Paul A. Dever
This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(February 2011) |
Paul Dever | |
---|---|
![]() | |
58thGovernor of Massachusetts | |
In office January 6, 1949 – January 8, 1953 | |
Lieutenant | Charles F. Sullivan |
Preceded by | Robert F. Bradford |
Succeeded by | Christian Herter |
29thAttorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts | |
In office January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1941 | |
Governor | James Michael Curley Charles F. Hurley Leverett Saltonstall |
Preceded by | Joseph E. Warner |
Succeeded by | Robert T. Bushnell |
Personal details | |
Born | Paul Andrew Dever January 15, 1903 Boston, Massachusetts,U.S. |
Died | April 11, 1958 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | (aged 55)
Political party | Democratic |
Education | Northeastern University Boston University(LLB) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Branch/service | ![]() |
Years of service | 1942–1945 |
Rank | ![]() |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Paul Andrew Dever(January 15, 1903 – April 11, 1958) was an AmericanDemocraticpolitician fromBoston, Massachusetts.He served as the58th Governor of Massachusettsand was its youngest-everAttorney General. Among his notable accomplishments was the construction of Boston’s circumferential highway Route 128, then called "Dever’s Folley," which was later expanded to Interstate 95, one of the most used national highways.
Early life
[edit]Paul Dever was born inBoston, Massachusettsto two Irish immigrants, Joseph and Anna MacAlevy Dever. His father died when he was eight, and he took odd jobs as a youth to help the family make ends meet.[1]He attended Boston public schools, includingBoston Latin School.He attendedNortheastern Universityfor a time, but then transferred toBoston University,from whose law schoolhe graduated with anLL.B.in 1926[2]with high honors. He was admitted to the bar, and joined the practice of Harvey Boutwell, a blind attorney whose need to have papers read aloud furthered Dever's oratorical skills.[1]
He served[when?]as the grand knight of the Mt. Pleasant Council of the Knights of Columbus.[3]He was also the godfather to one of State DeputyThomas J. Spring's children. He appointed Spring to a judgeship inRoxbury District Court.[4]
Early political career
[edit]Dever was long interested in politics, having observed his uncleJohn,a leading figure inMassachusetts Democratic Partypolitics.[1]He served for some time as an aide to SenatorDavid I. Walsh,one of the state's most prominent Democratic politicians.[5]Dever was elected to theMassachusetts House of Representativesfor the3rd Middlesex districtin 1928, and served from 1929 to 1935 in a district representingCambridgethat had historically beenRepublican.[1]
In 1934 Dever was electedAttorney General,and was at age 31 the youngest to hold that office. Among his claimed successes were a 95% conviction rate, and the closure of a significant number of lenders engaging inusurious lending practices.He also identified under- or mis-utilized trust funds, including one which was eventually used for construction of theHatch Shellon Boston'sCharles River Esplanade.[1]In 1940, he challenged the popularincumbentGovernorLeverett Saltonstallfor his seat, losing by a margin of 0.3%.[1]
World War II
[edit]In 1942, Dever enlisted in theUnited States NavyforWorld War II.He was subsequently commissioned alieutenant commander,and served in theNorth Atlantic,EuropeanandAfricanSectors until his discharge at the end of the war in 1945. Assignments included command of the Marine Corps contingent atArgentia, Newfoundland and Labrador,and the delivery of election ballots to military posts. After the war, he continued to serve in the military reserve, and was eventually promoted to commander.[1]
Governor of Massachusetts
[edit]Dever lost the1946 raceforlieutenant governor,but two years later he defeated incumbent governorRobert F. Bradfordin a Democratic landslide, which saw that party gain complete control of the state for the first time in the 20th century. He was the state's 58th governor, and won election to a second term in1950,defeating the Republican candidate, former Lieutenant GovernorArthur W. Coolidge.
During his tenure, Dever increased state aid to schools and issued an executive order to extend higher education benefits toKorean Warveterans.Among his chief concerns werecivil defenseand resisting domesticcommunism.He supported legislation requiring school teachers to takeloyalty oaths,and he advocated increasing old age and workers compensation insurance. He also introduced a graduated income tax, and introduced measures to improve the care and education of the state's mentally handicapped.[5]
A major statewide transportation infrastructure initiative, developed by Governor Bradford, was passed during his term. Under this plan, the state constructedMassachusetts Route 128,theCentral Artery,andStorrow Drive.The first bond issue for this work was passed early in his term; it had previously been rejected by the Democratic legislature in Bradford's tenure.[1][6]This and other major spending initiatives greatly exceeded the amount raised by new tax levies,[6]and marked the start of an extended period of deficit spending by the state.[5]In Dever's second term, transportation spending was further expanded, and he established the Massachusetts Turnpike Commission, which funded construction of theMassachusetts Turnpikethrough bonds paid off by tolls.[7]
Another major initiative undertaken during Dever's period in office was a significant expansion of the state's facilities for the mentally handicapped, which had suffered for many years from overcrowding and understaffing. Among the facilities built was the Myles Standish State School for the Mentally Retarded inTaunton,which was renamed thePaul A. Dever State Schoolin his honor after his death.
In1952,Dever made an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Dever was also the keynote speaker at the1952 Democratic National Convention;his speech, one of the first such speeches to be televised, made the portly Dever look bad.[8]Also that year, the Dever administration came under fire when the Massachusetts Federation of Taxpayers Associations found that pensions for members and former members of thestate legislaturehad been increased. One of those eligible was formerMayor of Bostonand GovernorJames Michael Curley,a convicted felon. Dever gave in to pressure groups, calling a special session of the legislature that repealed the bill.
Dever had built a strong political machine in Massachusetts, and was widely considered a potential candidate for theUnited States Senatein 1952, which was also sought byJohn F. Kennedy.After informing Kennedy that he was interested in running again for governor, the two established a joint campaign committee. Kennedy maintained a distance from Dever and his campaign, and was able to capture the Senate seat in the election, which was otherwise a major victory for Republicans.[9]RepublicanChristian Herterdefeated Dever in a narrow win, assisted by the long coattails of Presidential winnerDwight David Eisenhower,[5]and discontent among the state's ethnic Democrats forAdlai Stevenson,the Democratic presidential nominee.[6]After Dever's death, associates of his alleged that the publisher of theBoston Postpressured Dever to arrange a loan in exchange for the newspaper's endorsement.[10]
Death and burial
[edit]After leaving office Dever returned to practicing law. He attempted to remain active in politics, supporting Stevenson in the1956 presidential race,even though most state party leaders did not believe Stevenson's chances againstEisenhowerwere any better than they had been in 1952.[11]
Dever was a lifelong bachelor, who lived for many years in Cambridge with his sister Marie. She served as his First Lady during his tenure as governor.[12]He suffered from heart disease in his later years, and died of a heart attack on April 11, 1958. He was buried inSt. Joseph Cemeteryin theWest Roxburysection of Boston.[13]
Notes
[edit]- ^abcdefgh"Ex-Gov. Dever to be waked in own home".Boston Globe.April 12, 1958.
- ^Hannan 2008,p. 110
- ^Lapomarda, S.J., Vincent A. (1992).The Knights of Columbus in Massachusetts(second ed.). Norwood, Massachusetts: Knights of Columbus Massachusetts State Council. p. 70.
- ^Lapomarda 1992,p. 78.
- ^abcdHogarty 2002,p. 36
- ^abcO'Connor 1995,p. 80
- ^O'Connor 1995,p. 82
- ^Nelson 2017,p. 451
- ^Savage 2012,pp. 9–13
- ^McKinnon, George (June 18, 1958). "Fox Pressured Dever, Got Loan, Says Proctor". Boston Globe.
- ^Nelson 2017,p. 509
- ^"Marie Dever". Boston Globe. February 14, 1959.
- ^"2000 at funeral of Dever".Boston Globe.April 15, 1958.
Sources
[edit]- Hannan, Caryn, ed. (2008).Massachusetts Biographical Dictionary.Hamburg, MI: State History Publications.ISBN9781878592668.OCLC198759744.
- Hogarty, Richard (2002).Massachusetts Politics and Public Policy: Studies in Power and Leadership.Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.ISBN9781558493513.OCLC48655943.
- Lapomarda, Vincent A. (1992).The Knights of Columbus in Massachusetts(second ed.). Norwood, Massachusetts: Knights of Columbus Massachusetts State Council.
- Nelson, Garrison (2017).John William McCormack: A Political Biography.Bloomsbury.ISBN9781628925173.
- O'Connor, Thomas (1995).Building a New Boston: Politics and Urban Renewal, 1950-1970.Boston: University Press of New England.ISBN9781555532468.OCLC231793654.
- Savage, Sean (2012).JFK, LBJ, and the Democratic Party.Albany: SUNY Press.ISBN9781423740223.OCLC62386293.
External links
[edit]- 1903 births
- 1958 deaths
- United States Navy personnel of World War II
- Boston University School of Law alumni
- Burials at St. Joseph Cemetery (West Roxbury, Massachusetts)
- Democratic Party governors of Massachusetts
- Massachusetts attorneys general
- Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
- Politicians from Boston
- United States Navy officers
- Candidates in the 1952 United States presidential election
- 20th-century American politicians