Ernest Gruening
Encyclopedia
Ernest Henry Gruening was an American journalist and Democrat who was the Governor of the Alaska Territory
from 1939 until 1953, and a United States Senator
from Alaska
from 1959 until 1969.
in 1907 and from Harvard Medical School
in 1912. He then forsook medicine to pursue journalism. Initially a reporter for the Boston American in 1912, he went on to become copy desk editor and rewrite man for the Boston Evening Herald
and, from 1912 to 1913, an editorial writer. For four years, Gruening was, consecutively, managing editor of the Boston Evening Traveler and the New York Tribune
. After serving in World War I, Gruening became the editor of The Nation from 1920 to 1923 and the editor of the New York Post
for four months in 1934.
politics, he switched careers. Gruening was appointed to the U.S. delegation to the 7th Inter-American Conference in 1933, Director of the Division of Territories and Island Possessions of the Department of the Interior
, 1934–1939, Administrator of the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration
, 1935–1937. He moved to the Alaska International Highway Commission
from 1938 to 1942. In 1939 Gruening was appointed Governor of the Territory of Alaska
, and served in that position for fourteen years. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
s of 1952
, 1956
, and 1960
.
Pending statehood, he was elected to the United States Senate
in 1958; with Alaska's admission to the Union in 1959, Gruening served in the Senate for 10 years.
Gruening’s most notable act as Senator was being, along with Wayne Morse
of Oregon
, one of only two Senators to vote against the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
, which authorized an expansion of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. He was also responsible for introducing a sense of Congress resolution to establish the nationwide 911
number.
Gruening was defeated for re-election in 1968 by fellow Democrat Mike Gravel
. Gravel defeated Gruening in the Democratic primary
, but Gruening ran in the general election as an independent, taking third place, behind Gravel and Republican former Anchorage
Mayor Elmer E. Rasmuson
. He continued his active political involvement as president of an investment firm and as a legislative consultant. He died on June 26, 1974.
In 1980, Gruening's grandson, Clark Gruening
, defeated Gravel in the Democratic primary for renomination to the U.S. Senate. Another grandson, Winthrop H. "Win" Gruening, is best known as a senior vice president of KeyBank in Juneau, Alaska
and longtime head of The Alaska Committee, which was organized in 1995 to advocate for keeping Alaska's capital in Juneau.
campus, is named in his honor. In 1977, Alaska donated a statue of Ernest Gruening to the United States Capitol
's National Statuary Hall Collection
. Ernest Gruening Middle School in the Eagle River community of Anchorage, Alaska
is named in his honor. Numerous roads and streets in Alaska are named for him as well.
website.
Alaska Territory
The Territory of Alaska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 24, 1912, until January 3, 1959, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Alaska...
from 1939 until 1953, and a United States Senator
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...
from Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
from 1959 until 1969.
Early life
Born in New York City, Gruening graduated from Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1907 and from Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
in 1912. He then forsook medicine to pursue journalism. Initially a reporter for the Boston American in 1912, he went on to become copy desk editor and rewrite man for the Boston Evening Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
and, from 1912 to 1913, an editorial writer. For four years, Gruening was, consecutively, managing editor of the Boston Evening Traveler and the 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...
. After serving in World War I, Gruening became the editor of The Nation from 1920 to 1923 and the editor of the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
for four months in 1934.
Political career
Intrigued with New DealNew 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, he switched careers. Gruening was appointed to the U.S. delegation to the 7th Inter-American Conference in 1933, Director of the Division of Territories and Island Possessions of the Department of the Interior
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
, 1934–1939, Administrator of the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration
Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration
Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration was one of the alphabet agencies, created during the American New Deal. It was established in the Department of the Interior by Executive Order 7057 of May 28, 1935, and eliminated as of February 26, 1940, by act of August 15, 1953 .The objectives of the...
, 1935–1937. He moved to the Alaska International Highway Commission
Alaska Highway
The Alaska Highway was constructed during World War II for the purpose of connecting the contiguous U.S. to Alaska through Canada. It begins at the junction with several Canadian highways in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and runs to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon...
from 1938 to 1942. In 1939 Gruening was appointed Governor of the Territory of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, and served in that position for fourteen years. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
s of 1952
1952 Democratic National Convention
The 1952 Democratic National Convention was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois from July 21 to July 26, 1952, which was the same arena the Republicans had gathered in a few weeks earlier for their national convention...
, 1956
1956 Democratic National Convention
The 1956 National Convention of the Democratic Party nominated former Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois for President and Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee for Vice President. It was held in the International Amphitheatre on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois August 13–17 1956. Unsuccessful...
, and 1960
1960 Democratic National Convention
The 1960 Democratic National Convention was held in Los Angeles. In the end, the Kennedy-Johnson ticket was assembled and went on to secure an electoral college victory and a narrow popular vote plurality in the fall over the Republican candidates Richard M...
.
Pending statehood, he was elected to the United States 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 1958; with Alaska's admission to the Union in 1959, Gruening served in the Senate for 10 years.
Gruening’s most notable act as Senator was being, along with Wayne Morse
Wayne Morse
Wayne Lyman Morse was a politician and attorney from Oregon, United States, known for his proclivity for opposing his parties' leadership, and specifically for his opposition to the Vietnam War on constitutional grounds....
of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, one of only two Senators to vote against the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The Tonkin Gulf Resolution was a joint resolution which the United States Congress passed on August 10, 1964 in response to a sea battle between the North Vietnamese Navy's Torpedo Squadron 10135 and the destroyer on August 2 and an alleged second naval engagement between North Vietnamese boats...
, which authorized an expansion of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. He was also responsible for introducing a sense of Congress resolution to establish the nationwide 911
9-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
number.
Gruening was defeated for re-election in 1968 by fellow Democrat Mike Gravel
Mike Gravel
Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel is a former Democratic United States Senator from Alaska, who served two terms from 1969 to 1981, and a former candidate in the 2008 presidential election....
. Gravel defeated Gruening in the Democratic primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
, but Gruening ran in the general election as an independent, taking third place, behind Gravel and Republican former Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
Mayor Elmer E. Rasmuson
Elmer E. Rasmuson
Elmer E. Rasmuson was an Alaskan banker and philanthropist. He was Mayor of Anchorage from 1964 to 1967.-Origins and education:...
. He continued his active political involvement as president of an investment firm and as a legislative consultant. He died on June 26, 1974.
In 1980, Gruening's grandson, Clark Gruening
Clark Gruening
Clark S. Gruening is an attorney and Democratic Party politician from the U.S. state of Alaska. He is chiefly known as the second of three persons to defeat the incumbent holder of Alaska's Class 3 United States Senate seat in the primary election.Clark Gruening was born in San Francisco,...
, defeated Gravel in the Democratic primary for renomination to the U.S. Senate. Another grandson, Winthrop H. "Win" Gruening, is best known as a senior vice president of KeyBank in Juneau, Alaska
Juneau, Alaska
The City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900...
and longtime head of The Alaska Committee, which was organized in 1995 to advocate for keeping Alaska's capital in Juneau.
Tributes
The Ernest Gruening Building, a classroom building on the University of Alaska FairbanksUniversity of Alaska Fairbanks
The University of Alaska Fairbanks, located in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska System, and is abbreviated as Alaska or UAF....
campus, is named in his honor. In 1977, Alaska donated a statue of Ernest Gruening to the United States Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
's National Statuary Hall Collection
National Statuary Hall Collection
The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol comprises statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history...
. Ernest Gruening Middle School in the Eagle River community of Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
is named in his honor. Numerous roads and streets in Alaska are named for him as well.
External links
This article incorporates material from the National Statuary HallNational Statuary Hall
National Statuary Hall is a chamber in the United States Capitol devoted to sculptures of prominent Americans. The hall, also known as the Old Hall of the House, is a large, two-story, semicircular room with a second story gallery along the curved perimeter. It is located immediately south of the...
website.