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U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania | |
| Predecessor | James J. Davis |
| Successor | Francis J. Myers |
| Born | July 30, 1881 West Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | June 21, 1940 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Spouse | Ethel Conway Peters (m. 1905) |
| Political Party | Republican (before 1937)
Progressive Union (1937 - 1940) |
| Religion | Quaker |
| Profession | Major General, politician |
Major General Smedley Darlington Butler (July 30, 1881 – June 21, 1940) was a senior United States Marine Corps officer and American politician who served as a Senator from Pennsylvania from 1933 until his death until 1940. Prior to being elected to the Senate, Butler would serve as marine corps soldier who fought in the Philippine–American War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Mexican Revolution and World War I. Butler would also be very known for being the founder of the Progressive Union as well as serving as the Progressive Union's first Senator.
Military Career[]
Butler's military career would begin in 1898 when he would drop out of the Haverford School and lie about his age to receive a direct commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps to fight in the Spanish-American War. Butler would be assigned to the USS New York for 4 months and would come home to be mustered out of service in February of 1899. But then Butler would then be commissioned as a first lieutenant on April 9th, 1899. Butler would then serve in the Philippine-American War, fighting in the Battle of Noveleta.
After deployment in the Philippines, Butler would be deployed to China in 1900 and would climb out of a trench to rescue a wounded marine. For his actions of bravery during the Boxer Rebellion, Butler would be awarded the Marine Corps Brevet Medal in 1921. Butler was one of only 20 marines to receive the medal.
Butler would also serve in the Banana Wars and would be deployed to Honduras in 1903 to assist in securing US business interests in the region. Butler's involvement in the Banana Wars would be eye-opening to him and would be influential on Butler when he wrote his 1935 book War is a Racket. In this book, Butler would recall his involvement in the Banana Wars as a "raping of 13 central American Republics for the benefit of Wall Street".
Smedley Butler in uniform c. 1929
With the interception of the Zimmerman Telegram, Wilson would order the marines to intervene in Mexico and capture the city of Veracruz. Butler would earn the medal of honor for his involvement in Veracruz in 1914. However, Smedley attempted to return it as he felt he did not do anything to earn it. Butler would earn a second medal of honor for his involvement in the Battle of Fort Riviere during the Haitian Civil War in 1915. This made Smedley Butler one of only 15 people to have ever earned the medal of honor twice.
Butler's last deployment in his long military career would be to western Europe during World War 1. Butler was deployed in the defense sector of the United States Military but would still end up earning the Order of the Black Star award from the French Government. At the time of his death in 1940, Butler was the most decorated veteran in American history.
Senator from Pennsylvania[]
Smedley Butler would run for the United States Senate in Pennsylvania in the 1932 election. Butler would run an unconventional campaign, running as a pro-prohibition, pro-veteran, pro-Union Republican. He was challenging incumbent Senator James Davis in the Republican primary. Throughout the primary campaign, Butler would associate Davis with Democratic nominee Al Smith and used this association to attack Davis. Butler would defeat Davis with 54% of the vote. Butler would be sworn into the Senate on January 3rd, 1933 by then-Vice President Charles Curtis.
Senator Butler campaigns for veterans' rights in front of a group of veterans (1938)
In the senate, Butler would be one of the most outspoken advocates for veterans and would sponsor legislation that would increase bonuses that were offered to World War 1 veterans, effectively giving even more benefits to the bonus army. However, these efforts would be sidelined by the conservative coalition which still remained dominant in Congress throughout the 1930s. As the conservative factions would continue to solidify their control in both parties, Butler would grow frustrated with both parties and would eventually lead a convention throughout late 1936 and early 1937 to form what would become the Progressive Union in June of 1937. In 1937, Butler would officially switch parties from Republican to the Progressive Union, becoming the first official Progressive Unionist Senator. Butler would campaign for the newly formed party throughout the 1938 midterms, but there would be no Progressive Unionists elected to the Senate and 3 elected to the House of Representatives.
Butler's tenure as senator would come to an end when he would die of an upper gastro-intestinal tract infection on June 21st, 1940. The death would come as a shock to the Progressive Union party, which was planning to choose Butler as their nominee for President for the 1940 presidential election and it would result in the Progressive Union losing representation in the Senate for the remainder of the 75th Congress. Butler would be buried at Oaklands Cemetery back in his home state of Pennsylvania.
See also:[]
Sources cited[]
- Wikipedia Contributors. “Smedley Butler.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Sept. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler. Accessed 13 Oct. 2019.
- “A Veteran’s Warning | Smedley Butler.” Www.youtube.com, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg-nUy2DalM. Accessed 14 Jan. 2022.
- Butler, Smedley D. War Is a Racket : The Anti-War Classic by America’s Most Decorated Soldier. United States, Createspace, 2016.