Robert J. Morris
Encyclopedia
Robert John Morris was an American
anti-Communist activist who served as chief counsel to the United States Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security
from 1951 to 1953 and from 1956 to 1958, was President of the University of Dallas
and founded the now-defunct University of Plano
.
, where his father actively opposed Frank Hague
, the city's longtime mayor
and Democratic Party
boss of Hudson County
. He was a graduate of Saint Peter's College and the Fordham University School of Law
. In 1940, he served on a committee of the New York State Assembly
investigating allegations of Communist activities in schools and colleges in New York State.
He enlisted in the United States Navy
during World War II
, though he had initially been rejected due to an inability to see the color red, a story that he would frequently retell throughout his life. Morris was a commander of counterintelligence and psychological warfare, whose duties included writing propaganda items that were dropped over Japan
ese cities and interrogating captured prisoners.
. He returned as chief counsel from 1956 to 1958.
The New York Times
described the subcommittee in 1951 as having a mandate that is practically "limitless in the whole field of security" and that its role "far overreaches the House Committee on Un-American Activities, as it far outreaches Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, Republican of Wisconsin." The subcommittee questioned businessman, diplomats, scholars and schoolteachers, and opened investigations into an alleged Communist takeover of Hawaii, Communist control of the military-industrial complex, and Communist involvement on waterfront in New York City.
One of the subcommittee's most notorious events was the April 1957 suicide of E. Herbert Norman
, the Canadian Ambassador to Egypt, after Norman found out that the subcommittee was reopening an earlier investigation regarding his involvement in a Communist study group. The death affected American-Canadian relations, with Canadians calling his death the result of a "smear campaign" by the subcommittee. Morris had announced a month before the suicide that there was adequate material to justify an investigation into charges that Norman was a Communist.
In a letter written to William F. Buckley, Jr.
published in 1969, Chambers gave Morris credit for much of the efforts attributed to Senator Joseph McCarthy
, with Chambers stating that "I would say that Bob Morris really accomplished much of what the Senator is credited with".
, Morris announced that he was running for the Republican Party
nomination for the United States Senate
from New Jersey
, and would resign from his $13,000-a-year post as chief counsel as of January 31. In the April 1958 primary, Robert Kean
won the Republican nomination with 43% of the vote, defeating U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower
's Appointments Secretary Bernard M. Shanley
, who had 36%, and Morris, whose 70,000 votes represented more than 20% of the primary votes.
As a resident of Texas
, Morris ran for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in both 1964 and 1970, being defeated both times by George Herbert Walker Bush, a Massachusetts
native. Bush procured 62,985 votes (44.1 percent) of the primary vote in 1964 and was forced into a runoff primary against Jack Cox
, the 1962 Republican gubernatorial nominee, who trailed with 45,561 (31.9 percent). Morris ran third with 28,279 votes (19.8 percent). Bush defeated Cox in the runoff, 62-38 percent, to garner the nomination but lost in the fall to Democratic incumbent
Ralph W. Yarborough. In the 1970 primary, Bush won with 96,806 votes (87.6 percent) to Morris's 13,654 ballots (12.4 percent) 12 percent, but was then defeated in the general election by the Democrat, Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr.
Back in New Jersey, Morris entered the 1982 Republican U.S. senatorial primary, dropping out of the race in May, saying that he had accomplished the goals he sought to achieve of bringing attention to Soviet expansionism and moral deterioration. The nomination went to Millicent Fenwick
, a liberal Republican congresswoman, who was then defeated by Democrat Frank Lautenberg
.
In 1984, Morris again ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, facing off against Mary V. Mochary, the Mayor of Montclair, New Jersey
who had been guided by the re-election campaign of Ronald Reagan
. Mochary won the June primary with 61% of the vote, with Morris's 70,000 votes representing nearly 29% of the total.
in 1960. His outspokenness on anti-Communism and other issues created conflict within the school, and he left in 1962.
He formed the Defenders of American Liberties in the summer of 1962, intended to serves as a counterbalance to the American Civil Liberties Union
, "but with emphasis on different positions." Among the group's early efforts was to defend former Maj. Gen. Edwin A. Walker, who had been arrested on federal charges after a riot broke out following protests he organized in September 1962 against the use of federal troops to enforce the enrollment of African-American James Meredith
at the racially segregated University of Mississippi
. In a telegram to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee
, Morris called Walker the "United States' first political prisoner", after Walker was denied bail and placed under psychiatric observation for up to 90 days.
Building on the difficulties faced by one of his children, Morris founded the University of Plano
in Plano, Texas
in 1964 with a focus on the education of mildly disabled college-age students using techniques from the Doman-Delacato Method
, such as crawling and creeping, that were intended to stimulate brain development. He remained at the school until 1977 and it closed its doors shortly thereafter.
and The New York Tribune
. His 1963 book Disarmament: Weapon of Conquest achieved a modicum of success after its publication in 1963, one of five books he wrote that mostly focused on the disintegrating world order.
, he died at the age of eighty-two at Point Pleasant Hospital in Point Pleasant
, New Jersey, of congestive heart failure
. He had suffered from hydrocephalus
in the year prior to his death.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
anti-Communist activist who served as chief counsel to the United States Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security
United States Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security
The Special Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws, 1951-77, more commonly known as the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee and sometimes the McCarran Committee, was authorized under S...
from 1951 to 1953 and from 1956 to 1958, was President of the University of Dallas
University of Dallas
The University of Dallas is a private, independent Catholic regional university located in Irving, Texas, established in 1956, which is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. According to U.S...
and founded the now-defunct University of Plano
University of Plano
The University of Plano was a liberal arts college that existed in Plano, Texas from 1964 to 1977.The school was founded in 1964 by Robert J. Morris, an attorney and former judge known as an anti-Communist. Morris had served as chief counsel the United States Senate Subcommittee on Internal...
.
Biography
Morris grew up in Jersey City, New JerseyJersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
, where his father actively opposed Frank Hague
Frank Hague
Frank Hague was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey from 1917 to 1947, Democratic National Committeeman from New Jersey from 1922 until 1949, and Vice-Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1924 until 1949.Hague has a widely-known...
, the city's longtime mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
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...
boss of Hudson County
Hudson County, New Jersey
Hudson County is the smallest county in New Jersey and one of the most densely populated in United States. It takes its name from the Hudson River, which creates part of its eastern border. Part of the New York metropolitan area, its county seat and largest city is Jersey City.- Municipalities...
. He was a graduate of Saint Peter's College and the Fordham University School of Law
Fordham University School of Law
Fordham University School of Law is a part of Fordham University in the United States. The School is located in the Borough of Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city.-Overview:According to the U.S. News & World Report, 1,516 J.D. students attend...
. In 1940, he served on a committee 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...
investigating allegations of Communist activities in schools and colleges in New York State.
He enlisted in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
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...
, though he had initially been rejected due to an inability to see the color red, a story that he would frequently retell throughout his life. Morris was a commander of counterintelligence and psychological warfare, whose duties included writing propaganda items that were dropped over Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese cities and interrogating captured prisoners.
Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security
Morris served as chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Internal Security from 1951 to 1953, leaving the following year when he was elected to serve as a municipal court judge in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He returned as chief counsel from 1956 to 1958.
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described the subcommittee in 1951 as having a mandate that is practically "limitless in the whole field of security" and that its role "far overreaches the House Committee on Un-American Activities, as it far outreaches Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, Republican of Wisconsin." The subcommittee questioned businessman, diplomats, scholars and schoolteachers, and opened investigations into an alleged Communist takeover of Hawaii, Communist control of the military-industrial complex, and Communist involvement on waterfront in New York City.
One of the subcommittee's most notorious events was the April 1957 suicide of E. Herbert Norman
E. Herbert Norman
Egerton Herbert Norman was a Canadian diplomat and historian.-Early life and education:Born and raised in Karuizawa, Japan to Canadian Methodist missionaries, he studied at Victoria College at the University of Toronto, and Trinity College at Cambridge University...
, the Canadian Ambassador to Egypt, after Norman found out that the subcommittee was reopening an earlier investigation regarding his involvement in a Communist study group. The death affected American-Canadian relations, with Canadians calling his death the result of a "smear campaign" by the subcommittee. Morris had announced a month before the suicide that there was adequate material to justify an investigation into charges that Norman was a Communist.
In a letter written to William F. Buckley, Jr.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
William Frank Buckley, Jr. was an American conservative author and commentator. He founded the political magazine National Review in 1955, hosted 1,429 episodes of the television show Firing Line from 1966 until 1999, and was a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist. His writing was noted for...
published in 1969, Chambers gave Morris credit for much of the efforts attributed to 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...
, with Chambers stating that "I would say that Bob Morris really accomplished much of what the Senator is credited with".
Political aspirations
In January 1958, as a resident of Point Pleasant Beach, New JerseyPoint Pleasant Beach, New Jersey
Point Pleasant Beach is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 4,665....
, Morris announced that he was running for the Republican Party
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...
nomination for 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 New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and would resign from his $13,000-a-year post as chief counsel as of January 31. In the April 1958 primary, Robert Kean
Robert Kean
Robert Winthrop Kean was a Republican politician who represented New Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives for twenty years.-Biography:...
won the Republican nomination with 43% of the vote, defeating U.S. 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...
's Appointments Secretary Bernard M. Shanley
Bernard M. Shanley
Bernard Michael Shanley was best known for his work with U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. He served under President Eisenhower as Deputy White House Chief of Staff, Appointments Secretary and Special Counsel .-Biography:Shanley was born in Newark, New Jersey on August 4, 1903 and began his...
, who had 36%, and Morris, whose 70,000 votes represented more than 20% of the primary votes.
As a resident of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Morris ran for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in both 1964 and 1970, being defeated both times by George Herbert Walker Bush, a Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
native. Bush procured 62,985 votes (44.1 percent) of the primary vote in 1964 and was forced into a runoff primary against Jack Cox
Jack Cox (Texas)
Jack M. Cox was an oil equipment executive from Houston and the 1962 Republican gubernatorial nominee in the state of Texas.-Early years:...
, the 1962 Republican gubernatorial nominee, who trailed with 45,561 (31.9 percent). Morris ran third with 28,279 votes (19.8 percent). Bush defeated Cox in the runoff, 62-38 percent, to garner the nomination but lost in the fall to Democratic 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...
Ralph W. Yarborough. In the 1970 primary, Bush won with 96,806 votes (87.6 percent) to Morris's 13,654 ballots (12.4 percent) 12 percent, but was then defeated in the general election by the Democrat, Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr.
Back in New Jersey, Morris entered the 1982 Republican U.S. senatorial primary, dropping out of the race in May, saying that he had accomplished the goals he sought to achieve of bringing attention to Soviet expansionism and moral deterioration. The nomination went to Millicent Fenwick
Millicent Fenwick
Millicent Hammond Fenwick was an American fashion editor, politician and diplomat. A four-term Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey, she entered politics late in life and was renowned for her energy and colorful enthusiasm...
, a liberal Republican congresswoman, who was then defeated by Democrat Frank Lautenberg
Frank Lautenberg
Frank Raleigh Lautenberg is the senior United States Senator from New Jersey and a member of the Democratic Party. Previously, he was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Automatic Data Processing, Inc.-Early life, career, and family:...
.
In 1984, Morris again ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, facing off against Mary V. Mochary, the Mayor of Montclair, New Jersey
Montclair, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,977 people, 15,020 households, and 9,687 families residing in the township. The population density was 6,183.6 people per square mile . There were 15,531 housing units at an average density of 2,464.0 per square mile...
who had been guided by the re-election campaign of Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. Mochary won the June primary with 61% of the vote, with Morris's 70,000 votes representing nearly 29% of the total.
Anti-Communist activism
Morris was chosen as president of the University of DallasUniversity of Dallas
The University of Dallas is a private, independent Catholic regional university located in Irving, Texas, established in 1956, which is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. According to U.S...
in 1960. His outspokenness on anti-Communism and other issues created conflict within the school, and he left in 1962.
He formed the Defenders of American Liberties in the summer of 1962, intended to serves as a counterbalance to the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
, "but with emphasis on different positions." Among the group's early efforts was to defend former Maj. Gen. Edwin A. Walker, who had been arrested on federal charges after a riot broke out following protests he organized in September 1962 against the use of federal troops to enforce the enrollment of African-American James Meredith
James Meredith
James H. Meredith is an American civil rights movement figure, a writer, and a political adviser. In 1962, he was the first African American student admitted to the segregated University of Mississippi, an event that was a flashpoint in the American civil rights movement. Motivated by President...
at the racially segregated University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
. In a telegram to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary is a standing committee of the United States Senate, of the United States Congress. The Judiciary Committee, with 18 members, is charged with conducting hearings prior to the Senate votes on confirmation of federal judges nominated by the...
, Morris called Walker the "United States' first political prisoner", after Walker was denied bail and placed under psychiatric observation for up to 90 days.
Building on the difficulties faced by one of his children, Morris founded the University of Plano
University of Plano
The University of Plano was a liberal arts college that existed in Plano, Texas from 1964 to 1977.The school was founded in 1964 by Robert J. Morris, an attorney and former judge known as an anti-Communist. Morris had served as chief counsel the United States Senate Subcommittee on Internal...
in Plano, Texas
Plano, Texas
Plano is a city in the state of Texas, located mostly within Collin County. The city's population was 259,841 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-largest city in Texas and the 71st most populous city in the United States. Plano is located within the metropolitan area commonly referred to as...
in 1964 with a focus on the education of mildly disabled college-age students using techniques from the Doman-Delacato Method
The Institutes for The Achievement of Human Potential
The Institutes for The Achievement of Human Potential is a non-profit organization providing teaching programs and literature which it promotes as improving the health and neurological development of normal children and of children who have sustained a brain injury.Although the institute's programs...
, such as crawling and creeping, that were intended to stimulate brain development. He remained at the school until 1977 and it closed its doors shortly thereafter.
Author and columnist
Morris' column Around the World, was published for more than two decades, starting in 1960. The column appeared in newspapers including the Manchester Union LeaderNew Hampshire Union Leader
The New Hampshire Union Leader is the daily newspaper of Manchester, the largest city in the state of New Hampshire. As of September 2010 it had a daily circulation of 48,342 and the circulation of its Sunday paper, the New Hampshire Sunday News, was 63,991. It was founded in 1863.It was called...
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...
. His 1963 book Disarmament: Weapon of Conquest achieved a modicum of success after its publication in 1963, one of five books he wrote that mostly focused on the disintegrating world order.
Later life
A resident of Mantoloking, New JerseyMantoloking, New Jersey
Mantoloking is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States . As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough had a total population of 296. The borough has an estimated summer population of approximately 5,000...
, he died at the age of eighty-two at Point Pleasant Hospital in Point Pleasant
Point Pleasant, New Jersey
Point Pleasant is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 18,392...
, New Jersey, of congestive heart failure
Congestive heart failure
Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...
. He had suffered from hydrocephalus
Hydrocephalus
Hydrocephalus , also known as "water in the brain," is a medical condition in which there is an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricles, or cavities, of the brain. This may cause increased intracranial pressure inside the skull and progressive enlargement of the head,...
in the year prior to his death.