Clyde R. Hoey
Encyclopedia
Clyde Roark Hoey was a Democratic politician from North Carolina. He served in both houses of the state legislature and served briefly in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1919 to 1921. He was North Carolina's governor from 1937 to 1941. He entered the U.S. Senate in 1945 and served there until his death.
to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Edwin Y. Webb. He defeated a Republican who opposed United States support for the League of Nations
. He served from 1919 to 1921.
He was the 59th Governor
of the U.S. state
of North Carolina
from 1937 to 1941. In July 1937, he pardoned Luke Lea
, a Tennessee politician and former U.S. Senator, who had been paroled a year earlier. His appointment of a black man to the board of trustees of a black college set a precedent. Following the 1938 Gaines
Supreme Court decision on racial segregation in higher education, he asked the North Carolina legislature to provide for segregated higher education for blacks. Thought opposed to integrated education, he said that the people of the state "do believe in equality of opportunity in their respective fields of service" and that "the white race cannot afford to do less than simple justice to the Negro."
In 1940, he quietly opposed a third term for FDR. When he believed that President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not seek a third term, Hoey rejected the favorite son role for which the state legislature had recommended him and supported the presidential candidacy of Secretary of State Cordell Hull
.
Hoey won election to the U.S. Senate
in 1944. He served from 1945 until his death in 1954.
Hoey's politics were those of a conservative Democratic. He opposed Truman's attempt to make the Fair Employment Practices Commission
(FEPC) permanent. He promised to filibuster the effort as an attack on "the rights of every businessman in America." He supported the President's threats against striking railroad workers in December 1946. In the 1948 election, he supported Truman over the radical alternative Henry Wallace
.
He supported President Truman's refusal to allow Congress access to records of government employees' loyalty investigations.
In 1950, Hoey opposed statehood for Hawaii
because he thought it "inconceivable" to allow a territory with "only a small percentage of white people" to become a state. He advocated independence for Hawaii and cited U.S. treatment of Cuba and the Philippines as precedents.
He 1949-1952 he headed the Investigations Subcommittee of the Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments. He conducted hearings into the role of "five percenters," government influence peddlers. In 1950 he chaired an investigation that resulted in a report known as the Hoey Report released in December of that year that said all of the government's intelligence agencies "are in complete agreement that sex perverts in Government constitute security risks." A later review by the U.S. Navy
in 1957 criticized it: "No intelligence agency, as far as can be learned, adduced any factual data before that committee with which to support these opinions."
Hoey married Bessie Gardner, sister of North Carolina Governor O. Max Gardner
. They had three children. His wife die in 1942.
Hoey died at his desk in his Washington, D.C., office on May 12, 1954.
assessed Hoey's politics "He was always satisfactory to conservative interests without being abrasive to New Dealers." Hoey Auditorium on the campus of Western Carolina University
is named after him, as is Hoey Hall, a dormitory at Appalachian State University
.
Biography
Hoey was born in Shelby, North Carlina, on December 11, 1877, to S. A. Hoey and Mary Roark. He attended school until age eleven. He worked on his family's farm and bought a weekly newspaper when he was 16. He was elected to the State Legislature when he was twenty. He served as a State Representative and then as a State Senator. He was elected in a special election to the United States House of RepresentativesUnited 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...
to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Edwin Y. Webb. He defeated a Republican who opposed United States support for the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
. He served from 1919 to 1921.
He was the 59th Governor
Governor of North Carolina
The Governor of North Carolina is the chief executive of the State of North Carolina, one of the U.S. states. The current governor is Bev Perdue, North Carolina's first female governor.-Powers:...
of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
from 1937 to 1941. In July 1937, he pardoned Luke Lea
Luke Lea (1879–1945)
Luke Lea was a Democratic United States Senator from Tennessee from 1911 to 1917.-Biography:Lea was the great-grandson of an earlier Luke Lea who was a two-term Congressman from Tennessee in the 1830s...
, a Tennessee politician and former U.S. Senator, who had been paroled a year earlier. His appointment of a black man to the board of trustees of a black college set a precedent. Following the 1938 Gaines
Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada
Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, 305 U.S. 337 , was a United States Supreme Court decision holding that states that provide a school to white students must provide in-state education to blacks as well...
Supreme Court decision on racial segregation in higher education, he asked the North Carolina legislature to provide for segregated higher education for blacks. Thought opposed to integrated education, he said that the people of the state "do believe in equality of opportunity in their respective fields of service" and that "the white race cannot afford to do less than simple justice to the Negro."
In 1940, he quietly opposed a third term for FDR. When he believed that President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not seek a third term, Hoey rejected the favorite son role for which the state legislature had recommended him and supported the presidential candidacy of Secretary of State Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull was an American politician from the U.S. state of Tennessee. He is best known as the longest-serving Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during much of World War II...
.
Hoey won election to the U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 1944. He served from 1945 until his death in 1954.
Hoey's politics were those of a conservative Democratic. He opposed Truman's attempt to make the Fair Employment Practices Commission
Fair Employment Practices Commission
The Fair Employment Practices Commission implemented US Executive Order 8802, requiring that companies with government contracts not to discriminate on the basis of race or religion. It was intended to help African Americans and other minorities obtain jobs in the homefront industry...
(FEPC) permanent. He promised to filibuster the effort as an attack on "the rights of every businessman in America." He supported the President's threats against striking railroad workers in December 1946. In the 1948 election, he supported Truman over the radical alternative Henry Wallace
Henry A. Wallace
Henry Agard Wallace was the 33rd Vice President of the United States , the Secretary of Agriculture , and the Secretary of Commerce . In the 1948 presidential election, Wallace was the nominee of the Progressive Party.-Early life:Henry A...
.
He supported President Truman's refusal to allow Congress access to records of government employees' loyalty investigations.
In 1950, Hoey opposed statehood for Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
because he thought it "inconceivable" to allow a territory with "only a small percentage of white people" to become a state. He advocated independence for Hawaii and cited U.S. treatment of Cuba and the Philippines as precedents.
He 1949-1952 he headed the Investigations Subcommittee of the Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments. He conducted hearings into the role of "five percenters," government influence peddlers. In 1950 he chaired an investigation that resulted in a report known as the Hoey Report released in December of that year that said all of the government's intelligence agencies "are in complete agreement that sex perverts in Government constitute security risks." A later review by the U.S. Navy
Crittenden Report
The Crittenden Report was the outcome of a 1957 investigation on the part of a United States Navy Board of Inquiry, officially known as the Board Appointed to Prepare and Submit Recommendations to the Secretary of the Navy for the Revision of Policies, Procedures and Directives Dealing With...
in 1957 criticized it: "No intelligence agency, as far as can be learned, adduced any factual data before that committee with which to support these opinions."
Hoey married Bessie Gardner, sister of North Carolina Governor O. Max Gardner
Oliver Max Gardner
Oliver Max Gardner was the 57th Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1929 to 1933.-Early years and education:...
. They had three children. His wife die in 1942.
Hoey died at his desk in his Washington, D.C., office on May 12, 1954.
Legacy
In 1974, journalist Jonathan DanielsJonathan W. Daniels
Jonathan Worth Daniels was an American author, editor, and White House Press Secretary. Daniels' term serving as White House Press Secretary was the shortest since the inception of the position in 1937. He held the position in 1945 under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman...
assessed Hoey's politics "He was always satisfactory to conservative interests without being abrasive to New Dealers." Hoey Auditorium on the campus of Western Carolina University
Western Carolina University
Western Carolina University is a coeducational public university located in Cullowhee, North Carolina, United States. The university is a constituent campus of the University of North Carolina system....
is named after him, as is Hoey Hall, a dormitory at Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University is a comprehensive , public, coeducational university located in Boone, North Carolina, United States. Appalachian State, also referred to as Appalachian, App State, or simply App, is the sixth largest institution in the University of North Carolina system...
.