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Homer Samuel Ferguson(February 25, 1889 – December 17, 1982) was an American attorney, professor, judge,United States senatorfromMichigan,Ambassadorto thePhilippines,and later a judge on theUnited States Court of Military Appeals.
Education and early career
editFerguson attended public schools and theUniversity of Pittsburgh.He graduated from theUniversity of MichiganatAnn Arborin 1913, was admitted to thebarthe same year and commenced practice inDetroit.He was judge of thecircuit courtforWayne County, Michigan,from 1929 to 1942 and also professor of law atDetroit College of Law(now part ofMichigan State University) from 1929 to 1939.[1]
Senator
editElected as aRepublicanto the United States Senate in 1942 and was reelected in 1948, serving from January 3, 1943, to January 3, 1955. Ferguson successfully was re-elected in 1948 over DemocratFrank E. Hookin a year dominated by the Democratic party's upset wins. The election was contested by Hook, who alleged fraud; a subcommittee uncovered unethical practices in the election cycle, though it exonerated Ferguson, who was seated.[2]
He unsuccessfully ran for reelection to a third-term in 1954, defeated byDemocratPatrick V. McNamara.
While in the Senate, he served as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee in the83rd United States Congress.
In 1943, Ferguson was one of 12 senators who sponsored or co-sponsored the Rescue Resolution, which would have declared that Congress "recommends and urges the creation by the President of a commission of diplomatic, economic, and military experts to formulate and effectuate a plan of immediate action designed to save the surviving Jewish people of Europe from extinction at the hands of Nazi Germany."[3]
In 1948, he served as chairman of theInvestigations Subcommittee of the Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments,which held hearings on such matters asexport controlviolations, for whichSovietspyWilliam Remingtonwas called in to testify; the trial ofNaziwar criminalIlse Koch;and theMississippiDemocratic Party's sale of postal jobs, which Mississippians from rural areas attested to purchasing. On July 30, 1948, his committee heard testimony from ex-Soviet spyElizabeth Bentley.Bentley testified before theHouse Un-American Activities Committeethe next day, followed byWhittaker Chambersa few days later – setting off theHiss Case,used by bothRichard NixonandJoseph McCarthyfor their own political agendas.[4]
Ferguson sponsored an anti-lynching bill, which was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in June 1949.[5]The House of Representatives had approved several anti-lynching bills. Due to opposition from Southern Democrats, no anti-lynching bill was ever approved by the full Senate.[6]
He introduced the Senate version of the bill that inserted "under God" into thePledge of Allegiancein 1954.Michigan's 17th congressional districtUnited States House of RepresentativesRepublicanCharles G. Oakmanhad previously introduced a House version. The bill became law onFlag Day,June 14, 1954.
Also in 1954, Ferguson proposed several amendments to theBricker Amendment.[7]
Later life
editFerguson served asUnited States Ambassadorto thePhilippinesfrom 1955 to 1956 and was judge of theUnited States Court of Military AppealsinWashington, D.C.,from 1956 to until his retirement 1971. He served as senior judge on the United States Court of Military Appeals from 1971 to 1976.
In 1976, he retired and moved back to Michigan and resided inGrosse Pointeuntil his death in 1982.[8]
Ferguson's involvement behind the scenes in influencing the failed investigation, trial, and slander ofPreston Tuckerby theSecurities and Exchange Commissionhas long been speculated.Lloyd Bridgesportrayed Ferguson in the 1988 filmTucker: The Man and His Dreamin which Tucker was played by the elder actor's sonJeff Bridges.
References
edit- ^"Ferguson to Put Fire in Congress".The Washington Post.December 27, 1942. p. B7.ProQuest151461542.
- ^The Election Case of Frank E. Hook v. Homer Ferguson of Michigan (1949).United States Senate.Retrieved September 13, 2021.
- ^Wyman, David S. (1984).The Abandonment of the Jews: America and the Holocaust 1941-1945.Pantheon Books. p. 194.ISBN0-394-74077-7.RetrievedNovember 10,2018.
- ^Olmsted, Kathryn S. (2002).Red Spy Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth Bentley.The University of North Carolina Press. pp. 129–139.ISBN0-8078-2739-8.RetrievedMarch 1,2018.
- ^"Committee Approves Anti-Lynching Bill; Senate's First Formal Action on 'Rights'".New York Times.June 7, 1948.RetrievedNovember 10,2018.
- ^Thomas-Lester, Avis (June 14, 2005)."A Senate Apology for History on Lynching".Washington Post.RetrievedNovember 10,2018.
- ^Roberts, Chalmers M (January 7, 1954). "Leaders Study Compromise To Soften Bricker Amendment".The Washington Post.p. 2.ProQuest152637623.
- ^"Ex-Sen. Homer Ferguson Dies".The Washington Post.December 19, 1982. p. B6.ProQuest147336917.
Sources
editExternal links
edit- Homer Ferguson Papers 1939-1976,collection maintained byUniversity of Michigan
- Tucker: The Man and His DreamatIMDb
- A film clip"Longines Chronoscope with Homer Ferguson"is available for viewing at theInternet Archive
- A film clip"Longines Chronoscope with Sen. Homer Ferguson (October 12, 1951)"is available for viewing at theInternet Archive
