Robert B. Duncan

For other people named Robert Duncan, see Robert Duncan (disambiguation).
Robert B. Duncan
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Oregon's 3rd district
In office
January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1981
Preceded by Edith Green
Succeeded by Ron Wyden
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Oregon's 4th district
In office
January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1967
Preceded by Edwin R. Durno
Succeeded by John R. Dellenback
49th Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives
In office
1959–1962
Preceded by Pat Dooley
Succeeded by Clarence Barton
Constituency Jackson County
Personal details
Born December 4, 1920(1920-12-04)
Normal, Illinois
Died April 29, 2011(2011-04-29) (aged 90)
Portland, Oregon
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Marijane Duncan (d. 1990)
Katherine Boe

Robert Blackford Duncan (December 4, 1920 – April 29, 2011) was an American politician from the state of Oregon. A Democrat, he served multiple terms in the Oregon Legislative Assembly and as a U.S. congressman from Oregon. In the Oregon House of Representatives he served as speaker for four years, and in the U.S. House he represented two different districts. The Illinois native and World War II veteran twice ran unsuccessful campaigns to be elected to the U.S. Senate.

Contents

Early life

Duncan was born in Normal, Illinois, on December 4, 1920, and attended public schools in Bloomington.[1] In 1939, he began college at the University of Alaska, staying through 1940 when he transferred to Illinois Wesleyan University where he graduated in 1942 with a bachelors degree.[1] In college he met fellow student Marijane Beverly Dill (born June 30, 1920) and the two were married on December 19, 1942.[2] The couple would have seven children together: Nancy, Angus, David, James, Laurie, Bonnie and Jeanne.[2] While in Alaska he had worked in the gold fields, and while in Illinois he had worked for a bank and seed company.[1]

During World War II, he served in the United States Merchant Marine and United States Naval Air Force from 1942 to 1945.[1] In 1948, Duncan received his LL.B from the University of Michigan Law School and passed the bar in October of that year.[1] After graduation Duncan and his family moved from Michigan to Portland and then to Medford in Southern Oregon, where he moved to join the law practice of William M. McAllister.[2]

Political career

In 1954, Duncan was nominated as a write-in candidate for the Oregon House of Representatives.[1] Although he declined for economic reasons, in 1956, he was elected to the Oregon House,[1] serving three terms and was elected Speaker of the Oregon House by his colleagues. In 1962, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives representing Oregon's 4th congressional district based in Medford.[1]

In the 1966 U.S. Senate election, Duncan was the Democratic candidate for the Senate seat vacated by retiring Senator Maurine B. Neuberger.[1] While Duncan strongly supported President Johnson's Vietnam war policies, his Republican opponent, Mark O. Hatfield, was an outspoken critic.[3] The differences between Duncan and Hatfield on the war would produce one of the great splits in the modern Oregon Democratic Party.[4] The state's senior U.S. Senator, Wayne Morse—a staunch Democratic opponent of the Vietnam war—endorsed Hatfield over fellow Democrat, Duncan,[5] an act that infuriated Democratic Party regulars.[6] This factor, along with Hatfield's statewide popularity as Governor of Oregon, gave Hatfield a narrow victory.[7] In 1967, Duncan moved to Portland where he lived until 1974,[2] returning to the practice of law.[1]

In 1968, Duncan came back to challenge Senator Morse in the Democratic Senate primary. Again, Duncan's war views played a role. Though Duncan was initially far ahead of the anti-war maverick Morse, Morse closed the gap at the end and won a narrow victory, aided by the beginning of the Paris Peace Accords, which brought the possibility of the end of the war.[8] Morse went on to lose in the general election to Republican Bob Packwood, who favored continued funding of the war.

Duncan returned to his Portland law practice, but after Edith Green retired from Congress, Duncan was elected to her seat in 1974 and returned to the House, this time representing the 3rd district in Portland. He served another three terms, and was upset in the 1980 Democratic primary by eventual winner Ron Wyden.[9]

Later years and family

In 1985, he returned to live in Oregon, settling in the coastal community of Yachats.[2] He served on the Northwest Power Planning Council from 1984 to 1988, and as its chairperson in 1987.[1] Duncan’s first wife, Marijane, died November 9, 1990.[2] Duncan remarried Katherine Boe and lived in Portland until his death on April 29, 2011 at the age of 90.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Duncan, Robert Blackford. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Marijane Duncan, ex-official’s wife, dies. The Oregonian, November 13, 1990.
  3. ^ "Modern American Patriot: Mark O. Hatfield". America's Defense Monitor. March 16, 1977. http://www.cdi.org/adm/1027. Retrieved November 23, 2009. 
  4. ^ Druckman, Mason (1997). Wayne Morse: A Political Biography. Oregon Historical Society Press. ISBN 0-87595-263-1. 
  5. ^ "Morse-Hatfield Relationship Spans 20 Years Of Politics". Register-Guard. May 28, 1972. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19720528&id=XQUTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AOEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5447,7028023. Retrieved November 23, 2008. 
  6. ^ "The Reign of Wayne". Time. January 5, 1968. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,712061,00.html. Retrieved November 23, 2009. 
  7. ^ "Monsoon Season". Time. November 4, 1966. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,842931,00.html. Retrieved January 25, 2007. 
  8. ^ "Wayne by a Whisker". Time. June 7, 1968. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,838404,00.html. Retrieved January 25, 2007. 
  9. ^ "Five-Term Congressman is Defeated in Oregon". New York Times. May 21, 1980. http://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F0091FF6385C12728DDDAB0A94DD405B8084F1D3. Retrieved December 21, 2007. 
  10. ^ Terry, Lynn (April 29, 2011). "Former U.S. Rep. Robert Duncan dies in Portland at age of 90". The Oregonian. http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/04/former_us_rep_robert_duncan_di.html. Retrieved April 29, 2011. 

External links

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Edwin Russell Durno		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Oregon's 4th congressional district
1963–1967		 Succeeded by
John R. Dellenback
Preceded by
Edith Green		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Oregon's 3rd congressional district
1975–1981		 Succeeded by
Ron Wyden
89th Senate: W. Morse | M. Neuberger House: E. Green | A. Ullman | R. Duncan | W. Wyatt
94th Senate: M. Hatfield | B. Packwood House: A. Ullman | R. Duncan | L. AuCoin | J. Weaver
95th Senate: M. Hatfield | B. Packwood House: A. Ullman | R. Duncan | L. AuCoin | J. Weaver
96th Senate: M. Hatfield | B. Packwood House: A. Ullman | R. Duncan | L. AuCoin | J. Weaver