Clarence J. Brown

For other people with similar names, seeClarence Brown (disambiguation).

Clarence J. Brown
Brown in 1953
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromOhio's7thdistrict
In office January 3, 1939 – August 23, 1965
Preceded by	Arthur W. Aleshire
Succeeded by	Bud Brown
36thLieutenant Governor of Ohio
In office January 13, 1919 – January 8, 1923
Governor	James M. Cox Harry L. Davis
Preceded by	Earl D. Bloom
Succeeded by	Earl D. Bloom
36thOhio Secretary of State
In office January 10, 1927 – January 9, 1933
Governor	A. Victor Donahey Myers Y. Cooper George White
Preceded by	Thad H. Brown
Succeeded by	George S. Myers
Personal details
Born	Clarence James Brown (1893-07-14)July 14, 1893 Blanchester, Ohio,U.S.
Died	August 23, 1965(1965-08-23)(aged 72) Bethesda, Maryland,U.S.
Resting place	I.O.O.F. Cemetery,Blanchester, Ohio
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Ethel McKinney
Children	3, includingBud
Relatives	Clancy Brown(grandson)
Alma mater	Washington and Lee University School of Law

Clarence James Brown Sr.(July 14, 1893 – August 23, 1965), was an Americannewspaperpublisher and politician; he representedOhioas aRepublicanin theUnited States House of Representativesfrom 1939 until his death inBethesda, Marylandin 1965. Long representingconservativeviews, near the end of his life, he helped gain House passage of theVoting Rights Act of 1965,which he voted for to provide enforcement of the right to vote for all citizens,while also voting in favor of theCivil Rights Act of 1957,1960,and1964.

As president ofBrown Publishing Companyfrom 1920, he created a huge media company that lasted for 90 years. In 1918, at age 25, Brown was elected as the 36thlieutenant governor of Ohio,the youngest man to gain that post.

Life and career

Brown was born inBlanchester,Clinton County, OhioorWest Union,Clermont County, Ohio,the son of Owen and Ellen Barerre (née McCoppin) Brown. He attended the Blanchester public schools, and then attended law school atWashington and Lee University,inLexington, Virginia,from 1913 to 1915.

On his twenty-first birthday, Brown married Ethel McKinney. He worked as state statistician in 1915 and 1916 in theOhio Secretary of State's office.

Brown began newspaper work inBlanchesterin 1917, where he published several country newspapers. He became president of theBrown Publishing Companyin Blanchester, and also owned and operated several large farms in the Blanchester area. He directed Brown Publishing for the rest of his life.

Political career

Brown as lieutenant governor of Ohio 1919–1923.

In 1918, at 25, Brown was elected as the 36th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, serving from 1919 to 1923; he was the youngest man ever to hold the office. In 1926, he was electedOhio Secretary of Stateand served from 1927 to 1933.

In 1921, at the height of theKu Klux Klan's power in Ohio, Brown supported federal civil rights legislation to stop the lynching of African-Americans.In 1938, prior to his first election as U.S. representative, he was one of only 67 (of 870) candidates for U.S. House along with only 8 (out of 96) sitting Senators to pledge support to theNAACPfor federal anti-lynching legislation, the legislative precursor to modern civil rights legislation.In 1940, during debate of the anti-lynching bill he stated:

We hear much of the struggle throughout the world to maintain democracy. From the lips of those who oppose this measure comes... at other times... the loudest protestations of belief in democracy. Let me say, here and now, that if democracy is to continue to live throughout the world, and here in our beloved America, those of us who have the ability and power to do so must see to it that the full rights of the weak and defenseless are safeguarded against the violence and the intolerance of the strong and the mighty.

In 1947, during floor debate involvingAdam Clayton Powell Jr.(D–NY) andJohn E. Rankin(D–MS), Brown forced a rule change from SpeakerJoseph W. Martin Jr.(R–MA) to prohibit racially offensive language from being used on the House floor.

Brown twice ran for governor of Ohio. In 1932, he lost the primary. In 1934, he won the Republican nomination but lost the general election. Brown was a delegate to theRepublican National Conventionsin 1936, 1940, 1944 and 1948 and a member of theRepublican National Committeefrom 1944.

Brown was elected in 1938 as a Republican to theSeventy-sixthand to the thirteen succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1939 until his death in 1965. While in Congress, he was chairman of the Select Committee on Newsprint in theEightieth Congress;he was a personal friend of Democrat Speaker of the HouseSam RayburnofTexas.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Brown staunchly opposed PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt'sNew Dealpolicies to expand the federal bureaucracy. He also opposed expanding U.S. foreign military entanglements until theattack on Pearl Harbor.However, in March 1941 he voted in favor of providing increased military aid to theUnited Kingdomduring that country's war againstNazi Germany.FollowingWorld War II,Brown warned against the continuation and expansion offoreign aidprograms that were meant to be temporary. WhenHarry S. Trumanbecame president, Brown opposed hisFair Deal,viewing it as corrupt cronyism through the expansion of federal bureaucracy.

Brown cosponsored legislation to create theHoover Commissionto study and reform the federal government and served on the commission, formally the Commission on the Organization of the Executive Branch of Government.

By the 1950s, Brown was the ranking minority member of the importantRules Committeein Congress. In the 1960s, he worked with its chairman, the DemocratHoward W. SmithofVirginia,to block expansive federal legislation sought by PresidentsJohn F. KennedyandLyndon B. Johnson.Smith was a senior member of theSouthern Bloc,which was established by whiteDemocratsat the turn of the 20th century, when the formerConfederate Statesdisfranchisedblacks. However, near the end of his life, Brown convinced the segregationist Smith to allow landmark civil rights legislation to reach the House floor for a vote.

He checked out of the hospital to help shepherd theVoting Rights Act of 1965through Smith's Rules Committee, and he contributed to the achievements of theCivil rights movement.

Brown died fromuremic poisoningdue tokidney failureatBethesda Naval Hospital,Bethesda, Marylandon August 23, 1965.He was buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery,Blanchester, Ohio.

Brown was a member of theMasons,K. of P.,I.O.O.F.,Moose,andM.W.A.

Brown and his wife Ethel had three children — Betty, Dorothy andClarence J. "Bud" Brown Jr.

His son, Bud, won the special election in 1965 to fill his father's seat in Congress. His grandson isClancy Brown,an actor. He is not related to thefilm directorof the same name.

• 
  Brown family headstone at I.O.O.F. Cemetery in Blanchester, Ohio.
• 
  Gravemarker of Clarence J. Brown.

See also

• List of United States representatives from Ohio
• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1950–99)

References

This article incorporatespublic domain materialfrom theBiographical Directory of the United States Congress

External links

• United States Congress."Clarence J. Brown (id: B000909)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

• A film clip"Longines Chronoscope with Rep. Clarence J. Brown (December 17, 1951)"is available for viewing at theInternet Archive