Douglas McKay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section needs additional references or sources to improve its verifiability.
Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations. This article has been tagged since December 2006. (help)

25^th Governor of Oregon
Douglas McKay

35^th U.S. Secretary of the Interior
In office January 21, 1953 – April 15, 1956
Preceded by	Oscar Littleton Chapman
Succeeded by	Fred Andrew Seaton
In office January 10, 1949 – December 27, 1952
Preceded by	John H. Hall
Succeeded by	Paul L. Patterson

Born	June 24, 1893 Portland, Oregon
Died	July 22, 1959 Salem, Oregon
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Mabel Hill McKay
Profession	Farmer Automobile dealer Politician

(James) Douglas McKay (June 24, 1893–July 22, 1959) was a Republican from Oregon who entered politics after an earlier career in business, to first become governor of the state, and later a cabinet officer.

1 Early life and business career
2 Early political career
3 Oregon Governor
4 Secretary of the Interior
5 References

[edit] Early life and business career

Born in Portland, Oregon, was the son of E. D. McKay, a carpenter, and Minnie A. Musgrove. His family's limited means required that he work while still a schoolboy, and leave school before receiving a high school diploma. He was admitted to Oregon State College as a "subfreshman" agriculture student at age 20, graduating in 1917 with a B.S. degree.

During World War I, he enlisted as an officer, sustaining an injury in battle to his right arm and shoulder. Upon discharge, the disability prevented his performing the strenuous activities of farming, as he had planned, so he began a business career by selling insurance, and then automobiles, rising to the position of sales manager. He opened his own Chevrolet dealership in 1927, and after achieving some success, expanded his franchise to include Cadillacs.

[edit] Early political career

McKay won election to several local political offices as a Republican, becoming mayor of Salem, Oregon in 1932, at a time that and guided that city through fiscal troubles in the wake of the Great Depression. Steering his city into recovery, according to a contemporary journalist quoted by biogropher, Herbert S. Parmet, made McKay "a firm advocate of government as well as business preserving and guarding its financial foundation."

[edit] Oregon Governor

McKay was elected to the Oregon State Senate in 1934, serving four terms, interrupted by service as a major in the army during of World War II. In 1940, he was an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention from Oregon.

He was elected Governor of Oregon in 1948 on a platform of fiscal conservatism and economic development. Although opposed to increasing federal power, and advocated development of natural resources as within the domain of private enterprise, he supported public projects for water supply and irrigation, and to protect waterways from pollution through water treatment. McKay easily won reelection as governor in 1950.

[edit] Secretary of the Interior

He and General Dwight D. Eisenhower had significant ideological differences, the General being identified with the Republican moderates, and McKay with the conservative wing. Fearing that conservative Senator Robert A. Taft had little or no chance of winning the presidency in 1952, and admiring Eisenhower for his military record and leadership qualities, McKay supported the General's candidacy early in the campaign. Upon Eisenhower's election, he named McKay to the cabinet level position of Secretary of the Interior.

As Interior Secretary, McKay, as a native of the West, proved himself a political asset and an effective administrator, largely because of his concern for natural resources in that region balanced by fiscal and business acumen. His nomination received the support of business interests eager to reverse the trend toward nationalization of hydroelectric power and increasing restrictions pertaining to public lands. McKay, however, opposed privatization of the assets of the Tennessee Valley Authority. His administration of the agency was marked by a middle-of-the-road approach in the debate between the conservationists and the developers over the role of the federal government versus the interests of private enterprise. He seemed eager in his implementation of President Eisenhower's "partnership" approach, involving the states, local public groups, and private enterprise, together with the federal government in building facilities and developing natural resources.

During his tenure, McKay worked to prevent the Columbia Valley Authority and public development of the Hell's Canyon project. Facing fierce opposition by conservationists, he favored building a dam at Echo Park which created a massive reservoir at Dinosaur National Monument. His reputation was marred by a scandal in which an Alabama mining company won access to choice Oregon timberlands.

On March 9, 1956, to challenge incumbent Wayne Morse for his seat in the United States Senate. He lost what became a fierce campaign, in no small measure because of the ferocious opposition he had engendered amongst Oregon conservation groups.

Less that three full years later, Douglas McKay died in Salem, Oregon on July 22, 1959, and is interred at Belcrest Memorial Park there. He was survived by the former Mabel C. Hill, whom he married on March 31, 1917, and their three children. McKay High School, also in Salem, bears his name.

[edit] References

"(James) Douglas McKay." Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 6: 1956-1960. American Council of Learned Societies, 1980. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2006. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC