Joseph F. Guffey
Encyclopedia
Joseph Frank Guffey was an American
business executive and Democratic Party
politician from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. He represented Pennsylvania
in the United States Senate
from 1935 until 1947.
to Joseph and Ruth (née Reiffer) Guffey. He was the last born of his brothers; John A., Daniel W., William C., James F., Robert, and Samuel, and sisters; Cinthia, Sarah, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Isabella, and Emma. He attended but did not graduate from Princeton University
. As a Princeton student, he became a disciple of Professor Woodrow Wilson
. During Wilson's tenure as Princeton president, Guffey, and other former students were vocal supporters of Wilson's Quad Plan. He was instrumental in helping Wilson to secure the Democratic presidential nomination in 1912.
. He was a member of A. Mitchell Palmer's Pennsylvania political machine.
Guffey, who owned an oil company with his two sisters, suffered financial setbacks in oil speculation during WWI and was indicted by a federal grand jury for mis-use of the funds under his control as Sales Director. The charges were later dropped as part of deal made during the Harding/Coolidge Administrations' Teapot Dome Scandal
. He was a member of the Democratic National Committee
from 1920 until 1932.
.
He was the chairperson of the Mines and Mining committee, and was a fervent supporter of the President Franklin D. Roosevelt
's New Deal
in the 1930s. He supported the aggressive politics of Henry Wallace
, who compared the Republicans with fascists.
Guffey spoke out against Harry J. Anslinger
(who had been appointed to lead the newly formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics by his father-in-law Andrew Mellon) for referring to "niggers" in official correspondence. He caused a controversy in Pennsylvania when he backed Charles Alvin Jones
for the Democratic nomination as governor in 1938, instead of Lieutenant Governor Thomas Kennedy
, who was a close associate of mine workers union head John Lewis
. As the leader of the Democratic political machine, his endorsement gave the nomination to Jones, who later lost the general election (to Republican Arthur James
). Guffey was at the same time working with Lewis, demanding that Pleas E. Greenlee replace Charles F. Hosford Jr. who had been ineffective as chairman of the National Bituminous Coal
Commission.
He was reelected in 1940, with Claude Pepper
campaigning with him. Guffey was less influential after the Republicans took control of the Congress and reversed some of the laws helping labor unions, eventually passing the Taft-Hartley Act
after Guffey was defeated by Governor Edward Martin by a wide margin in 1946.
for burial in the West Newton Cemetery.
He supported President Harry S. Truman
's recognition of the State of Israel in 1948.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
business executive and Democratic Party
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...
politician from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. He represented Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in 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...
from 1935 until 1947.
Early life
Guffey was born at Guffey's Station in Westmoreland County, PennsylvaniaWestmoreland County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 369,993 people, 149,813 households, and 104,569 families residing in the county. The population density was 361 people per square mile . There were 161,058 housing units at an average density of 157 per square mile...
to Joseph and Ruth (née Reiffer) Guffey. He was the last born of his brothers; John A., Daniel W., William C., James F., Robert, and Samuel, and sisters; Cinthia, Sarah, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Isabella, and Emma. He attended but did not graduate from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. As a Princeton student, he became a disciple of Professor Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
. During Wilson's tenure as Princeton president, Guffey, and other former students were vocal supporters of Wilson's Quad Plan. He was instrumental in helping Wilson to secure the Democratic presidential nomination in 1912.
World War I
He was a member of the War Industries Board (Petroleum Service Division), as well as the Director of the Bureau of sales in the Alien Property Custodian's office during World War IWorld 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 was a member of A. Mitchell Palmer's Pennsylvania political machine.
Guffey, who owned an oil company with his two sisters, suffered financial setbacks in oil speculation during WWI and was indicted by a federal grand jury for mis-use of the funds under his control as Sales Director. The charges were later dropped as part of deal made during the Harding/Coolidge Administrations' Teapot Dome Scandal
Teapot Dome scandal
The Teapot Dome Scandal was a bribery incident that took place in the United States in 1922–23, during the administration of President Warren G. Harding. Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome and two other locations to private oil companies at low...
. He was a member of the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
from 1920 until 1932.
United States Senate
He was elected to the United States Senate in 1934, unseating Republican Senator David A. ReedDavid A. Reed
David Aiken Reed was an American lawyer and Republican party politician from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate....
.
He was the chairperson of the Mines and Mining committee, and was a fervent supporter of the 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...
'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...
in the 1930s. He supported the aggressive politics of Henry Wallace
Henry A. Wallace
Henry Agard Wallace was the 33rd Vice President of the United States , the Secretary of Agriculture , and the Secretary of Commerce . In the 1948 presidential election, Wallace was the nominee of the Progressive Party.-Early life:Henry A...
, who compared the Republicans with fascists.
Guffey spoke out against Harry J. Anslinger
Harry J. Anslinger
Harry Jacob Anslinger held office as the Assistant Prohibition Commissioner in the Bureau of Prohibition, before being appointed as the first Commissioner of the U.S. Treasury Department's Federal Bureau of Narcotics on August 12, 1930.Anslinger held office an unprecedented 32 years in his role...
(who had been appointed to lead the newly formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics by his father-in-law Andrew Mellon) for referring to "niggers" in official correspondence. He caused a controversy in Pennsylvania when he backed Charles Alvin Jones
Charles Alvin Jones
Charles Alvin Jones was a United States federal judge and a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania....
for the Democratic nomination as governor in 1938, instead of Lieutenant Governor Thomas Kennedy
Thomas Kennedy (unionist)
Thomas Kennedy was a miner and president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1960 to 1963....
, who was a close associate of mine workers union head John Lewis
John L. Lewis
John Llewellyn Lewis was an American leader of organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920 to 1960...
. As the leader of the Democratic political machine, his endorsement gave the nomination to Jones, who later lost the general election (to Republican Arthur James
Arthur James (politician)
Arthur Horace James was an American politician. He served as the 31st Governor of Pennsylvania from 1939 until 1943.He was elected governor as a Republican when the Democratic machine Arthur Horace James (July 14, 1883April 27, 1973) was an American politician. He served as the 31st Governor of...
). Guffey was at the same time working with Lewis, demanding that Pleas E. Greenlee replace Charles F. Hosford Jr. who had been ineffective as chairman of the National Bituminous Coal
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
Commission.
He was reelected in 1940, with 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...
campaigning with him. Guffey was less influential after the Republicans took control of the Congress and reversed some of the laws helping labor unions, eventually passing the Taft-Hartley Act
Taft-Hartley Act
The Labor–Management Relations Act is a United States federal law that monitors the activities and power of labor unions. The act, still effective, was sponsored by Senator Robert Taft and Representative Fred A. Hartley, Jr. and became law by overriding U.S. President Harry S...
after Guffey was defeated by Governor Edward Martin by a wide margin in 1946.
Retirement
After leaving the Senate, Guffey retired to Washington, DC, where he died in 1959. Upon his death, he was returned to West Newton, PennsylvaniaWest Newton, Pennsylvania
West Newton, located southeast of Pittsburgh, is a borough in Westmoreland County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Formerly, the manufacture of radiators and boilers were the chief industries. In 1900, the people living there numbered 2,467. In 1910, 2,880 people lived there...
for burial in the West Newton Cemetery.
He supported President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
's recognition of the State of Israel in 1948.