American politician
Forrest C. Donnell
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/Forrest_Donnell.jpg/220px-Forrest_Donnell.jpg) Official portrait as Governor,
c.
1941
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In office
January 3, 1945 ? January 3, 1951
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Preceded by
| Joel B. Clark
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Succeeded by
| Thomas C. Hennings, Jr.
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In office
February 26, 1941 ? January 8, 1945
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Lieutenant
| Frank Gaines Harris
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Preceded by
| Lloyd C. Stark
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Succeeded by
| Phil M. Donnelly
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Born
| Forrest Carl Donnell
(
1884-08-20
)
August 20, 1884
Quitman, Missouri
, U.S.
|
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Died
| March 3, 1980
(1980-03-03)
(aged 95)
St. Louis, Missouri
, U.S.
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Political party
| Republican
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Forrest Carl
[
citation needed
]
Donnell
(August 20, 1884 – March 3, 1980) was an American attorney and politician who served as a
United States senator
and the
40th governor
of
Missouri
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Donnell was born in
Quitman, Missouri
. Donnell graduated from
Maryville High School
in 1900, where his father was once mayor; the Donnells lived in the home that had once belonged to
Albert Morehouse
, who also served as governor.
At the
University of Missouri
he was a member of the
Kappa Sigma
and
Phi Delta Phi
fraternities. He was also elected as a member of the
Phi Beta Kappa
,
Theta Kappa Nu
and
QEBH
societies. He was valedictorian of the 1904 class and received a law degree in 1907.
In 1907 he moved to
St. Louis, Missouri
. In October 1911 he and future Senator
Selden P. Spencer
founded the law firm Spencer & Donnell. Donnell married Hilda Hays in 1913. They had two children, Ruth and John Lanier.
[1]
In 1917 he was president of the Association of
Young Republicans
of Missouri; in 1918-1920, a member of the executive committee of the Republican State Committee of Missouri; and in 1919, a president of the 28th Ward Republican Club of St. Louis.
[2]
He was the city attorney for
Webster Groves, Missouri
, a
suburb
southwest of
St. Louis City
.
Governor
[
edit
]
Donnell as governor.
Donnell was
elected governor of Missouri in 1940
and served one term from 1941 to 1945.
[3]
He was the first Republican governor after the collapse of the
Thomas Pendergast
political machine and the only major Republican elected statewide in the 1940 election; Democrats delayed seating him for six weeks until being forced to do so by the
Missouri Supreme Court
in what was called the "Great Governorship Steal".
Donnell had defeated St. Louis politician Lawrence "Larry" McDaniel by 3,613 votes out of nearly 2 million cast, thanks largely to votes from rural areas.
[4]
Donnell's predecessor
Lloyd C. Stark
had wrested control of federal appointments in the state from the Pendergast machine in 1936. Consequently, there was unease about a Republican taking over the appointments.
Within hours of the election, several members of the Democratic party met at the DeSoto Hotel in St. Louis to plan a response. Among those attending were Senator
Bennett Champ Clark
, St. Louis Mayor
Bernard F. Dickmann
, Democratic Party Chairman
Robert Hannegan
, Attorney General
Roy McKittrick
and state Democratic Chairman
C. Marion Hulen
.
Their strategy was to charge that Republican votes were fraudulently bought. They sought to use a provision of the Missouri Constitution that allowed the speaker of the house to "count ? tabulate ? the votes and proclaim to the general public who won".
Donnell was refused to be seated while the speaker investigated the votes. Governor Stark urged that he be seated. The Missouri Supreme Court ultimately seated him.
[5]
[6]
Donnell was a
Mason
with Tuscan Lodge #360 in St. Louis, serving as Worshipful Master in 1915 and was elected Grand Master of Missouri A.F. & A.M.(1942-1943) during his term as governor. Ironically, Democrat
Harry S. Truman
was to imply that Donnell helped Truman win the
1940 Senate election
because of their Masonic
bond.
Truman said:
- I had a Catholic friend in St. Louis by the name of James E. Wade. He attended a meeting [where]
Davis
made his usual charges. Forrest Donnell, who afterwards became [Republican] Governor and Senator, was speaking from the same platform. Donnell was just behind me in the Grand Lodge line and would be Grand Master in a year or two.
- So Jim Wade went up to him ... and asked him if I could be the low sort of fellow that Davis charged and still be Grand Master of Masons of Missouri. Mr. Donnell said: 'No, Jim, he could not.' That ruined Mr. Davis?I won by 276,000 votes."
[7]
Donnell's ambitious plans as governor were largely thwarted, despite the Republican party gaining control of the house of representatives and an equal share in the senate in 1942.
[1]
Senator
[
edit
]
Donnell was elected to the
U.S. Senate
in 1944. In that race, he defeated state Attorney General
Roy McKittrick
by 1,988 votes out of nearly 1.56 million cast
[1]
. McKittrick had unseated incumbent U.S. Senator
Bennett Champ Clark
in the Democratic primary. He served from 1945 to 1951. As senator, Donnell supported the
Taft-Hartley Act
, other antilabor measures, and lower income taxes. He opposed an excess-profits tax and most foreign aid.
[1]
He lost to former
U.S. Representative
Thomas C. Hennings Jr.
by 53.6%-to-46.4% in the
United States Senate elections, 1950
.
He returned to practicing law and retired in 1956. Donnell served as president of the University of Missouri Alumni Association and as a trustee of the
State Historical Society of Missouri
.
[8]
He died in 1980 at the age of 95 in St. Louis.
[1]
He is buried in
Bellefontaine Cemetery
.
References
[
edit
]
- Specific
- ^
a
b
c
d
Capeci, Jr., Dominic J. (1999). Lawrence O. Christensen (ed.).
Dictionary of Missouri Biography
. Columbia: University of Missouri Press. pp. 248?250.
- ^
Stevens, Walter B. (1921).
Centennial History of Missouri
. S.J. Clarke Publishing Co
. Retrieved
January 4,
2014
.
- ^
"C0194 Donnell, Forrest c. (1884-1980), Papers, 1941-1945"
(PDF)
. The State Historical Society of Missouri
. Retrieved
January 4,
2014
.
- ^
1940 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Missouri
- ^
The Missouri Supreme Court: From Dred Scott to Nancy Cruzan by Gerald T. Dunne ? University of Missouri Press ? 1993 ? pages 141-145 (available of print.google.com)
ISBN
0-8262-0826-6
- ^
"Ex Machina"
.
Time
. April 11, 1941.
- ^
"The Wonderful Wastebasket"
.
Time
. March 24, 1952.
- ^
"C0796 Donnell, Forrest C. (1884-1980), Senatorial Papers, 1945-1950"
(PDF)
. The State Historical Society of Missouri
. Retrieved
January 4,
2014
.
- General
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