Prescott Bush
Encyclopedia
Prescott Sheldon Bush was a Wall Street
executive banker and a United States Senator
, representing Connecticut
from 1952 until January 1963. He was the father of George H. W. Bush
(41st President of the United States
) and the grandfather of George W. Bush
(43rd President of the United States).
, to Samuel Prescott Bush
and Flora Sheldon Bush. Samuel Bush was a railroad executive, then a steel company president, and, during World War I
, also a federal government official in charge of coordination and assistance to major weapons contractors
.
Bush attended St. George's School
in Newport, Rhode Island
, from 1908 to 1913. In 1913, he enrolled at Yale University
, where his grandfather James Smith Bush
, class of 1844, and his uncle Robert E. Sheldon Jr., class of 1904, had matriculated. Three subsequent generations of the Bush family have been Yale alumni. Prescott Bush was admitted to the Zeta Psi
fraternity and Skull and Bones
secret society. George H. W. Bush
and George W. Bush
are also members of that society.
Prescott Bush played varsity golf, football, and baseball, and was president of the Yale Glee Club
.
. He received intelligence training at Verdun, France, and was briefly assigned to a staff of French
officers. Alternating between intelligence and artillery, Bush came under fire in the Meuse-Argonne offensive
.
in St. Louis
, Missouri
.
The Bushes moved to Columbus, Ohio in 1923, where Prescott Bush briefly worked for the Hupp
Products Company. In November 1923 he became president of sales for Stedman Products in South Braintree, Massachusetts
. During this time, he lived in a Victorian
home at 173 Adams Street in Milton, Massachusetts
, where his son, George H.W. Bush, was born.
In 1924, Bush became vice-president of A. Harriman & Co.
His father-in-law, George Herbert Walker
also worked with the company, as did E. Roland Harriman
and Knight Woolley, Bush's Yale classmates and fellow Bonesmen
. In 1931, Bush became a partner of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
, which was created through the 1931 merger of A. Harriman & Co with Brown Bros. & Co.
(a merchant bank
founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, in 1818) and with Harriman Brothers & Co. (established in New York City in 1927).
In 1925, Bush joined the United States Rubber Company
of New York City as manager of the foreign division, and moved to Greenwich, Connecticut
. He was an avid golfer, and in 1935 named head of the USGA.
From 1944 to 1956, Bush was a member of the Yale Corporation
, the principal governing body of Yale University. Bush was on the board of directors of CBS
, having been introduced to chairman William S. Paley
around 1932 by his close friend and colleague William Averell Harriman, who became a major Democratic Party
power-broker.
, an investment bank controlled by the Thyssen family
. In July 1942 the bank was suspected of holding gold on behalf of Nazi leaders. A subsequent government investigation disproved those allegations, but confirmed the Thyssens' control, and in October 1942 the United States seized the bank under the Trading with the Enemy Act and held the assets for the duration of World War II
.
Joe Conason
said that Bush's involvement with UBC was purely commercial and that he was not a Nazi sympathizer. The Anti-Defamation League
and historian Herbert Parmet agreed with that assessment.
as early as 1942, and served as the treasurer of the first national capital campaign of Planned Parenthood
in 1947. Bush was also an early supporter of the United Negro College Fund
, serving as chairman of the Connecticut branch in 1951.
From 1947 to 1950, he served as Connecticut Republican finance chairman, and was the Republican candidate for the United States Senate
in 1950. A columnist in Boston
said that Bush "is coming on to be known as President Truman's
Harry Hopkins
. Nobody knows Mr. Bush and he hasn't a Chinaman's chance
." Bush's ties with Planned Parenthood also hurt him in heavily Catholic Connecticut, and were the basis of a last-minute campaign in churches by Bush's opponents; the family vigorously denied the connection, but Bush lost to Benton by only 1,000 votes.
Bush sought a rematch with Benton in 1952, but withdrew as the party turned to William Purtell. The death of Senator Brien McMahon
later that year however created a vacancy and this time Republicans nominated Bush. Bush defeated the Democratic nominee, Abraham Ribicoff, and was elected to the Senate. A staunch supporter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower
, Bush served until January 1963. He was reelected in 1956 with 55 percent of the vote over Democrat Thomas J. Dodd
(later U.S. Senator from Connecticut and father of the recent U.S. Senator from Connecticut, Christopher J. Dodd), and decided not to run for another term in 1962. He was a key ally for the passage of Eisenhower's Interstate Highway System
, and during his tenure supported the Polaris submarine
project (which were built by Electric Boat Corporation
in Groton, Connecticut
), civil rights
legislation, and the establishment of the Peace Corps
.
On December 2, 1954, Bush was part of the large (67–22) majority to censure
Wisconsin
Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy
, after McCarthy had taken on the U.S. Army
and the Eisenhower administration. During the debate leading to the censure, Bush said that McCarthy has "caused dangerous divisions among the American people because of his attitude and the attitude he has encouraged among his followers: that there can be no honest differences of opinion with him. Either you must follow Senator McCarthy blindly, not daring to express any doubts or disagreements about any of his actions, or, in his eyes, you must be a Communist, a Communist sympathizer, or a fool who has been duped by the Communist line." Eisenhower later included Bush's name on an undated handwritten list of prospective candidates he favored for the 1960 GOP presidential nomination.
In terms of issues, Bush often agreed with New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller
, but personally disliked and politically opposed him, despite the close relationship his father had with the Rockefeller family
. During the 1964 election
, Bush denounced Rockefeller for divorcing his first wife and marrying a woman about 20 years his junior with whom Rockefeller had been having an affair while married to his first wife.
Another of Senator Bush's major legislative interests was flood and hurricane protection. He drafted Public Law 71, the Bush Hurricane Survey Act, enabling Army engineers to develop a new program of community protection against tidal flooding.
Bush married Dorothy Walker
on August 6, 1921, in Kennebunkport, Maine
. They had five children: Prescott Bush, Jr. (August 10, 1922 – June 23, 2010), George H. W. Bush
(b. 1924, named after Dorothy's father George Herbert Walker
), Nancy Bush
(b. 1926), Jonathan Bush
(b. 1931), and William "Bucky" Bush (b. 1938).
Bush founded the Yale Glee Club Associates
, an alumni group, in 1937. Following his father-in-law, he was a member of the United States Golf Association
, serving successively as secretary, vice-president and president, 1928–1935. He was a multi-year club champion of the Round Hill Club in Greenwich, Connecticut
, and was on the committee set up by New York City Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr.
to help create the New York Mets
.
Bush maintained homes in New York, Long Island
, and Greenwich, Connecticut
; the family compound
at Kennebunkport, Maine
; a 10,000 acre (40 km
²) plantation in South Carolina
; and a secluded island off the Connecticut
coast, Fishers Island
.
He died in 1972 at age 77 and was interred at Putnam Cemetery
in Greenwich, Connecticut
.
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
executive banker 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...
, representing Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
from 1952 until January 1963. He was the father of George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
(41st President of the United States
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....
) and the grandfather of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
(43rd President of the United States).
Early life
Bush was born in Columbus, OhioColumbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, to Samuel Prescott Bush
Samuel P. Bush
Samuel Prescott Bush was an American industrialist and entrepreneur, and the patriarch of the Bush political family. He was the father of U.S. Senator Prescott Bush, grandfather of former U.S President George H. W. Bush, and great-grandfather of former U.S. President George W...
and Flora Sheldon Bush. Samuel Bush was a railroad executive, then a steel company president, and, 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...
, also a federal government official in charge of coordination and assistance to major weapons contractors
Defense contractor
A defense contractor is a business organization or individual that provides products or services to a military department of a government. Products typically include military aircraft, ships, vehicles, weaponry, and electronic systems...
.
Bush attended St. George's School
St. George's School, Newport
St. George's School is a private, Episcopal, coeducational boarding school in Middletown, Rhode Island, USA, just east of the city of Newport. The school was founded in 1896 by the Rev. John Byron Diman, a member of a prominent Rhode Island family. It sits on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean...
in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, from 1908 to 1913. In 1913, he enrolled at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where his grandfather James Smith Bush
James Smith Bush
Rev. James Smith Bush was an attorney, Episcopal priest, and religious writer, and an ancestor of the Bush political family. He was the father of business magnate Samuel Prescott Bush, grandfather of US Senator Prescott Bush, great-grandfather of former US President George H. W. Bush and...
, class of 1844, and his uncle Robert E. Sheldon Jr., class of 1904, had matriculated. Three subsequent generations of the Bush family have been Yale alumni. Prescott Bush was admitted to the Zeta Psi
Zeta Psi
The Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America was founded June 1, 1847 as a social college fraternity. The organization now comprises about fifty active chapters and twenty-five inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand brothers, and is a founding member of the North-American...
fraternity and Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
secret society. George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
and George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
are also members of that society.
Prescott Bush played varsity golf, football, and baseball, and was president of the Yale Glee Club
Yale Glee Club
The Yale Glee Club is a mixed chorus of men and women, consisting of students of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1861, it is the third oldest collegiate chorus in the United States after the Harvard Glee Club, founded in 1858, and the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club,...
.
Military service
After graduation, Bush served as a field artillery captain with the American Expeditionary Forces (1917–1919) 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 received intelligence training at Verdun, France, and was briefly assigned to a staff of French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
officers. Alternating between intelligence and artillery, Bush came under fire in the Meuse-Argonne offensive
Meuse-Argonne Offensive
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, or Maas-Argonne Offensive, also called the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire western front.-Overview:...
.
Business career
After his discharge in 1919, Prescott Bush went to work for the Simmons Hardware CompanyKeen Kutter
Keen Kutter is a trade name first used by Simmons Hardware Company of St. Louis, Missouri in 1866. The name was adopted as a trademark by Simmons Hardware Company in 1870 and was used on their highest quality tools and cutlery....
in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
.
The Bushes moved to Columbus, Ohio in 1923, where Prescott Bush briefly worked for the Hupp
Hupmobile
The Hupmobile was an automobile built from 1909 through 1940 by the Hupp Motor Company, which was located at 345 Bellevue Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. Its first car, the Model 20, was introduced to the public at the Detroit Auto Show in February 1909...
Products Company. In November 1923 he became president of sales for Stedman Products in South Braintree, Massachusetts
Braintree, Massachusetts
The Town of Braintree is a suburban city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Although officially known as a town, Braintree adopted a municipal charter, effective 2008, with a mayor-council form of government and is considered a city under Massachusetts law. The population was 35,744...
. During this time, he lived in a Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
home at 173 Adams Street in Milton, Massachusetts
Milton, Massachusetts
Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 27,003 at the 2010 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and architect Buckminster Fuller. Milton also has the highest percentage of...
, where his son, George H.W. Bush, was born.
In 1924, Bush became vice-president of A. Harriman & Co.
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. is an American investment bank and securities firm, founded in 1818, it is the oldest and largest private bank in the United States. Brown Brothers Harriman serves clients globally in three main businesses: Investment Banking & Advisory, Wealth Management, Commercial...
His father-in-law, George Herbert Walker
George Herbert Walker
George Herbert Walker was a wealthy American banker and businessman. His daughter Dorothy married Prescott Bush, making him a grandfather of former President George H. W. Bush and a great-grandfather of former President George W. Bush.-Life and career:Born in St...
also worked with the company, as did E. Roland Harriman
E. Roland Harriman
E. Roland Harriman was a financier and philanthropist...
and Knight Woolley, Bush's Yale classmates and fellow Bonesmen
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
. In 1931, Bush became a partner of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. is an American investment bank and securities firm, founded in 1818, it is the oldest and largest private bank in the United States. Brown Brothers Harriman serves clients globally in three main businesses: Investment Banking & Advisory, Wealth Management, Commercial...
, which was created through the 1931 merger of A. Harriman & Co with Brown Bros. & Co.
Brown Bros. & Co.
Brown Bros. & Co. was an investment bank from 1818 until its merger with Harriman Brothers & Company in 1931 to form Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.-History:...
(a merchant bank
Merchant bank
A merchant bank is a financial institution which provides capital to companies in the form of share ownership instead of loans. A merchant bank also provides advisory on corporate matters to the firms they lend to....
founded in Philadelphia, 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 1818) and with Harriman Brothers & Co. (established in New York City in 1927).
In 1925, Bush joined the United States Rubber Company
United States Rubber Company
The United States Rubber Company was founded in Naugatuck, Connecticut in 1892. It was one of the original 12 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and became Uniroyal Inc...
of New York City as manager of the foreign division, and moved to Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
. He was an avid golfer, and in 1935 named head of the USGA.
From 1944 to 1956, Bush was a member of the Yale Corporation
Yale Corporation
The Yale Corporation, sometimes, and more formally, known as The President and Fellows of Yale College, is the governing body of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.The Corporation comprises 19 members:...
, the principal governing body of Yale University. Bush was on the board of directors of CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, having been introduced to chairman William S. Paley
William S. Paley
William S. Paley was the chief executive who built Columbia Broadcasting System from a small radio network into one of the foremost radio and television network operations in the United States.-Early life:...
around 1932 by his close friend and colleague William Averell Harriman, who became a major 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...
power-broker.
Union Banking Corporation
Bush was one of seven directors of the Union Banking CorporationUnion Banking Corporation
The Union Banking Corporation was a banking corporation in the US whose assets were seized by the United States government during World War II under the Trading with the Enemy Act and Executive Order No. 9095. According to an Oct...
, an investment bank controlled by the Thyssen family
Fritz Thyssen
Friedrich "Fritz" Thyssen was a German businessman born into one of Germany's leading industrial families.-Youth:Thyssen was born in Mülheim in the Ruhr area...
. In July 1942 the bank was suspected of holding gold on behalf of Nazi leaders. A subsequent government investigation disproved those allegations, but confirmed the Thyssens' control, and in October 1942 the United States seized the bank under the Trading with the Enemy Act and held the assets for the duration of 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...
.
Joe Conason
Joe Conason
Joe Conason is an American journalist, author and political commentator. He writes a column for the weekly New York Observer newspaper, for Salon.com and has written a number of books, including Big Lies , which addresses what he says are myths spread about liberals by conservatives.-Life and...
said that Bush's involvement with UBC was purely commercial and that he was not a Nazi sympathizer. The Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
and historian Herbert Parmet agreed with that assessment.
United States Senator
Bush was politically active on social issues. He was involved with the American Birth Control LeagueAmerican Birth Control League
The American Birth Control League was founded by Margaret Sanger in 1921 at the First American Birth Control Conference in New York City. The League was incorporated under the laws of New York State on April 5, 1922. Its headquarters were located at 104 Fifth Avenue, New York City from 1921–30 and...
as early as 1942, and served as the treasurer of the first national capital campaign of Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...
in 1947. Bush was also an early supporter of the United Negro College Fund
United Negro College Fund
The United Negro College Fund is an American philanthropic organization that fundraises college tuition money for black students and general scholarship funds for 39 private historically black colleges and universities. The UNCF was incorporated on April 25, 1944 by Frederick D. Patterson , Mary...
, serving as chairman of the Connecticut branch in 1951.
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 1950. A columnist in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
said that Bush "is coming on to be known as President Truman's
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...
Harry Hopkins
Harry Hopkins
Harry Lloyd Hopkins was one of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's closest advisers. He was one of the architects of the New Deal, especially the relief programs of the Works Progress Administration , which he directed and built into the largest employer in the country...
. Nobody knows Mr. Bush and he hasn't a Chinaman's chance
Chinaman's chance
The expression a Chinaman's chance means someone has no chance at all of accomplishing or successfully doing an action.The original phrase, from the California gold rush, was that one had only a Chinaman's Chance in Hell, but it morphed through usage into its current state.-History:The historical...
." Bush's ties with Planned Parenthood also hurt him in heavily Catholic Connecticut, and were the basis of a last-minute campaign in churches by Bush's opponents; the family vigorously denied the connection, but Bush lost to Benton by only 1,000 votes.
Bush sought a rematch with Benton in 1952, but withdrew as the party turned to William Purtell. The death of Senator Brien McMahon
Brien McMahon
Brien McMahon, born James O'Brien McMahon was an American lawyer and politician who served in the United States Senate from 1945 to 1952...
later that year however created a vacancy and this time Republicans nominated Bush. Bush defeated the Democratic nominee, Abraham Ribicoff, and was elected to the Senate. A staunch supporter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
, Bush served until January 1963. He was reelected in 1956 with 55 percent of the vote over Democrat Thomas J. Dodd
Thomas J. Dodd
Thomas Joseph Dodd was a United States Senator and Representative from Connecticut, He was the first Senator censured by the US Senate since Joseph McCarthy in 1954, and was one of only six people censured by the Senate in the 20th century. He is the father of former U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd...
(later U.S. Senator from Connecticut and father of the recent U.S. Senator from Connecticut, Christopher J. Dodd), and decided not to run for another term in 1962. He was a key ally for the passage of Eisenhower's Interstate Highway System
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
, and during his tenure supported the Polaris submarine
Ethan Allen class submarine
The Ethan Allen class of fleet ballistic missile submarine was an evolutionary development from the George Washington class. The Ethan Allen, together with the , , , and classes comprise the "41 for Freedom."...
project (which were built by Electric Boat Corporation
Electric Boat Corporation
The General Dynamics Electric Boat is a division of General Dynamics Corporation. It has been the primary builder of submarines for the United States Navy for over 100 years....
in Groton, Connecticut
Groton, Connecticut
Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census....
), civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
legislation, and the establishment of the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
.
On December 2, 1954, Bush was part of the large (67–22) majority to censure
Censure
A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spiritual penalty imposed by a church, and a negative judgment pronounced on a theological proposition.-Politics:...
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
, after McCarthy had taken on the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and the Eisenhower administration. During the debate leading to the censure, Bush said that McCarthy has "caused dangerous divisions among the American people because of his attitude and the attitude he has encouraged among his followers: that there can be no honest differences of opinion with him. Either you must follow Senator McCarthy blindly, not daring to express any doubts or disagreements about any of his actions, or, in his eyes, you must be a Communist, a Communist sympathizer, or a fool who has been duped by the Communist line." Eisenhower later included Bush's name on an undated handwritten list of prospective candidates he favored for the 1960 GOP presidential nomination.
In terms of issues, Bush often agreed with New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
, but personally disliked and politically opposed him, despite the close relationship his father had with the Rockefeller family
Rockefeller family
The Rockefeller family , the Cleveland family of John D. Rockefeller and his brother William Rockefeller , is an American industrial, banking, and political family of German origin that made one of the world's largest private fortunes in the oil business during the late 19th and early 20th...
. During the 1964 election
United States presidential election, 1964
The United States presidential election of 1964 was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had come to office less than a year earlier following the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy. Johnson, who had successfully associated himself with Kennedy's...
, Bush denounced Rockefeller for divorcing his first wife and marrying a woman about 20 years his junior with whom Rockefeller had been having an affair while married to his first wife.
Another of Senator Bush's major legislative interests was flood and hurricane protection. He drafted Public Law 71, the Bush Hurricane Survey Act, enabling Army engineers to develop a new program of community protection against tidal flooding.
Personal life
Dorothy Walker Bush
Dorothy Wear Walker Bush , mother to 41st President of the United States, George H. W. Bush, and the grandmother of 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. Time on her death wrote that "George Bush was shaped and tempered by his mother's nature." Dorothy Bush raised her five children...
on August 6, 1921, in Kennebunkport, Maine
Kennebunkport, Maine
Kennebunkport is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,720 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford metropolitan statistical area....
. They had five children: Prescott Bush, Jr. (August 10, 1922 – June 23, 2010), George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
(b. 1924, named after Dorothy's father George Herbert Walker
George Herbert Walker
George Herbert Walker was a wealthy American banker and businessman. His daughter Dorothy married Prescott Bush, making him a grandfather of former President George H. W. Bush and a great-grandfather of former President George W. Bush.-Life and career:Born in St...
), Nancy Bush
Nancy Walker Bush Ellis
Nancy Walker Bush Ellis is the only sister of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and aunt of former President George W. Bush and the former Governor of Florida John Ellis "Jeb" Bush. Her parents were Prescott Sheldon Bush and Dorothy Walker . Media consultant John Prescott Ellis is one of...
(b. 1926), Jonathan Bush
Jonathan Bush
Jonathan James Bush , is an American banker and former Republican Party fundraiser.-Education and family:Jonathan Bush graduated from The Hotchkiss School and Yale University, where he was a member of Skull and Bones. He is the fourth child of Prescott Sheldon Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush and is...
(b. 1931), and William "Bucky" Bush (b. 1938).
Bush founded the Yale Glee Club Associates
Yale Glee Club
The Yale Glee Club is a mixed chorus of men and women, consisting of students of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1861, it is the third oldest collegiate chorus in the United States after the Harvard Glee Club, founded in 1858, and the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club,...
, an alumni group, in 1937. Following his father-in-law, he was a member of the United States Golf Association
United States Golf Association
The United States Golf Association is the United States' national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the Rules of Golf. The USGA also provides a national handicap system...
, serving successively as secretary, vice-president and president, 1928–1935. He was a multi-year club champion of the Round Hill Club in Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
, and was on the committee set up by New York City Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr.
Robert F. Wagner, Jr.
Robert Ferdinand Wagner II, usually known as Robert F. Wagner, Jr. served three terms as the mayor of New York City, from 1954 through 1965.-Biography:...
to help create the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
.
Bush maintained homes in New York, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, and Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
; the family compound
Bush compound
The Bush compound , is the summer home of 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush. Located adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean in southern Maine, in the town of Kennebunkport, the property has been a family retreat for more than a century.The estate was purchased in the late 19th century...
at Kennebunkport, Maine
Kennebunkport, Maine
Kennebunkport is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,720 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford metropolitan statistical area....
; a 10,000 acre (40 km
KM
KM, Km, or km may stand for:*Kilometre *Kernel methods*Kettle Moraine High School*Khmer language *Kuomintang , a centre-right political party in the Republic of China on Taiwan...
²) plantation in 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...
; and a secluded island off the Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
coast, Fishers Island
Fishers Island
Fishers Island, approximately 9 miles long and 1 mile wide, is located at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, 2 miles off the southeastern coast of Connecticut across Fishers Island Sound...
.
Putnam Cemetery
Putnam Cemetery is a non-sectarian cemetery located in Greenwich, Connecticut. It is affiliated with adjacent Saint Mary's Cemetery, which is a Catholic cemetery. The cemetery is located in a quiet residential neighborhood and is the final resting place of several notable people...
in Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
.
Writings
Bush's articles include:- "Timely Monetary Policy," Banking, June 1955 and July 1955
- "To Preserve Peace Let's Show the Russians How Strong We Are!" Reader's DigestReader's DigestReader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
, July 1959 - "Politics Is Your Business," Chamber of Commerce, State of New York, Bulletin, May 1960
Further reading
- The Prescott Bush Papers are at the University of Connecticut, Storrs.
- The Greenwich Library Oral History Project has interviews with Prescott Bush, Jr., and Mary Walker.
- There is material by and about Bush in the History of the Class of 1917 Yale College (1919) and the supplementary class albums.
- John Atlee Kouwenhoven, Partners in Banking: An Historical Portrait of a Great Private Bank, Brown Brothers Harriman (1968).
- Obituaries are in the Washington Post, October 9, 1972; the New York Times, October 9, 1972; the Hartford Courant, October 9, 1972; and Yale Alumni Magazine, December 1972.
- "Prescott Sheldon Bush. "Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 9: 1971–1975. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994.
- Darwin Payne, Initiative in Energy: Dresser Industries, Inc., 1880–1978. New York: Simon and Schuster (1979).