Hugh Scott
Hugh Doggett Scott Jr. (November 11, 1900 – July 21, 1994) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1941 to 1945 and from 1947 to 1959 and in the U.S. Senate, from 1959 to 1977. He served as Senate Minority Leader from 1969 to 1977.
For other people named Hugh Scott, see Hugh Scott (disambiguation).
Hugh Scott
7th district (1941–1945)
6th district (1947–1959)
November 11, 1900
Fredericksburg, Virginia, U.S.
July 21, 1994 (aged 93)
Falls Church, Virginia, U.S.
1
- Hugh Doggett Scott (father)
- Jane Lee Lewis (mother)
- Lawyer
- politician
United States
1917–1918 (Army)
1940–1946 (Navy)
Born and educated in Virginia, Scott moved to Philadelphia to join his uncle's law firm. He was appointed as Philadelphia's assistant district attorney in 1926 and remained in that position until 1941. Scott won election to represent Northwest Philadelphia in the House of Representatives in 1940. He lost re-election in 1944 but won his seat back in 1946 and served in the House until 1959. Scott established a reputation as an internationalist and moderate Republican Congressman. After helping Thomas E. Dewey win the 1948 Republican presidential nomination, Scott held the position of Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1948 to 1949. He also served as Dwight Eisenhower's campaign chairman in the 1952 presidential election.
Scott won election to the Senate in 1958, narrowly prevailing over Democratic Governor George M. Leader. He was a strong advocate for civil rights legislation and voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,[1][2] 1960,[3] 1964,[4] and 1968,[5] as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965,[6][7][8] and the confirmation of Thurgood Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court.[9] He won election as Senate Minority Whip in January 1969 and was elevated to Senate Minority Leader after Everett Dirksen's death later that year. As the Republican leader in the Senate, Scott urged President Richard Nixon to resign in the aftermath of the Watergate Scandal. Scott declined to seek another term in 1976 and retired in 1977.
Early life and education[edit]
The son of Hugh Doggett and Jane Lee (née Lewis) Scott,[10] Hugh Doggett Scott was born on an estate in Fredericksburg, Virginia, that was once owned by George Washington.[11] His grandfather served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War under General John Hunt Morgan, and his great-grandmother was the niece of President Zachary Taylor.[12] After attending public schools in Fredericksburg, he studied at Randolph–Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, from which he graduated in 1919.[13] He enrolled in the Student Reserve Officers Training Corps and the Students' Army Training Corps during World War I.[13]
In 1922, Scott earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law at Charlottesville, where he was a member of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society and the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity.[10] His interest in politics was established after he frequently attended committee hearings in the Virginia House of Delegates.[14]
Early political career[edit]
Scott was admitted to the bar in 1922 and then moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he joined his uncle's law firm.[12] Two years later, he married Marian Huntington Chase to whom he remained married until her death in 1987. The couple had one daughter, Marian.[11]
Scott, who had become a regular worker for the Republican Party, was appointed assistant district attorney of Philadelphia in 1926[12] and served in that position until 1941. He claimed to have prosecuted more than 20,000 cases during his tenure.[14] From 1938 to 1940, he served as a member of the Governor's Commission on Reform of the Magistrates System.[13]
United States House of Representatives[edit]
In 1940, after longtime Republican incumbent George P. Darrow decided to retire, Scott was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district.[13] The district was then based in Northwest Philadelphia.[14] He defeated Democratic candidate Gilbert Cassidy by a margin of 3,362 votes.[15] In 1942, he was re-elected to a second term after defeating Democrat Thomas Minehart, a former member of the Philadelphia City Council and future Pennsylvania Treasurer; Scott received nearly 56% of the vote.[16]
In 1943, he became a member of the Virginia Society of the Cincinnati. In 1944, Scott was defeated for re-election by Democrat Herb McGlinchey, losing by only 2,329 votes.[17]
Scott joined the United States Navy Reserve in 1940. He served during World War II, and was posted to both Iceland with the Atlantic Fleet and the USS New Mexico with the United States Pacific Fleet. He was among US forces that entered Japan on the first day of post-war occupation, and was discharged with the rank of commander.[13]
In 1946, Scott reclaimed his House seat, handily defeating McGlinchey by a margin of more than 23,000 vote by speaking out against both President Franklin Roosevelt's "betrayal at Yalta" and communists in Washington, DC.[14][18] He was reelected five times, and served until winning election to the U.S. Senate.
During his tenure in the House, Scott established himself as a strong internationalist by voting in favor of foreign aid to both Greece and Turkey and the Marshall Plan.[12] He also earned a reputation as a moderate Republican by supporting public housing, rent control, and the abolition of the poll tax as well as other legislation sought by the Civil Rights Movement.[12] From 1948 to 1949,[19] he served as chairman of the Republican National Committee; he received the position after helping New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey obtain the Republican nomination in the 1948 presidential election.[11] Facing staunch opposition from Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft, Scott barely survived a no-confidence ballot but still resigned as RNC chairman.[14] He later served as campaign chairman for Dwight Eisenhower during the 1952 presidential election.[14]
Later life[edit]
Scott was a resident of Washington, D.C., and then Falls Church, Virginia, until his death there in 1994. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. His papers are held at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia.