Frederick Steiwer | |
---|---|
United States Senator from Oregon | |
In office March 4, 1927 – January 31, 1938 | |
Preceded by | Robert Stanfield |
Succeeded by | Alfred Reames |
Personal details | |
Born | Jefferson, Oregon, U.S. | October 13, 1883
Died | February 3, 1939 Washington, D.C., U.S. | (aged 55)
Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Freida Roesch (1911–1939) |
Children | 2 |
Education |
Oregon State University (BS) University of Oregon (BA) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Years of service | 1917–1919 |
Rank | First Lieutenant |
Unit | 65th Field Artillery Regiment |
Battles/wars | World War I |
Frederick Steiwer (October 13, 1883 – February 3, 1939) was an American politician and lawyer in the state of Oregon. [1]
A native of the state, he was county district attorney and member of the Oregon State Senate from eastern Oregon and a veteran of World War I. A Republican, he was elected to the United States Senate and served from 1927 to 1938. [1] Twice a candidate for the Republican nomination to the presidency, he delivered the keynote address during the 1936 Republican National Convention. [2] [3]
Born in Oregon on a farm near Jefferson in Marion County, [4] Steiwer's parents were John F. and Ada (née May) Steiwer. He received his education in the local public schools, [5] and entered Oregon State Agricultural College (now Oregon State University) at Corvallis at age 15 in 1898 and graduated four years later with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. [5] Steiwer then attended the University of Oregon in Eugene where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1906 before attending the school's law school, then located in Portland. [5]
In 1908, he was admitted to the Oregon State Bar and began practicing law for the Portland firm Snow & McCamant, where he had already been employed. [5] In March 1909, he left the firm and moved to eastern Oregon where he formed a partnership with G. W. Phelps in Pendleton. [5] A member of the Masons and a farmer, he also joined the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity. [4] [5]
Steiwer started his career in public office in 1909 as the deputy district attorney for Umatilla County, serving until 1910. [4] In 1912, he was elected as the district attorney for the county and served until 1916. That year he was elected to the state senate as a Republican representing Umatilla County and District 20. [6] Steiwer only served during the 1917 legislative session, resigning to enlist in the U.S. Army during the First World War. [4] He served from 1917 to 1919 in the Sixty-fifth Field Artillery with rank of first lieutenant. [4]
In 1926, Steiwer was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate, defeating incumbent Robert Stanfield in the primary. [4] [7] He won with only 39% of the vote, running against Democrat and later judge Bert Haney and Stanfield, then running for re-election as an independent.[ citation needed] In 1928, he was one of many candidates for the Republican presidential nomination at the National Convention, with Herbert Hoover winning the nomination and then the fall election.[ citation needed] At the 1936 Republican National Convention he was the keynote speaker and temporary chairman, [8] as well as an unsuccessful candidate for the nomination. [9] [10] Steiwer was re-elected in 1932 and served from March 4, 1927, until January 31, 1938, when he resigned to return to the practice of law after suffering health problems. [11] He had undergone gall bladder surgery in November 1936. [12]
While in the Senate he was chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments (Seventy-second Congress). [4] He also served on the Senate Judiciary Committee and helped oppose President Roosevelt's plan to pack the Supreme Court. [13] Steiwer was an opponent of Roosevelt and The New Deal. [14] In April 1937, he proposed an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to create a nationwide primary for selection of the candidates for the U.S. presidency and vice-presidency. [15] No amendment was ever passed.
On December 12, 1911, he married Frieda Roesch in Pendleton, and they had two children. [16] One daughter, named Elizabeth, [17] had a son who married the daughter of Thomas J. Watson, Jr. of IBM fame. [18] His uncle was Winlock W. Steiwer, a state senator. Upon leaving the Senate, he returned to the full-time practice of law in Washington, D.C., [4] Steiwer died in the District of Columbia at the age of 55 on February 3, 1939, [4] and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in neighboring Arlington, Virginia. [4]