Culbert Olson
Encyclopedia
Culbert Levy Olson was an American
lawyer and politician. A Democrat, Olson was involved in Utah
and California
politics and was elected as the 29th Governor of California
from 1939 to 1943.
to Daniel Olson and his wife Delilah King on November 7, 1876. Olson's mother, Delilah, was a suffragette
and became the first female elected official in Utah
. Both his mother and father belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, Culbert was unconvinced of the existence of God
, becoming an atheist at the age of ten. Olson's change of beliefs distanced himself from his parents' Mormon beliefs. He was also the first cousin of U.S. Senator William H. King
.
Leaving school at the age of 14, Olson worked briefly as a telegraph operator and in 1890, enrolled at Brigham Young University
in Provo
, studying law and journalism. Upon graduating at the age of 19 in 1895, Olson embarked on a career as a journalist with the Daily Ogden Standard
. During the 1896 Presidential Election
, Olson openly campaigned for Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan
. After the election, Olson moved briefly to Michigan
, studying law at the University of Michigan
, and then later to Washington, D.C.
, working as a newspaper correspondent and secretary for the U.S. Congress. During his time in the capital, Olson attended law school at George Washington University
, being admitted to the Utah Bar in 1901.
in 1901, settling in Salt Lake City to join a law practice. Building a reputation of defending trade unionists and political progressives, Olson was elected to the Utah State Senate
in 1916. During his four years in the State Senate, Olson wrote and endorsed legislation to end child labor
in the state, guarantee old age pensions, and expand government control of public utilities.
Olson declined to run again for the State Senate in the 1920 general election. Instead, Olson relocated to Los Angeles, California
, beginning another law practice, where he again gained a reputation of investigating corporate fraud. Politics never remained far. Olson campaigned openly for Progressive Party
candidate Robert La Follette
in the 1924 Elections
, and for Democrat Franklin Roosevelt in the 1932 Elections
.
In 1934, in the middle of the Great Depression
, Olson ran as a Democrat for the California State Senate
, representing Los Angeles
. During the 1934 state general elections, Olson campaigned for former Socialist Party
member and Democratic nominee for Governor
, Upton Sinclair
, participating in Sinclair's End Poverty in California
campaign. While Sinclair lost the gubernatorial election to Republican Frank Merriam
, Olson was elected to the State Senate that year.
While in the California State Senate
, the second state legislature he was elected to, Olson openly supported Roosevelt's New Deal
policies towards the unemployed. Seeing large business interests as a barrier to change, Olson wrote the Olson Oil Bill to cut down oil company monopolies in the state.
With the open support of President Roosevelt, Olson ran for Governor of California
in the 1938 general elections against conservative Republican and anti-labor incumbent Governor Frank Merriam
. Merriam, known for suppressing the 1934 Longshore Strike
and his conservative fiscal policies, was a highly unpopular candidate among progressives, unionists, and even among conservative Republicans who were angered by his 1935 tax reforms. Merriam lost soundly to Olson. He was the first Democrat to win the governorship since James Budd's
election in 1895, breaking the forty-year Republican dynasty over the governorship.
Olson refused to say "so help me God" during his oath of office
to state Supreme Court Justice William H. Waste
. Olson remarked earlier to Justice Waste that "God couldn't help me at all, and that there isn't any such person." Instead, Olson said, "I will affirm."
Olson's tenure in the governorship began to a rocky start. Olson collapsed four days after his inauguration
. Doctors discovered that Olson was suffering from an ailing heart. On top of personal health matters, Kate Jeremy Olson, the Governor's wife of nearly thirty-nine years, died shortly after Olson assumed the office.
Contrasting with the conservative policies of Governor Frank Merriam
, Olson extended friendly relations with the state's labor unions. In September 1939, Olson officially pardoned Tom Mooney
, a labor activist and political prisoner
accused of plotting the 1916 Preparedness Day Bombing
in San Francisco. Olson cited scant evidence against Mooney as the reason for his pardon. The next month, Olson pardoned Mooney's alleged accomplice, Warren Billings.
Olson's relationship with the California State Legislature
was often bitter. With conservative Democrats controlling the Assembly
, and business friendly Republicans in the Senate
, Olson had little room to promote his New Deal
politics, while the Legislature remained weary of Olson's leftist agenda. By the first year of his governorship, Olson's proposed budget was cut by nearly 100 million dollars, plus the Governor's proposal of compulsory universal health insurance for every Californian was defeated. The Legislature also defeated legislation to raise income, bank and corporate taxes, as well as Olson's proposed bills to regulate lobbyists and reform the state penal system. State subsidized relief for farmers was also nearly cut in half. During his tenure of the governorship, Olson installed a telephone hotline
to the Legislature to get immediate word of lawmakers' positions on bills in committee or on the floor for a vote.
During his tenure of the governorship, Olson grew increasingly critical of the Roman Catholic Church
and its presence in the state educational system. A secular atheist, Olson was disturbed by the State Legislature's
passage of two bills in 1941, one to give free transportation to students attending Catholic schools, while the other would release Catholic children from public schools in the middle of the school day in order to attend catechism, leaving the schools and other students idle until the Catholic students' return. Olson signed into law the first bill, later citing the enormous pressure of the Catholic Church on his office and on state lawmakers. However, he vetoed the second ("early release") bill.
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
and the entry of the United States
into the Second World War in December 1941, many in California feared a Japanese invasion. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066
, allowing the US Military to create an exclusion zone. Based on this all West Coast non-citizen Japanese and citizen-Japanese American
s were moved to internment camps
. Testifying before a U.S. House committee on March 6, 1942, Olson, a longtime supporter of nearly every Roosevelt position on economics, politics and foreign policy, supported the move wholeheartedly. "Because of the extreme difficulty in distinguishing between loyal Japanese-Americans, and there are many who are loyal to this country, and those other Japanese whose loyalty is to the Mikado
. I believe in the wholesale evacuation of the Japanese people from coastal California."
By the 1942 general elections, Republicans had accused Olson of blatant partisan politics during wartime, citing Olson's often bitter divides with the State Legislature. The Republican Party nominated California Attorney General
Earl Warren
as the party's nominee for the governorship. Warren, a centrist Republican, campaigned as a moderate voice that would appeal to both liberals and conservatives during a time of war, where California
was considered as a possible front line, while accusing Olson as an uncompromising, left-wing Democrat.
Olson lost to Warren
by a large margin. In later years, Olson accused "the active hostility of a certain privately owned power corporation and the Roman Catholic Church
in California" to his defeat.
brief to the state Supreme Court
, asking the court to explain how the state's exemption of a religious organization from civil taxes was constitutional.
In 1957, Olson became president of the United Secularists of America, a body made up of secularists, atheists, and freethinkers.
Olson died in Los Angeles
on April 13, 1962, aged 85, long predeceased by his wife, Kate. Olson is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California.
, shortly before his inauguration in 1943:
Olson on religion:
Olson's view of the power of the Catholic Church:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer and politician. A Democrat, Olson was involved in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
politics and was elected as the 29th Governor of California
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
from 1939 to 1943.
Personal background
Olson was born in Fillmore, UtahFillmore, Utah
Fillmore is a city in Millard County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,253 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Millard County. It is named for the thirteenth US President Millard Fillmore....
to Daniel Olson and his wife Delilah King on November 7, 1876. Olson's mother, Delilah, was a suffragette
Suffragette
"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...
and became the first female elected official in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. Both his mother and father belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, Culbert was unconvinced of the existence of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, becoming an atheist at the age of ten. Olson's change of beliefs distanced himself from his parents' Mormon beliefs. He was also the first cousin of U.S. Senator William H. King
William H. King
William Henry King was an American lawyer, politician, and jurist from Salt Lake City, Utah. A Democrat, he represented Utah in the United States Senate from 1917 until 1941.-Life:...
.
Leaving school at the age of 14, Olson worked briefly as a telegraph operator and in 1890, enrolled at Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
in Provo
Provo, Utah
Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...
, studying law and journalism. Upon graduating at the age of 19 in 1895, Olson embarked on a career as a journalist with the Daily Ogden Standard
Ogden Standard-Examiner
The Standard-Examiner is a daily morning newspaper published in Ogden, Utah. With 63,000 subscribers, it is the third largest daily newspaper in terms of circulation in the State of Utah after the Salt Lake Tribune and The Deseret Morning News...
. During the 1896 Presidential Election
United States presidential election, 1896
The United States presidential election held on November 3, 1896, saw Republican William McKinley defeat Democrat William Jennings Bryan in a campaign considered by political scientists to be one of the most dramatic and complex in American history....
, Olson openly campaigned for Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
. After the election, Olson moved briefly to Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, studying law at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, and then later to 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....
, working as a newspaper correspondent and secretary for the U.S. Congress. During his time in the capital, Olson attended law school at George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
, being admitted to the Utah Bar in 1901.
Time in the Utah and California State Legislatures
Olson moved back to UtahUtah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
in 1901, settling in Salt Lake City to join a law practice. Building a reputation of defending trade unionists and political progressives, Olson was elected to the Utah State Senate
Utah State Senate
The Utah State Senate is the upper house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The Senate is composed of 29 elected members representing an equal number of constituent senatorial districts. Each senatorial district is composed of approximately 91,000 people...
in 1916. During his four years in the State Senate, Olson wrote and endorsed legislation to end child labor
Child labor
Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...
in the state, guarantee old age pensions, and expand government control of public utilities.
Olson declined to run again for the State Senate in the 1920 general election. Instead, Olson relocated to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, beginning another law practice, where he again gained a reputation of investigating corporate fraud. Politics never remained far. Olson campaigned openly for Progressive Party
Progressive Party (United States, 1924)
The Progressive Party of 1924 was a new party created as a vehicle for Robert M. La Follette, Sr. to run for president in the 1924 election. It did not run candidates for other offices, and it disappeared after the election except in Wisconsin. Its name resembles the 1912 Progressive Party, which...
candidate Robert La Follette
Robert M. La Follette, Sr.
Robert Marion "Fighting Bob" La Follette, Sr. , was an American Republican politician. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, was the Governor of Wisconsin, and was also a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin...
in the 1924 Elections
United States presidential election, 1924
The United States presidential election of 1924 was won by incumbent President Calvin Coolidge, the Republican candidate.Coolidge was vice-president under Warren G. Harding and became president in 1923 when Harding died in office. Coolidge was given credit for a booming economy at home and no...
, and for Democrat Franklin Roosevelt in the 1932 Elections
United States presidential election, 1932
The United States presidential election of 1932 took place as the effects of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, the Revenue Act of 1932, and the Great Depression were being felt intensely across the country. President Herbert Hoover's popularity was falling as...
.
In 1934, in the middle of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Olson ran as a Democrat for the California State Senate
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...
, representing Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. During the 1934 state general elections, Olson campaigned for former Socialist Party
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
member and Democratic nominee for Governor
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
, Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair
Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. , was an American author who wrote close to one hundred books in many genres. He achieved popularity in the first half of the twentieth century, acquiring particular fame for his classic muckraking novel, The Jungle . It exposed conditions in the U.S...
, participating in Sinclair's End Poverty in California
End Poverty in California movement
Standing for End Poverty in California, EPIC was an effort for well-known muckraking writer and former Socialist Upton Sinclair to implement socialist reforms through California's Democratic Party during the Great Depression by recruiting supporters into the party and then securing that party's...
campaign. While Sinclair lost the gubernatorial election to Republican Frank Merriam
Frank Merriam
Frank Finley Merriam was an American politician who served as the 28th governor of California from June 2, 1934 until January 2, 1939...
, Olson was elected to the State Senate that year.
While in the California State Senate
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...
, the second state legislature he was elected to, Olson openly supported Roosevelt'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...
policies towards the unemployed. Seeing large business interests as a barrier to change, Olson wrote the Olson Oil Bill to cut down oil company monopolies in the state.
With the open support of President Roosevelt, Olson ran for Governor of California
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
in the 1938 general elections against conservative Republican and anti-labor incumbent Governor Frank Merriam
Frank Merriam
Frank Finley Merriam was an American politician who served as the 28th governor of California from June 2, 1934 until January 2, 1939...
. Merriam, known for suppressing the 1934 Longshore Strike
1934 West Coast Longshore Strike
The 1934 West Coast Waterfront Strike lasted eighty-three days, triggered by sailors and a four-day general strike in San Francisco, and led to the unionization of all of the West Coast ports of the United States...
and his conservative fiscal policies, was a highly unpopular candidate among progressives, unionists, and even among conservative Republicans who were angered by his 1935 tax reforms. Merriam lost soundly to Olson. He was the first Democrat to win the governorship since James Budd's
James Budd
James Herbert Budd was an American lawyer and Democratic politician. Involved in federal and state politics, Budd was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the 2nd California district from 1883 to 1885, and later elected as the 19th Governor of California from 1895 until...
election in 1895, breaking the forty-year Republican dynasty over the governorship.
Governorship
Olson was inaugurated as California's twenty-ninth executive on January 2, 1939. In his inaugural address, Olson pointed at progressives and the Left for his inspiration, citing that "[t]hey point the way forward- toward the achievement of the aspiration of the people for an economy that will afford general employment, abundant production, equitable distribution, social security and old age retirement, which our country, with its ample resources, great facilities and the genius of its people, is capable of providing."Olson refused to say "so help me God" during his oath of office
Oath of office
An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before undertaking the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations...
to state Supreme Court Justice William H. Waste
William H. Waste
William H. Waste was the 21st Chief Justice of California.Born near Chico, California, Waste graduated from the University of California in 1891 and Hastings Law School in San Francisco in 1894. He practiced law in Oakland and later in Berkeley...
. Olson remarked earlier to Justice Waste that "God couldn't help me at all, and that there isn't any such person." Instead, Olson said, "I will affirm."
Olson's tenure in the governorship began to a rocky start. Olson collapsed four days after his inauguration
Inauguration
An inauguration is a formal ceremony to mark the beginning of a leader's term of office. An example is the ceremony in which the President of the United States officially takes the oath of office....
. Doctors discovered that Olson was suffering from an ailing heart. On top of personal health matters, Kate Jeremy Olson, the Governor's wife of nearly thirty-nine years, died shortly after Olson assumed the office.
Contrasting with the conservative policies of Governor Frank Merriam
Frank Merriam
Frank Finley Merriam was an American politician who served as the 28th governor of California from June 2, 1934 until January 2, 1939...
, Olson extended friendly relations with the state's labor unions. In September 1939, Olson officially pardoned Tom Mooney
Thomas Mooney
Thomas Joseph "Tom" Mooney was an American political activist and labor leader, who was convicted with Warren K. Billings of the San Francisco Preparedness Day Bombing of 1916...
, a labor activist and political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
accused of plotting the 1916 Preparedness Day Bombing
Preparedness Day bombing
The Preparedness Day Bombing was a bombing in San Francisco, California on July 22, 1916, when the city held a parade in honor of Preparedness Day, in anticipation of the United States' imminent entry into World War I. During the parade a suitcase bomb was detonated, killing ten and wounding...
in San Francisco. Olson cited scant evidence against Mooney as the reason for his pardon. The next month, Olson pardoned Mooney's alleged accomplice, Warren Billings.
Olson's relationship with the California State Legislature
California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members...
was often bitter. With conservative Democrats controlling the Assembly
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
, and business friendly Republicans in the Senate
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...
, Olson had little room to promote his 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...
politics, while the Legislature remained weary of Olson's leftist agenda. By the first year of his governorship, Olson's proposed budget was cut by nearly 100 million dollars, plus the Governor's proposal of compulsory universal health insurance for every Californian was defeated. The Legislature also defeated legislation to raise income, bank and corporate taxes, as well as Olson's proposed bills to regulate lobbyists and reform the state penal system. State subsidized relief for farmers was also nearly cut in half. During his tenure of the governorship, Olson installed a telephone hotline
Hotline
In telecommunication, a hotline is a point-to-point communications link in which a call is automatically directed to the preselected destination without any additional action by the user when the end instrument goes off-hook...
to the Legislature to get immediate word of lawmakers' positions on bills in committee or on the floor for a vote.
During his tenure of the governorship, Olson grew increasingly critical of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and its presence in the state educational system. A secular atheist, Olson was disturbed by the State Legislature's
California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members...
passage of two bills in 1941, one to give free transportation to students attending Catholic schools, while the other would release Catholic children from public schools in the middle of the school day in order to attend catechism, leaving the schools and other students idle until the Catholic students' return. Olson signed into law the first bill, later citing the enormous pressure of the Catholic Church on his office and on state lawmakers. However, he vetoed the second ("early release") bill.
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
and the entry of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
into the Second World War in December 1941, many in California feared a Japanese invasion. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066
Executive Order 9066
United States Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942 authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe certain areas as military zones...
, allowing the US Military to create an exclusion zone. Based on this all West Coast non-citizen Japanese and citizen-Japanese American
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
s were moved to internment camps
Japanese American internment
Japanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on...
. Testifying before a U.S. House committee on March 6, 1942, Olson, a longtime supporter of nearly every Roosevelt position on economics, politics and foreign policy, supported the move wholeheartedly. "Because of the extreme difficulty in distinguishing between loyal Japanese-Americans, and there are many who are loyal to this country, and those other Japanese whose loyalty is to the Mikado
Emperor of Japan
The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...
. I believe in the wholesale evacuation of the Japanese people from coastal California."
By the 1942 general elections, Republicans had accused Olson of blatant partisan politics during wartime, citing Olson's often bitter divides with the State Legislature. The Republican Party nominated California Attorney General
California Attorney General
The California Attorney General is the State Attorney General of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" The Attorney General carries out the responsibilities of the office through the California Department of Justice.The...
Earl Warren
Earl Warren
Earl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States.He is known for the sweeping decisions of the Warren Court, which ended school segregation and transformed many areas of American law, especially regarding the rights of the accused, ending public-school-sponsored prayer, and requiring...
as the party's nominee for the governorship. Warren, a centrist Republican, campaigned as a moderate voice that would appeal to both liberals and conservatives during a time of war, where California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
was considered as a possible front line, while accusing Olson as an uncompromising, left-wing Democrat.
Olson lost to Warren
Earl Warren
Earl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States.He is known for the sweeping decisions of the Warren Court, which ended school segregation and transformed many areas of American law, especially regarding the rights of the accused, ending public-school-sponsored prayer, and requiring...
by a large margin. In later years, Olson accused "the active hostility of a certain privately owned power corporation and the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
in California" to his defeat.
Post governorship
Following his departure from the governorship, Olson returned to law. He regained the public spotlight again in the 1950s, when the Legislature voted to exempt Catholic schools from real estate taxes. Olson filed an amicus curiaeAmicus curiae
An amicus curiae is someone, not a party to a case, who volunteers to offer information to assist a court in deciding a matter before it...
brief to the state Supreme Court
Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest state court in California. It is headquartered in San Francisco and regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts.-Composition:...
, asking the court to explain how the state's exemption of a religious organization from civil taxes was constitutional.
In 1957, Olson became president of the United Secularists of America, a body made up of secularists, atheists, and freethinkers.
Olson died in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
on April 13, 1962, aged 85, long predeceased by his wife, Kate. Olson is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California.
Quotes
Olson speaking to his successor, Earl WarrenEarl Warren
Earl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States.He is known for the sweeping decisions of the Warren Court, which ended school segregation and transformed many areas of American law, especially regarding the rights of the accused, ending public-school-sponsored prayer, and requiring...
, shortly before his inauguration in 1943:
Olson on religion:
Olson's view of the power of the Catholic Church:
See also
- Earl King, Ernest Ramsay, and Frank Conner murder caseEarl King, Ernest Ramsay, and Frank ConnerEarl King, Ernest Ramsay, and Frank Conner were three merchant seamen convicted of murdering a ship's officer, George Alberts, aboard a freighter anchored in Alameda, California, on March 22, 1936. Their trial, appeals, and terms in San Quentin Prison were a celebrated cause among trade unionists,...