succeeded byGeorge SmathersU S SenatePreceded byWilliam Luther Hill U S Senator Class 3 from Florida1936 1951 Served alongside Charles O Andrews Spessard Holland Succeeded byGeorge SmathersPreceded byHomer Bone Chair of the Senate Patents Committee1944 1947 Position abolishedU S House of RepresentativesPreceded byRobert L F Sikes Member of the U S House of Representativesfrom Florida s 3rd congressional district1963 1967 Succeeded byCharles BennettPreceded byEdward J Gurney Member of the U S House of Representativesfrom Florida s 11th congressional district1967 1973 Succeeded byPaul G RogersNew constituency Member of the U S House of Representativesfrom Florida s 14th congressional district1973 1983 Succeeded byDaniel A MicaPreceded byWilliam J Randall Chair of the House Aging Committee1977 1983 Succeeded byEdward R RoybalNew constituency Member of the U S House of Representativesfrom Florida s 18th congressional district1983 1989 Succeeded byIleana Ros LehtinenPreceded byRichard Bolling Chair of the House Rules Committee1983 1989 Succeeded byJoe MoakleyHonorary titlesPreceded byElmer Austin Benson Most Senior Living U S senatorSitting or FormerMarch 13 1985 May 30 1989 Succeeded byJohn DanaherPreceded byUnknown Soldier of the Vietnam Era Michael Blassie Persons who have lain in state or honor in the United States Capitol rotunda1989 Succeeded byJacob ChestnutJohn Gibson Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Claude Pepper amp oldid 1206714524, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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