Charles Aubrey Eaton
Encyclopedia
Charles Aubrey Eaton was a Canadian
-born clergyman and politician who rose to lead prominent congregations at Natick, Massachusetts
, 1893–1895; Bloor Street, Toronto
, 1895–1901; Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, 1901–1909; and at Madison Avenue
, New York City
, 1909-1919. Eaton served in the United States House of Representatives
from 1925–1953, representing the from 1925–1933, and (as a result of redistricting based on the 1930 Census
) the from 1933-1953.
, Canada
, in 1868. His early life was marred by poverty and ill health that interfered with his education, but as the result of a religious conversion experienced under the influence of a clergyman he met as a young man, he was inspired to recover lost ground, and he eventually graduated from Acadia University
, a Baptist
institution in Wolfville, Nova Scotia
, where he studied divinity. He became known in the cities where he preached for lively, exhortative, and often humorous oratory.
, for persistently ignoring by-laws prohibiting street preaching. However, he wanted to extend his ministry beyond the churches, into which many of the spiritually needy never stepped. At the same time, Eaton was the preacher at Euclid Avenue Baptist Church, situated on Cleveland's 'millionaire's row,' and as a result he came to the attention of John D. Rockefeller
, a summer resident of Cleveland who attended church there. They became lifelong friends, and this connection influenced Eaton's future path. It also influenced that of another well known Canadian who went on to have an outstanding career in the United States, his favorite nephew, Cyrus S. Eaton
. He introduced him to Rockefeller in 1901, when Cyrus was still a university student. Cyrus went on to work for Rockefeller, and eventually become one of Cleveland's first citizens, and one of America's premier industrialists. Charles moved to North Plainfield, New Jersey
in 1909, and started a dairy farm, while at the same time preaching to a prominent New York City Baptist congregation. The area in which he lived separated from North Plainfield in 1926, and the Borough of Watchung, New Jersey
was founded there. He lived there until his death.
, New York Tribune
, and Boston Transcript while in Toronto. He was editor of Leslie’s Weekly
(1919, 1920), and (while director of labor relations
at General Electric
's National Lamp Works) editor of Light (1923–1924).
during World War I
, helping to quell labor unrest and promote the values of patriotism and self-sacrifice among shipyard workers in a time of national emergency. He had tinkered with journalism for many years as a part-time columnist while he was preaching, and his next career challenge took him into the occupation full time. As a sample of his political opinions in 1920, Charles Eaton wrote in Leslie's Magazine, of which he was then editor, that “The fundamental idea of our American civilization is this: any man who has the stuff in him can, by his own energy, thrift, industry and courage, rise to any height he may choose. His only limit is his own weakness. He, himself, is in a class by himself. There is no other class here… This is the greatest experiment ever made by man. It is a new idea fit to be developed only in a new world. It is the American idea.”
Eaton was then associated with the General Electric Company as counselor in industrial relations, and the fundamental principles which he worked out were adopted by GE in developing their progressive policies.
In 1924, Eaton was elected as a Republican
to the 69th U.S. Congress
and to the thirteen succeeding Congresses, serving until 1952. He rose to become chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (Eightieth Congress), and served on the Select Committee on Foreign Aid (Eightieth Congress). Eaton signed the original United Nations Charter
in San Francisco
as part of a delegation
representing the United States Government. He helped gain support for the Marshall Plan
—also known as the Economic Cooperation Act of 1948—which was passed by Congress in 1948 by a vote of 329 to 74. For several years, he served in Congress alongside his nephew William R. Eaton
, a Representative from Colorado
.
Eaton was a steadfast opponent of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
's New Deal
. However, he was frequently invited to the White House for meetings with both presidents Roosevelt and Truman because of his sharp understanding of international politics.
Twenty days after his retirement from Congress, Eaton died in Washington, D.C.
and was interred in Hillside Cemetery located in Scotch Plains, New Jersey
.
An attempt was made to get a U.S. postage stamp named after him which was sponsored by N. J. Gov.
James Florio
, Congressman Dean Gallo
and Sen. Bill Bradley
, to no avail.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-born clergyman and politician who rose to lead prominent congregations at Natick, Massachusetts
Natick, Massachusetts
Natick is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Natick is located near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 33,006 at the 2010 census. Only west from Boston, Natick is considered part of the Greater Boston area...
, 1893–1895; Bloor Street, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, 1895–1901; Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, 1901–1909; and at Madison Avenue
Madison Avenue (Manhattan)
Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square to the Madison Avenue Bridge at 138th Street. In doing so, it passes through Midtown, the Upper East Side , Spanish Harlem, and...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, 1909-1919. Eaton served in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from 1925–1953, representing the from 1925–1933, and (as a result of redistricting based on the 1930 Census
United States Census, 1930
The Fifteenth United States Census, conducted by the Census Bureau one month from April 1, 1930, determined the resident population of the United States to be 122,775,046, an increase of 13.7 percent over the 106,021,537 persons enumerated during the 1920 Census.-Census questions:The 1930 Census...
) the from 1933-1953.
Early life
Charles Aubrey Eaton was born in Pugwash, Nova ScotiaPugwash, Nova Scotia
-Notable residents:Notable current and former residents of Pugwash include:*Charles Aubrey Eaton , clergyman and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives, representing the from 1925–1933, and the from 1933-1953....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, in 1868. His early life was marred by poverty and ill health that interfered with his education, but as the result of a religious conversion experienced under the influence of a clergyman he met as a young man, he was inspired to recover lost ground, and he eventually graduated from Acadia University
Acadia University
Acadia University is a predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level...
, a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
institution in Wolfville, Nova Scotia
Wolfville, Nova Scotia
Wolfville is a small town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada, located about northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. As of 2006, the population was 3,772....
, where he studied divinity. He became known in the cities where he preached for lively, exhortative, and often humorous oratory.
Evangelism
In 1904, Eaton's commitment to evangelism got him arrested on the streets of Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, for persistently ignoring by-laws prohibiting street preaching. However, he wanted to extend his ministry beyond the churches, into which many of the spiritually needy never stepped. At the same time, Eaton was the preacher at Euclid Avenue Baptist Church, situated on Cleveland's 'millionaire's row,' and as a result he came to the attention of John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
, a summer resident of Cleveland who attended church there. They became lifelong friends, and this connection influenced Eaton's future path. It also influenced that of another well known Canadian who went on to have an outstanding career in the United States, his favorite nephew, Cyrus S. Eaton
Cyrus S. Eaton
Cyrus Stephen Eaton was a Canadian-born investment banker, businessman and philanthropist in the United States, with a career that spanned seventy years....
. He introduced him to Rockefeller in 1901, when Cyrus was still a university student. Cyrus went on to work for Rockefeller, and eventually become one of Cleveland's first citizens, and one of America's premier industrialists. Charles moved to North Plainfield, New Jersey
North Plainfield, New Jersey
North Plainfield is a Borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 21,936....
in 1909, and started a dairy farm, while at the same time preaching to a prominent New York City Baptist congregation. The area in which he lived separated from North Plainfield in 1926, and the Borough of Watchung, New Jersey
Watchung, New Jersey
Watchung is a Borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 5,801.Watchung was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 23, 1826, from portions of North Plainfield Township based on the results...
was founded there. He lived there until his death.
Journalism
He was sociological editor of the Toronto Globe (1896–1901), associate editor of Westminster (1899–1901), special correspondent for The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, New York Tribune
New York Tribune
The New York Tribune was an American newspaper, first established by Horace Greeley in 1841, which was long considered one of the leading newspapers in the United States...
, and Boston Transcript while in Toronto. He was editor of Leslie’s Weekly
Frank Leslie's Weekly
Frank Leslie's Weekly, later often known in short as Leslie's Weekly, was an American illustrated literary and news magazine founded in 1852 and continuing publication well into the 20th century. As implied by its name, it was published weekly, on Tuesdays. Its first editor was John Y. Foster...
(1919, 1920), and (while director of labor relations
Labor relations
Industrial relations is a multidisciplinary field that studies the employment relationship. Industrial relations is increasingly being called employment relations because of the importance of non-industrial employment relationships. Many outsiders also equate industrial relations to labour relations...
at General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
's National Lamp Works) editor of Light (1923–1924).
Political career
Charles Eaton acquired added prominence as a result of his work as a motivational speaker for the War Production BoardWar Production Board
The War Production Board was established as a government agency on January 16, 1942 by executive order of Franklin D. Roosevelt.The purpose of the board was to regulate the production and allocation of materials and fuel during World War II in the United States...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, helping to quell labor unrest and promote the values of patriotism and self-sacrifice among shipyard workers in a time of national emergency. He had tinkered with journalism for many years as a part-time columnist while he was preaching, and his next career challenge took him into the occupation full time. As a sample of his political opinions in 1920, Charles Eaton wrote in Leslie's Magazine, of which he was then editor, that “The fundamental idea of our American civilization is this: any man who has the stuff in him can, by his own energy, thrift, industry and courage, rise to any height he may choose. His only limit is his own weakness. He, himself, is in a class by himself. There is no other class here… This is the greatest experiment ever made by man. It is a new idea fit to be developed only in a new world. It is the American idea.”
Eaton was then associated with the General Electric Company as counselor in industrial relations, and the fundamental principles which he worked out were adopted by GE in developing their progressive policies.
In 1924, Eaton was elected as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
to the 69th U.S. Congress
69th United States Congress
The Sixty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1925 to March 4, 1927, during the third and fourth...
and to the thirteen succeeding Congresses, serving until 1952. He rose to become chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (Eightieth Congress), and served on the Select Committee on Foreign Aid (Eightieth Congress). Eaton signed the original United Nations Charter
United Nations Charter
The Charter of the United Nations is the foundational treaty of the international organization called the United Nations. It was signed at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center in San Francisco, United States, on 26 June 1945, by 50 of the 51 original member countries...
in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
as part of a delegation
United Nations Conference on International Organization
The United Nations Conference on International Organization was a convention of delegates from 50 Allied nations that took place from 25 April 1945 to 26 June 1945 in San Francisco, California. At this convention, the delegates reviewed and rewrote the Dumbarton Oaks agreements...
representing the United States Government. He helped gain support for the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
—also known as the Economic Cooperation Act of 1948—which was passed by Congress in 1948 by a vote of 329 to 74. For several years, he served in Congress alongside his nephew William R. Eaton
William R. Eaton
William Robb Eaton was a U.S. Representative from Colorado, nephew of Charles Aubrey Eaton.Born in Pugwash, Province of Nova Scotia, Canada, Eaton immigrated to the United States with his parents who settled in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1878, and in Denver, Colorado, in 1881.He attended public and...
, a Representative from Colorado
Colorado's 1st congressional district
Colorado's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado based primarily in the City and County of Denver in the central part of the state...
.
Eaton was a steadfast opponent of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
's New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
. However, he was frequently invited to the White House for meetings with both presidents Roosevelt and Truman because of his sharp understanding of international politics.
Twenty days after his retirement from Congress, Eaton died in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and was interred in Hillside Cemetery located in Scotch Plains, New Jersey
Scotch Plains, New Jersey
Scotch Plains is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the township population increased to a record high of 23,510.-History:...
.
An attempt was made to get a U.S. postage stamp named after him which was sponsored by N. J. Gov.
Governor of New Jersey
The Office of the Governor of New Jersey is the executive branch for the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of Governor is an elected position, for which elected officials serve four year terms. While individual politicians may serve as many terms as they can be elected to, Governors cannot be...
James Florio
James Florio
James Joseph "Jim" Florio is a Democratic politician who served as the 49th Governor of New Jersey from 1990 to 1994, the first Italian American to hold the position...
, Congressman Dean Gallo
Dean Gallo
Dean Anderson Gallo was an American Republican party politician, who was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing for nearly ten years....
and Sen. Bill Bradley
Bill Bradley
William Warren "Bill" Bradley is an American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, and former three-term Democratic U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in the 2000 election.Bradley was born and raised in a suburb of St....
, to no avail.