William Edgar Borah
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William Edgar Borah (June 29, 1865 near Fairfield, Illinois – January 19, 1940 Washington, D.C.) was a prominent attorney and longtime United States Senator from Idaho noted for his oratorical skills and isolationist views. One of his nicknames later in life was "The Lion of Idaho."
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[edit] Early life and career
Borah's schooling included the Wayne County common schools and the Southern Illinois Academy at Enfield. Graduating from the University of Kansas at Lawrence in 1889, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in September 1890. After practicing law in Lyons, Kansas, he relocated to Boise, Idaho, in 1890, where he became the most prominent attorney in the state. In 1907, shortly after entering the Senate, Borah, as the prosecuting attorney, was pitted against Clarence Darrow in the nationally publicized trial of "Big Bill" Haywood and two other radical labor union officials for the 1905 murder of former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg.
[edit] Senator
In 1906, the Idaho Legislature elected Borah to the U.S. Senate over the controversial Democratic incumbent, Fred Dubois. Borah was reelected by the Idaho Legislature in 1912, and four more times by popular vote (1918, 1924, 1930 and 1936). He remains the longest-serving member of the United States Congress in Idaho history.
A member of the Republican National Committee from 1908 to 1912, he was a delegate to the 1912 Republican National Convention. As a Senator he was dedicated to principles rather than party loyalty, a trait which earned him the nickname "the Great Opposer." He disliked entangling alliances in foreign policy and became a prominent anti-imperialist and nationalist, favoring a continued separation of American liberal and European Great Power politics. He encouraged the formation of a series of world economic conferences and favored a low tariff.
In 1919 Borah and other Senate Republicans, notably Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts and Hiram W. Johnson of California, clashed with President Woodrow Wilson over Senate ratification of the Treaty of Versailles ending World War I and establishing the League of Nations. Borah emerged as leader of the "Irreconcilables," a group of senators noted for their uncompromising opposition to the treaty and the League. During 1919 Borah and Johnson toured the country speaking against the treaty in response to Wilson's own speaking tour supporting it. Borah's empassioned November 19, 1919, speech on the Senate floor in opposition to the treaty and League of Nations was considered to be instrumental in the Senate's ultimate rejection of it [1].
From 1925 to 1933, Borah served as the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. As Chairman, he became known for his pro-Soviet views, favoring recognition of the Communist regime, and sometimes interceded with that government in an unofficial capacity during the period when Moscow had no official relations with the United States. Purportedly, Kremlin officials held Borah in such high esteem that American citizens could gain permission to travel throughout the Soviet Union with nothing more than a letter from the Senator.
Domestically, he sponsored bills that created the Department of Labor and the Children's Bureau. He was one of the Senators responsible for uncovering the scandals of the Harding Administration. In 1932, unhappy with the conservative policies of President Herbert Hoover in light of the Great Depression, Borah refused to publicly endorse Hoover's reelection campaign.
After Hoover's defeat by Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, Borah, now the Dean of the United States Senate, supported certain components of the New Deal, such as old-age pensions and the reduced gold content of the dollar, but opposed others, including the National Industrial Recovery Act and the Agricultural Adjustment Act.
[edit] Personality and Views
Borah was a progressive Republican who often had strong differences of opinion with the conservative wing of the party. Borah also had a reputation for being headstrong. When conservative President Calvin Coolidge was told of Borah's fondness for horseback riding, the president is said to have replied, "It's hard to imagine Senator Borah going in the same direction as his horse."
Conservative Republicans in Idaho, notably Governor and later Senator Frank R. Gooding, often feuded with Borah as well. Nevertheless, Borah became a strong political force in Idaho and elsewhere often in spite of opposition from his own party.
[edit] 1936 Presidential Campaign
In an attempt to revitalize the progressive wing of the Republican Party, in 1936 a 71-year-old Borah ran for President of the United States, becoming the first Idahoan to do so. Borah's candidacy was opposed by the conservative Republican leadership and dismissed by Roosevelt. He managed to win only a handful of delegates. Borah won a majority of delegates in only one state, Wisconsin, where he had the endorsement of Progressive United States Senator Robert M. La Follette, Jr. Borah refused to endorse the eventual Republican nominee, Alf Landon, leading some to believe he might cross party lines and support Roosevelt's reelection. As he had four years earlier, ulimately he chose to support neither candidate. [2]
[edit] Legacy
Despite his failed presidential run, throughout his long career Borah remained personally popular among Idaho voters. While in the Senate in Idaho he never faced a serious political challenge from either the Republicans or Democrats. After abandoning his presidential campaign, later in 1936 at the height of Democratic power during the New Deal era, Borah ran for reelection against three-term Idaho Governor C. Ben Ross, a Roosevelt ally, and won with well over 60 percent of the vote.
Borah conducted a long-time affair with Alice Longworth, the daughter of Theodore Roosevelt and the wife of fellow politician Nicholas Longworth. He was long rumored to be the biological father of Alice Longworth's only child, Paulina Longworth, who was born nearly 20 years into her parents' marriage.
Known for his integrity, eloquent speaking ability, and genuine concern for his constituents, William E. Borah died in Washington, D.C., on January 19, 1940 of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 74. He is buried in Morris Hill Cemetery in Boise.
In 1947, the state of Idaho donated a bronze statue of Borah to the National Statuary Hall Collection. Idaho's highest point, Borah Peak, at 12,662 feet, is named for Borah. Two public schools in the state bear his name: Borah High School in Boise, and Borah Elementary School in Coeur d'Alene, as well as an annual symposium on foreign affairs at the University of Idaho in Moscow. In addition, a residence hall and a theater in the student union building are named for the senator.
[edit] Quotations
- "No more fatuous chimera has ever infested the brain than that you can control opinions by law or direct belief by statute, and no more pernicious sentiment ever tormented the heart than the barbarous desire to do so. The field of inquiry should remain open, and the right of debate must be regarded as a sacred right." —1917 [3]
- "America has arisen to a position where she is respected and admired by the entire world. She did it by minding her own business ... the European and American systems do not agree." —1919 speech in Brooklyn opposing the League of Nations. [4]
- "Lord, if I could only have talked with Hitler, all this might have been avoided." —September 1939, upon hearing that Hitler had invaded Poland.[5]
| Preceded by: Fred Dubois |
U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Idaho March 4, 1907–January 19, 1940 Served alongside: Weldon B. Heyburn, Kirtland I. Perky, James H. Brady, John F. Nugent, Frank R. Gooding, John W. Thomas, James P. Pope, D. Worth Clark |
Succeeded by: John W. Thomas |
| Preceded by: Pre-17th Amendment |
Republican Party nominee, U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Idaho 1918 (won), 1924 (won), 1930 (won), 1936 (won) |
Succeeded by: John W. Thomas |
| Preceded by: Henry Cabot Lodge |
Chair of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 1924–1933 |
Succeeded by: Key Pittman |
| Preceded by: Reed Smoot |
Dean of the United States Senate March 4, 1933–January 19, 1940 |
Succeeded by: Ellison D. Smith |
| United States Senators from Idaho |  |
|---|---|
| Class 2: Shoup • Dubois • Borah • Thomas • Gossett • Dworshak • Miller • Dworshak • Jordan • McClure • Craig Class 3: McConnell • Dubois • Heitfeld • Heyburn • Perky • Brady • Nugent • Gooding • Thomas • Pope • Clark • Taylor • Welker • Church • Symms • Kempthorne • Crapo |
