John Paul Hammerschmidt
Encyclopedia
John Paul Hammerschmidt (born May 4, 1922) is an American politician
from the U.S. state
of Arkansas
. A Republican
, Hammerschmidt served for thirteen terms in the U.S. House of Representatives
from the northwestern Arkansas district before he retired in 1993. In 1974, a nationally Democratic
year, he secured his fifth term by defeating the then 28-year-old future President
Bill Clinton
.
, the seat of Boone County
in northwestern Arkansas. He graduated in 1938 from Harrison High School. He attended The Citadel
in Charleston
, South Carolina
from 1938 to 1939 and the University of Arkansas
in Fayetteville
from 1940 to 1941. He served in the United States Army Air Corps
during World War II
. In 1942, Hammerschmidt joined the Third Combat Cargo Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps
and served in the China-Burma-India theater
until the end of the war in 1945.
Hammerschmidt received the Distinguished Flying Cross
with three oak clusters for his service in the war. Out of respect for his fellow service members, as well as his own humble nature with regards to his own service during the war, Hammerschmidt never capitalized on his service record during his following political career .
uyguorykuhuhkg,
Hammerschmidt returned to the United States
and attended Oklahoma State University in Stillwater
, Oklahoma
, from 1945 to 1946, having received a bachelor of science
degree
. He then entered the lumber
industry, founding the Hammerschmidt Lumber Company and becoming its president. Hammerschmidt also was president of the Construction Products Company and the president of the Arkansas Lumber Dealers Association and Southwestern Lumberman's Association.
s in 1964
, 1968
, 1972
, 1976
, 1980
, 1984
, and 1988
. He was twice the state chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas
, serving from 1964 to 1966 and again from 2002 to 2004. One of the young persons whom Hammerschmidt placed on his original Congressional staff was Jerry Climer
, later the founder of two Washington, D.C.
, think tank
s and the Republican candidate for Arkansas secretary of state in 1972 against the Democrat Kelly Bryant
.
In the 1966 election, Hammerschmidt won the Republican nomination for , located in the northwestern portion of the state. He defeated incumbent
James William Trimble
by over 9,000 votes and became the first Republican to represent Arkansas in Congress since Reconstruction. Hammerschmidt was elected twelve more times, having served twenty-six years from January 3, 1967 to January 3, 1993, from the 90th Congress
to the 102nd Congress
. He became very popular in his district, even though most of its residents had never been represented by a Republican before. The 3rd has always been a rather conservative district; it has only supported a Democrat for president twice since 1952.
His closest campaign was in the 1974 election, when he defeated Bill Clinton
(then a University of Arkansas
law professor) by only a few thousand votes. Clinton had harshly criticized Hammerschmidt for being one of the few Republicans to stand by Richard Nixon
in the wake of the Watergate scandal
. This election was one of only two in which Democrats received more than one-third of the vote against Hammerschmidt (the other having been the late James McDougal in 1982). In 1978, Hammerschmidt faced weak opposition from the Hot Springs
real estate
broker William C. Mears and instead had the resources to help the Republican gubernatorial nominee, A. Lynn Lowe
, a farmer
from Texarkana
, win in Boone County. Lowe, who also was the state party chairman, lost, however, to Hammerschmidt's former opponent, Bill Clinton by an approximate margin of 63-37 percent.
Hammerschmidt was a member of the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism (PCAST) which was set up in September 1989 to review and report on aviation security policy in the light of the sabotage of Pan Am Flight 103
on December 21, 1988.
Hammerschmidt had a conservative voting record on foreign policy and social issues, but a slightly more moderate record on economic issues. Hammerschmidt received bachelor of science
and master of arts
degrees from Canbourne University, which has been described as an
"unaccredited online degree mill".
Hammerschmidt was in the Air Force Reserve
from 1945 to 1960 and the Army Reserve
from 1977 to 1981. He is a Presbyterian and member of the American Legion
, Veterans of Foreign Wars
, Freemasons
, Shriners
, Elks
, Rotary International
, and has Alumni status at the Alpha Zeta chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha
Fraternity (University of Arkansas).
Politics of the United States
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...
from 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 Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. 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...
, Hammerschmidt served for thirteen terms in the U.S. 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 the northwestern Arkansas district before he retired in 1993. In 1974, a nationally Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
year, he secured his fifth term by defeating the then 28-year-old future President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
Early life and business career
Hammerschmidt was born in HarrisonHarrison, Arkansas
Harrison is a city in Boone County, Arkansas, United States. It is the county seat. According to 2007 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 13,108. Boone County was organized in 1869, during reconstruction after the civil war. Harrison was platted and made the county seat. It is...
, the seat of Boone County
Boone County, Arkansas
Boone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 36,903. The county seat is Harrison. Boone County is Arkansas's 62nd county, formed on April 9, 1869. Boone County is part of the Harrison Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:Boone County...
in northwestern Arkansas. He graduated in 1938 from Harrison High School. He attended The Citadel
The Citadel (military college)
The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, also known simply as The Citadel, is a state-supported, comprehensive college located in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. It is one of the six senior military colleges in the United States...
in Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
from 1938 to 1939 and the University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
in Fayetteville
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks...
from 1940 to 1941. He served in the United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1942, Hammerschmidt joined the Third Combat Cargo Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
and served in the China-Burma-India theater
South-East Asian theatre of World War II
The South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was the name given to the campaigns of the Pacific War in Burma , Ceylon, India, Thailand, Indochina, Malaya and Singapore. Conflict in the theatre began when the Empire of Japan invaded Thailand and Malaya from bases located in Indochina on December 8,...
until the end of the war in 1945.
Hammerschmidt received the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
with three oak clusters for his service in the war. Out of respect for his fellow service members, as well as his own humble nature with regards to his own service during the war, Hammerschmidt never capitalized on his service record during his following political career .
uyguorykuhuhkg,
Hammerschmidt returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and attended Oklahoma State University in Stillwater
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Stillwater is a city in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. 177 and State Highway 51. It is the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 45,688. Stillwater is the principal city of the Stillwater Micropolitan Statistical...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, from 1945 to 1946, having received a bachelor of science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
. He then entered the lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
industry, founding the Hammerschmidt Lumber Company and becoming its president. Hammerschmidt also was president of the Construction Products Company and the president of the Arkansas Lumber Dealers Association and Southwestern Lumberman's Association.
Political career
Hammerschmidt was a delegate to the Republican National ConventionRepublican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
s in 1964
1964 Republican National Convention
The 1964 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States took place in the Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, on July 13 to July 16, 1964. Before 1964, there had only been one national Republican convention on the West Coast...
, 1968
1968 Republican National Convention
The 1968 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States was held in at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Dade County, Florida, from August 5 to August 8, 1968....
, 1972
1972 Republican National Convention
The 1972 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States was held from August 21 to August 23, 1972 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida. It nominated the incumbents Richard M. Nixon of California for President and Spiro T. Agnew of Maryland for Vice...
, 1976
1976 Republican National Convention
The 1976 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States met at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, from August 16 to August 19, 1976. The convention nominated incumbent Gerald Ford for President, but only after narrowly defeating a strong challenge from former California...
, 1980
1980 Republican National Convention
The 1980 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States convened at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, from July 14 to July 17, 1980. The 32nd Republican National Convention nominated former Governor Ronald W. Reagan of California for President of the United States and former...
, 1984
1984 Republican National Convention
The 1984 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States convened on August 20 to August 23, 1984, at Reunion Arena in downtown Dallas, Texas. The convention nominated the incumbent Ronald Reagan of California for President of the United States and incumbent George H. W...
, and 1988
1988 Republican National Convention
The 1988 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States was held in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana from August 15 to August 18, 1988. It was the second time that a major party held its conclave in one of the five states known as the Deep South, coming on the...
. He was twice the state chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas
Republican Party of Arkansas
The Republican Party of Arkansas is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Arkansas.The party is led by state chairman Doyle Webb, who was re-elected to serve a second term in December 2010. Webb, an attorney, was once chief of staff for the late Lieutenant Governor Winthrop Paul...
, serving from 1964 to 1966 and again from 2002 to 2004. One of the young persons whom Hammerschmidt placed on his original Congressional staff was Jerry Climer
Jerry Climer
Jerome Francis Climer, known as Jerry Climer , is the founder of two Washington, D.C.-based "think tanks", the Congressional Institute and the Public Governance Institute, which were established in 1987 and 2001, respectively...
, later the founder of two 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....
, think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
s and the Republican candidate for Arkansas secretary of state in 1972 against the Democrat Kelly Bryant
Kelly Bryant
Kelly Bryant served as the Democratic secretary of state of the U.S. state of Arkansas from 1963 until his death nearly thirteen years later. He was one of three statewide politicians born in Hope, the seat of Hempstead County, in southern Arkansas. The others are former Governor and U.S...
.
In the 1966 election, Hammerschmidt won the Republican nomination for , located in the northwestern portion of the state. He defeated incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
James William Trimble
James William Trimble
James William Trimble was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas, having served from 1945-1967. He was the first Democrat in Arkansas since Reconstruction to lose a congressional race to a Republican...
by over 9,000 votes and became the first Republican to represent Arkansas in Congress since Reconstruction. Hammerschmidt was elected twelve more times, having served twenty-six years from January 3, 1967 to January 3, 1993, from the 90th Congress
90th United States Congress
The Ninetieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1967 to January 3, 1969, during the last two years of...
to the 102nd Congress
102nd United States Congress
-House of Representatives:- Senate :* President:Dan Quayle * President pro tempore: Robert Byrd - Majority leadership :* Majority Leader: George Mitchell* Majority Whip: Wendell Ford- Minority leadership :...
. He became very popular in his district, even though most of its residents had never been represented by a Republican before. The 3rd has always been a rather conservative district; it has only supported a Democrat for president twice since 1952.
His closest campaign was in the 1974 election, when he defeated Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
(then a University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
law professor) by only a few thousand votes. Clinton had harshly criticized Hammerschmidt for being one of the few Republicans to stand by Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
in the wake of the Watergate scandal
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
. This election was one of only two in which Democrats received more than one-third of the vote against Hammerschmidt (the other having been the late James McDougal in 1982). In 1978, Hammerschmidt faced weak opposition from the Hot Springs
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
broker William C. Mears and instead had the resources to help the Republican gubernatorial nominee, A. Lynn Lowe
Lynn Lowe
Aylmer Lynn Lowe, known as A. Lynn Lowe , was a farmer and politician from Garland in Miller County in southwestern Arkansas, who was a major figure in the Arkansas Republican Party...
, a farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
from Texarkana
Texarkana, Arkansas
As of the census of 2000, there were 26,448 people, 10,384 households, and 7,040 families residing in the city. The population density was 830.5 people per square mile . There were 11,721 housing units at an average density of 368.1 per square mile...
, win in Boone County. Lowe, who also was the state party chairman, lost, however, to Hammerschmidt's former opponent, Bill Clinton by an approximate margin of 63-37 percent.
Hammerschmidt was a member of the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism (PCAST) which was set up in September 1989 to review and report on aviation security policy in the light of the sabotage of Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103 was Pan American World Airways' third daily scheduled transatlantic flight from London Heathrow Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport...
on December 21, 1988.
Hammerschmidt had a conservative voting record on foreign policy and social issues, but a slightly more moderate record on economic issues. Hammerschmidt received bachelor of science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
and master of arts
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
degrees from Canbourne University, which has been described as an
"unaccredited online degree mill".
Hammerschmidt was in the Air Force Reserve
Air Force Reserve Command
The Air Force Reserve Command is a major command of the U.S. Air Force with its headquarters at Robins AFB, Georgia.It stood up as a major command of the Air Force on 17 February 1997....
from 1945 to 1960 and the Army Reserve
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....
from 1977 to 1981. He is a Presbyterian and member of the American Legion
American 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...
, Veterans of Foreign Wars
Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...
, Freemasons
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, Shriners
Shriners
The Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, also commonly known as Shriners and abbreviated A.A.O.N.M.S., established in 1870, is an appendant body to Freemasonry, based in the United States...
, Elks
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is an American fraternal order and social club founded in 1868...
, Rotary International
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
, and has Alumni status at the Alpha Zeta chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...
Fraternity (University of Arkansas).