Daniel F. Steck
Encyclopedia
Daniel Frederic Steck was the only Iowa Democrat in the United States Senate
between the American Civil War
and the Great Depression
. He was sworn in as Senator only after an extraordinary election challenge, in which his apparent defeat at the polls by a Progressive Party
ally running as a Republican was reversed by a Republican-controlled U.S. Senate over seventeen months later.
, in Wapello County
. He attended Ottumwa schools. He graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law
in 1906, was admitted to the bar the same year, and commenced private practice in Ottumwa. He served as Wapello County Attorney for four years. During the First World War, he served in France as a captain of the Company C outpost signal company of the Iowa National Guard's
Third Infantry, then resumed the practice of law in Ottumwa.
He was married to Lucile Oehler of Iowa City, Iowa
. They had no children.
by World War I veterans in 1919, Steck was elected to several leadership roles, including a term as commander of the Iowa chapter, and positions on national Legion committees. At the Legion's 1923 National Convention, Steck led efforts to condemn the Ku Klux Klan
, which was approaching the height of its national influence. The Convention adopted a resolution that did not mention the Klan by name but that condemned organizations fostering racial, religious, or class strife.
, who had been elected just two years earlier in a special election. Brookhart had run as a Republican and won the Republican nomination, but angered many within his party by crusading against business interests, demanding the withdrawal of Charles Dawes, President Coolidge's running mate, and by endorsing Progressive Party
presidential candidate Robert M. LaFollette. By the middle of October 1924, the editorial pages of all but one of the state's major Republican daily newspapers had encouraged Republicans to vote for Steck over Brookhart. The day after the election, newspapers reported that Steck had won. However, two days after the election, late returns from rural districts appeared to give Brookhart a tiny lead. Because Steck appeared to have lost the race for by a small margin, with Brookhart getting 447,594 votes to Steck's 446,840, Brookhart initially retained his seat, and was sworn in on March 4, 1925.
Steck, however, had filed an election challenge with the Senate Committee on Elections and Privileges. His challenge succeeded on April 12, 1926 when the Senate voted by a margin of 45 to 41 to declare Steck the victor. Steck then took over the seat and served out the remainder of the term, while Brookhart immediately filed as a candidate for Iowa's other Senate seat, which he captured later that year. On other occasions the Senate has settled election disputes before a Senator took office, but this is the only time the results were overturned after the Senator was seated.
When he took office in 1926, Steck became Iowa's first Democratic Senator since George W. Jones
left office in 1859.
Steck maintained a low profile in the Senate. In the 71st Congress (from March 1929 to March 1931), he spoke on the Senate floor only four times.
Steck voted against the Republican-supported Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act
, foreseeing that it would trigger retaliatory tariffs, and fearful of the effects of those tariffs on international markets for Iowa's farm products. However, as a Democratic Senator from a state that consistently voted for Republicans, Steck's could not afford to follow a strict party line. Time reported that he "votes more like a regular Republican than any other member of his party." Steck's successful election challenge also left Brookhart seeking revenge, even after Brookhart was elected again to the Senate. In 1930, Time also reported that Brookhart "vowed that Senator Steck will not return to the Capitol if he (Brookhart) 'has to turn Iowa upside down.'" Steck ran for re-election that year, but was not favored to retain his seat.
In 1930, Steck was renominated, but lost to Republican U.S. Representative L. J. Dickinson of Algona, Iowa
.
to a seat reserved for a Democrat on the Tariff Commission. However, due to the opposition of Brookhart, Dickinson, and other Iowans, Hoover did not nominate Steck, but instead selected Ira Orburn of Connecticut.
In April 1932 Steck announced his candidacy for Brookhart's Senate seat, in an already-crowded Democratic primary. He finished second to Louis Murphy of Dubuque, who went on to win the general election.
In 1933 Steck was named by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
to a board to hear appeals of Iowa veterans challenging adverse determinations regarding disability claims. However, he could not accept that appointment because U.S. Attorney General Homer Stille Cummings
appointed him as a special assistant attorney general to take charge of condemnation of property needed for the expansion of the upper Mississippi River channel. Steck served in that position until 1947.
In November 1935, Steck was jokingly appointed by Iowa Governor Clyde Herring as one of his counsel, along with Minnesota Governor Floyd B. Olson
, to defend him against a citizen's criminal complaint filed against Herring for unlawful gambling. The prize in the bet in question was a pig - soon named Floyd of Rosedale
, and depicted in bronze after its death as a travelling trophy - wagered over the outcome of the 1935 football game between the Iowa Hawkeyes
and the Minnesota Gophers. The criminal charge was dismissed on jurisdictional reasons, and Steck accompanied the pig to St. Paul to deliver it to Olson.
Steck died in Ottumwa on December 31, 1950, and was interred in Ottumwa Cemetery.
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...
between the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and 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...
. He was sworn in as Senator only after an extraordinary election challenge, in which his apparent defeat at the polls by a 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...
ally running as a Republican was reversed by a Republican-controlled U.S. Senate over seventeen months later.
Personal background
Steck was born in Ottumwa, IowaOttumwa, Iowa
Ottumwa is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,998 at the 2000 census. It is located in the southeastern part of Iowa, and the city is split into northern and southern halves by the Des Moines River....
, in Wapello County
Wapello County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 35,625 in the county, with a population density of . There were 16,098 housing units, of which 14,552 were occupied.-2000 census:...
. He attended Ottumwa schools. He graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law
University of Iowa College of Law
The University of Iowa College of Law is one of the eleven professional graduate schools at the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. Founded in 1865, it is the oldest law school in continuous operation west of the Mississippi River. The law school was ranked as the 27th best law school...
in 1906, was admitted to the bar the same year, and commenced private practice in Ottumwa. He served as Wapello County Attorney for four years. During the First World War, he served in France as a captain of the Company C outpost signal company of the Iowa National Guard's
Iowa National Guard
The Iowa National Guard consists of the:*Iowa Army National Guard and the*Iowa Air National Guard-External links:* compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History*...
Third Infantry, then resumed the practice of law in Ottumwa.
He was married to Lucile Oehler of Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa...
. They had no children.
Fight against the Klan
Upon the formation of the American LegionAmerican Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
by World War I veterans in 1919, Steck was elected to several leadership roles, including a term as commander of the Iowa chapter, and positions on national Legion committees. At the Legion's 1923 National Convention, Steck led efforts to condemn the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
, which was approaching the height of its national influence. The Convention adopted a resolution that did not mention the Klan by name but that condemned organizations fostering racial, religious, or class strife.
Senate election and service
In 1924, Steck won the Democratic nomination to run against incumbent Senator Smith W. BrookhartSmith W. Brookhart
Smith Wildman Brookhart , was twice elected as a Republican to represent Iowa in the United States Senate. He was considered an "insurgent" within the Republican Party; his criticisms of the Harding and Coolidge Administrations and of business interests alienated others within the Republican...
, who had been elected just two years earlier in a special election. Brookhart had run as a Republican and won the Republican nomination, but angered many within his party by crusading against business interests, demanding the withdrawal of Charles Dawes, President Coolidge's running mate, and by endorsing 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...
presidential candidate Robert M. LaFollette. By the middle of October 1924, the editorial pages of all but one of the state's major Republican daily newspapers had encouraged Republicans to vote for Steck over Brookhart. The day after the election, newspapers reported that Steck had won. However, two days after the election, late returns from rural districts appeared to give Brookhart a tiny lead. Because Steck appeared to have lost the race for by a small margin, with Brookhart getting 447,594 votes to Steck's 446,840, Brookhart initially retained his seat, and was sworn in on March 4, 1925.
Steck, however, had filed an election challenge with the Senate Committee on Elections and Privileges. His challenge succeeded on April 12, 1926 when the Senate voted by a margin of 45 to 41 to declare Steck the victor. Steck then took over the seat and served out the remainder of the term, while Brookhart immediately filed as a candidate for Iowa's other Senate seat, which he captured later that year. On other occasions the Senate has settled election disputes before a Senator took office, but this is the only time the results were overturned after the Senator was seated.
When he took office in 1926, Steck became Iowa's first Democratic Senator since George W. Jones
George W. Jones
George Wallace Jones , a frontiersman, entrepreneur, attorney, and judge, was among the first two United States Senators to represent the state of Iowa after it was admitted to the Union in 1846...
left office in 1859.
Steck maintained a low profile in the Senate. In the 71st Congress (from March 1929 to March 1931), he spoke on the Senate floor only four times.
Steck voted against the Republican-supported Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act
Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act
The Tariff Act of 1930, otherwise known as the Smoot–Hawley Tariff was an act, sponsored by United States Senator Reed Smoot and Representative Willis C. Hawley, and signed into law on June 17, 1930, that raised U.S. tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods to record levels.The overall level tariffs...
, foreseeing that it would trigger retaliatory tariffs, and fearful of the effects of those tariffs on international markets for Iowa's farm products. However, as a Democratic Senator from a state that consistently voted for Republicans, Steck's could not afford to follow a strict party line. Time reported that he "votes more like a regular Republican than any other member of his party." Steck's successful election challenge also left Brookhart seeking revenge, even after Brookhart was elected again to the Senate. In 1930, Time also reported that Brookhart "vowed that Senator Steck will not return to the Capitol if he (Brookhart) 'has to turn Iowa upside down.'" Steck ran for re-election that year, but was not favored to retain his seat.
In 1930, Steck was renominated, but lost to Republican U.S. Representative L. J. Dickinson of Algona, Iowa
Algona, Iowa
Algona is a city in and the county seat of Kossuth County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,741 at the 2000 census. Ambrose A. Call State Park is located two miles southwest of the city.-History:...
.
After the Senate
In 1931, Steck was considered the favorite for appointment by President Herbert HooverHerbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
to a seat reserved for a Democrat on the Tariff Commission. However, due to the opposition of Brookhart, Dickinson, and other Iowans, Hoover did not nominate Steck, but instead selected Ira Orburn of Connecticut.
In April 1932 Steck announced his candidacy for Brookhart's Senate seat, in an already-crowded Democratic primary. He finished second to Louis Murphy of Dubuque, who went on to win the general election.
In 1933 Steck was named by 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...
to a board to hear appeals of Iowa veterans challenging adverse determinations regarding disability claims. However, he could not accept that appointment because U.S. Attorney General Homer Stille Cummings
Homer Stille Cummings
Homer Stille Cummings was a U.S. political figure who was United States Attorney General from 1933 to 1939. He also was elected mayor of Stamford, Connecticut, three times before, founding the legal firm of Cummings & Lockwood in 1909...
appointed him as a special assistant attorney general to take charge of condemnation of property needed for the expansion of the upper Mississippi River channel. Steck served in that position until 1947.
In November 1935, Steck was jokingly appointed by Iowa Governor Clyde Herring as one of his counsel, along with Minnesota Governor Floyd B. Olson
Floyd B. Olson
Floyd Bjørnstjerne Olson was an American politician. He served as the 22nd Governor of Minnesota from January 6, 1931 to August 22, 1936. He died in office from stomach cancer. He was a member of the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, and was the first member of the Farmer-Labor Party to win the...
, to defend him against a citizen's criminal complaint filed against Herring for unlawful gambling. The prize in the bet in question was a pig - soon named Floyd of Rosedale
Floyd of Rosedale
Floyd of Rosedale is the name of a bronze pig trophy that is awarded to the winner of the annual college football game between the Universities of Iowa and Minnesota...
, and depicted in bronze after its death as a travelling trophy - wagered over the outcome of the 1935 football game between the Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa Hawkeyes
The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletics teams that represent the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 24 sports, 11 for men and 13 for women. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and are members of the...
and the Minnesota Gophers. The criminal charge was dismissed on jurisdictional reasons, and Steck accompanied the pig to St. Paul to deliver it to Olson.
Steck died in Ottumwa on December 31, 1950, and was interred in Ottumwa Cemetery.