Joseph A. Gavagan
Encyclopedia
Joseph Andrew Gavagan was a United States Representative from New York.
Born in New York City, he attended the public and parochial schools and graduated from the law department of Fordham University
in 1920. During World War I
, he enlisted as a private and later was promoted to second lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps and served from August 20, 1917 to October 13, 1919. He was a first lieutenant in the Quartermaster Reserve Corps from 1920 to 1925. He was admitted to the bar in 1920 and commenced practice in New York City; from 1923 to 1929. he was a member of the New York State Assembly
.
Gavagan was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-first Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Royal H. Weller
; he was reelected to the Seventy-second and to the six succeeding Congresses and held office from November 5, 1929 until December 30, 1943, when he resigned, having been elected a justice of the New York Supreme Court
in November 1943 for a fourteen-year term. While in the House of Representatives, he was chairman of the Committee on Elections No. 2 (Seventy-second through Seventy-sixth Congresses) and Committee on War Claims (Seventy-seventh and Seventy-eighth Congresses). However, his main thrust was trying to pass his Anti-Lynching law. Having grown up in New York's Hell's Kitchen
, he saw not only the discrimination in the city against the Irish, but the horrible way that Blacks were treated. He spent his entire time in Congress attempting to convince his fellow members that there was something simply wrong that a mob could control the law. His bill was never passed because Claude Pepper
, J. William Fulbright
and the other Southern Congressman were able to block it. Pepper, in his later years, as the guardian of the elderly, admitted his one regret was that he voted against the Gavagan anti-Lynching law.
Gavagan was reelected in 1957 for a second term as a justice, and in 1968, died in Bennington, Vermont. Interment was in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, New York
.
Born in New York City, he attended the public and parochial schools and graduated from the law department of Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
in 1920. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he enlisted as a private and later was promoted to second lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps and served from August 20, 1917 to October 13, 1919. He was a first lieutenant in the Quartermaster Reserve Corps from 1920 to 1925. He was admitted to the bar in 1920 and commenced practice in New York City; from 1923 to 1929. he was a member of the New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
.
Gavagan was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-first Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Royal H. Weller
Royal H. Weller
Royal Hurlburt Weller was a United States Representative from New York.Weller was born in New York City on 2 July1881. He attended the public schools and the College of the City of New York and graduated from the New York Law School in 1901...
; he was reelected to the Seventy-second and to the six succeeding Congresses and held office from November 5, 1929 until December 30, 1943, when he resigned, having been elected a justice of the New York Supreme Court
New York Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in thestate court system of New York, United States. There is a supreme court in each of New York State's 62 counties, although some smaller counties share judges with neighboring counties...
in November 1943 for a fourteen-year term. While in the House of Representatives, he was chairman of the Committee on Elections No. 2 (Seventy-second through Seventy-sixth Congresses) and Committee on War Claims (Seventy-seventh and Seventy-eighth Congresses). However, his main thrust was trying to pass his Anti-Lynching law. Having grown up in New York's Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City between 34th Street and 59th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River....
, he saw not only the discrimination in the city against the Irish, but the horrible way that Blacks were treated. He spent his entire time in Congress attempting to convince his fellow members that there was something simply wrong that a mob could control the law. His bill was never passed because Claude Pepper
Claude Pepper
Claude Denson Pepper was an American politician of the Democratic Party, and a spokesman for left-liberalism and the elderly. In foreign policy he shifted from pro-Soviet in the 1940s to anti-Communist in the 1950s...
, J. William Fulbright
J. William Fulbright
James William Fulbright was a United States Senator representing Arkansas from 1945 to 1975.Fulbright was a Southern Democrat and a staunch multilateralist who supported the creation of the United Nations and the longest serving chairman in the history of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee...
and the other Southern Congressman were able to block it. Pepper, in his later years, as the guardian of the elderly, admitted his one regret was that he voted against the Gavagan anti-Lynching law.
Gavagan was reelected in 1957 for a second term as a justice, and in 1968, died in Bennington, Vermont. Interment was in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, New York
Hawthorne, New York
Hawthorne is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place located in the town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, New York. The population was 4,586 at the 2010 census.-History:...
.