On eBay Now...RARE “Rhode Island Senator" J Howard McGrath Hand Signed TLS Dated 1947 For Sale
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RARE “Rhode Island Senator" J Howard McGrath Hand Signed TLS Dated 1947:
$199.99
Up for sale "Rhode Island Senator" J Howard McGrath Signed TLS Dated 1947.ES-3863DJames Howard McGrath(November28, 1903– September 2, 1966) was anAmerican politicianandattorneyfrom theU.S. stateofRhode Island. McGrath, aDemocrat, servedasU.S. AttorneyforRhode Island before becomingGovernor,U.S. SolicitorGeneral,U.S. Senator, chairman oftheDemocratic National Committee,andAttorney General of the UnitedStates. Born inWoonsocket, Rhode Island.McGrath was the son of James J. McGrath and the former Ida E. May. He graduatedfrom theLa Salle Academyin1922, attendedProvidence College, andwent to theBoston UniversityLawSchool in 1929. McGrath married Estelle A. Cadorette on November 28, 1929.Theyadopteda son. From 1930 to 1934, he was thecity solicitorofCentral Falls, Rhode Island.During this time he was also interested in thereal estate,insurance, andbankingindustries. He served asUnited States AttorneyfortheDistrict of Rhode Islandfrom1934 to 1940. From 1941 until 1945, he wasGovernor of Rhode Island,reorganizing thejuvenile courtsystemwhile sponsoring a workers' compensation fund and a labor relations board, buthe resigned in the middle of his third term to accept appointment asSolicitorGeneral of the United States(1945–1946). As Governor, McGrathpresided over a limited-purpose state constitutional convention in 1944. McGrathwas elected as aDemocrattotheUnited States SenatefromRhode Island in 1946 to join a Congress (theEightieth, 1947 to1949), where the oppositionRepublican Partyhadjust replaced Democratic majorities in both houses. (SeeUnited States elections, 1946.)He was briefly chairman of theU.S. Senate Committee on the District of Columbiaforthe81st Congress(towhich the1948 electionhadreturned Democratic majorities). In the Senate, McGrath opposed reducingwartime economic controls and taxes, wishing to spend the latter instead onSocial Security, national health insurance, and education. Hewas chairman of theDemocratic National Committeefrom1947 to 1949. In managing PresidentHarry Truman's successful 1948 election campaign, McGrathalienated white Southerners but won over crucial black constituencies byintegrating the Democratic national headquarters staff. Trumanappointed Sen. McGrathAttorney Generalof the United Stateson August 24, 1949. He resigned on April3, 1952, after he had refused to cooperate in a corruption investigationinitiated by his own department. Truman asked for and received McGrath'sresignation. Alternativeaccounts have contradictorily suggested that after a meeting of theJoint Chiefs of StaffatTruman's "Little White House" in Key West, theSecretary of theNavy, along with other members, had threatened to resign if they,too, were forced to comply with Special Assistant Attorney GeneralNewbold Morris's request for the personal records of all thosemembers who might have received gifts under the scope of the corruptioninvestigation. Under pressure to follow through with the Justice Departmentcorruption investigation, along with the threats of resignation, McGrath agreedthat Morris's request was asking too much and that the best thing to do at thatpoint was to clean up the department from that point forward and leave the pastalone. Truman had been backed into a corner and the only way out was to ask forMcGrath's resignation. This account was corroborated by a letter from Truman toMcGrath, which hung in the hallway of McGrath's summer home inNarragansett, Rhode Islandupto the time of his death in 1966. McGrath entered the private practice of lawinWashington, D.C.andProvidence. In 1960, he was an unsuccessful candidate to succeed the retiringU.S. Sen.Theodore Francis Green(Democratof Rhode Island), losing the Democratic primary (also contested by formerGovernorDennis J. Roberts)toClaiborne Pell. McGrathdied of aheart attackinNarragansett, Rhode IslandonSeptember 2, 1966, at the age of 62. His body was buried at theSt. Francis CemeteryinPawtucket, Rhode Island. Thereis a bust of Senator McGrath outside the House chamber in theRhode Island State House. Related Items:
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