William P. MacCracken Jr.: Difference between revisions

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Line 1: {{Short description\|American politician (1888–1969)}} [[File:William P. MacCracken circa 1934.jpg\|thumb\|William P. MacCracken circa 1934]]▼ {{Distinguish\|Bill McCracken\|William McCracken\|William D. McCrackan}} '''William Patterson MacCracken Jr.''' (September 17, 1888 - September 20, 1969) was the first U. S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for [[Aeronautics]]. His department was awarded the [[Collier Trophy]] of 1928 for its contribution to the "development of airways and air navigation facilities". Later he was convicted of [[contempt of congress]] in the [[Air Mail scandal]] in 1934.▼ {{Infobox officeholder \| name = William P. MacCracken Jr. \| image = File:William Patterson MacCracken, Jr. - 1929 - LCCN2016843614 (cropped).jpg \| alt = \| caption = MacCracken, 1929 \| order = \| office = \| term_start = \| term_end = \| predecessor = \| successor = \| birth_name = William Patterson MacCracken Jr. \| birth_date = {{birth date\|1888\|9\|17}} \| birth_place = [[Chicago, Illinois]], U.S. \| death_date = {{death date and age\|1969\|9\|20\|1888\|9\|17}} \| death_place = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S. \| resting_place = \| party = \| spouse = \| children = \| education = \| alma_mater = [[University of Chicago]] ([[Juris Doctor\|JD]]) \| occupation = {{hlist\|Politician\|lawyer}} \| signature = }} ▲'''William Patterson MacCracken Jr.''' (September 17, 1888 - September 20, 1969) was the first U. S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for [[Aeronautics]]. His department was awarded the [[Collier Trophy]] of 1928 for its contribution to the "development of airways and air navigation facilities". Later he was convicted of [[contempt of congress]] in the [[Air Mail scandal]] in 1934. ==Biography== ~~William~~MacCracken was born in [[Chicago, Illinois]], September 17, 1888., ~~His~~to ~~mother~~William ~~was~~P. MacCracken and Mary Elizabeth Avery ~~before she married William P.~~ (MacCracken). ~~Young William~~He studied law at the [[University of Chicago]] and earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1911. His practice in Chicago was interrupted by his service as a [[flight instructor]] in the [[Air Service, United States Army\|Air Service]] during World War I. He married Sally Lucille Lewis on September 14, 1918.<ref name=Pap>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080421135250/http://www.ecommcode2.com/hoover/research/historicalmaterials/other/maccrack.htm William P. Mac Cracken, Jr. Papers]</ref> From 1922 to 26 he was a member of the board of governors of the [[National ~~Aeronautical~~Aeronautic Association]],<ref name=FAA>[https://www.faa.gov/about/history/milestones/media/The_First_Federal_Regulator_for_Aviation.pdf The First Federal Regulator for Aviation] {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003030738/https://www.faa.gov/about/history/milestones/media/The_First_Federal_Regulator_for_Aviation.pdf \|date=2017-10-03 }} from [[Federal Aviation Administration]]</ref> and from 1920 to 1938 he was a member of the [[National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics]].<ref name=ABA/> MacCracken entered public service as assistant [[Attorney General]] of [[Illinois]] in 1923, and the following year assistant [[State's Attorney]] for [[Cook County]].<ref name=Pap/> MacCracken became the first federal regulator of commercial aviation when then-[[Secretary of Commerce]] [[Herbert Hoover]] named him the first Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics in 1926. He appointed [[Louis H. Bauer]] as the first medical director of the Aeronautics Branch.<ref name=FAA/> [[File:Santa Claus receives aeroplane pilot's license from Assistant Secretary of Commerce. Although there may not be sufficient snow for his reindeer sleigh, Santa Claus will still be able to LCCN2016888549.jpg\|thumb\|left\|[[Santa Claus]] receives aeroplane pilot's license from Assistant Secretary of Commerce. William P. MacCracken, with [[Clarence M. Young]] (right). 1927]] In 1929 he helped to draft key safety standards and regulations that became part of the 1930 Air Mail Act. MacCracken then returned to his private law practice, where he continued to be involved in the growth of [[commercial aviation]] by representing many major [[airline]]s. For that reason Postmaster General [[Walter F. Brown]] asked him to preside over what was later scandalized as the ''Spoils Conference'', to work out an agreement between the carriers and the Post office to consolidate air mail routes into transcontinental networks operated by the best-equipped and financially stable companies. This relationship left both exposed to charges of favoritism.▼ ▲In 1929, he helped to draft key safety standards and regulations that became part of the 1930 Air Mail Act. MacCracken then returned to his private law practice, where he continued to be involved in the growth of [[commercial aviation]] by representing many major [[airline]]s. For that reason Postmaster General [[Walter F. Brown]] asked him to preside over what was later ~~scandalized~~described as the ''Spoils Conference'', to work out an agreement between the carriers and the Post office to consolidate air mail routes into transcontinental networks operated by the best-equipped and financially stable companies. This relationship left both exposed to charges of favoritism. [[Fulton Lewis]] had collected material indicating collusion of the airlines, and Senator [[Hugo Black]] used Lewis' research as he began his investigation into impropriety.<ref name=DDL/>{{rp\|430}} :MacCracken had a long experience in the legal aspects of flying and had built a thriving law practice representing aviation clients. He also had close ties to Hoover and Brown and had chaired the 1930 spoils conference. Not surprisingly the Black committee subpoenaed his documents. MacCracken refused to comply, pleading the confidentiality of the lawyer-client relationship...¶ MacCracken may have been motivated by a sense of ethics, but his own actions and those of his associates deeply compromised him. With the files still under subpoena, MacCracken and Gilbert Givvin, a secretary to [[Transcontinental and Western]] Air president Harris Hanshue, removed several items and mailed them to Hanshue. Another MacCracken client, L. H. Brittin of [[Northwest Airways]], secured permission from MacCracken’s law partner to remove approximately half a dozen letters Brittin considered personal. He then returned to his own office, tore the letters to pieces, and threw the fragments into the wastebasket...the attorney and his associates were summoned before the senate on contempt charges...With the other three defendants appearing before the senate as ordered, MacCracken went into hiding...After brief deliberation, the chamber acquitted Hanshue and Givven, but sentenced Brittin and MacCracken to ten days in the [[District of Columbia]] jail. While Brittin promptly served his sentence, MacCracken continued to resist the Senate’s authority. Ultimately, the [[U. S. Supreme Court]] unanimously rejected MacCracken’s plea and forced him to serve his sentence.<ref name=DDL>Daniel D. Lee (1991) "Senator Black's Investigation of the Air Mail 1933-34", [[The Historian (journal)\|The Historian]] 53: 423–42</ref>{{rp\|436}} ▲[[File:William P. and Sally MacCracken ~~circa~~Jr., ~~1934~~1935.jpg\|thumb\|~~William~~upright\|left\|MacCracken P.and ~~MacCracken~~his wife ~~circa~~Sally, ~~1934~~1935]] MacCracken had filed a petition of ''[[habeas corpus]]'' in federal courts to overturn his arrest, but after litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Congress had acted constitutionally, and denied the petition in the case [[Jurney v. MacCracken\|''Jurney'' v. ''MacCracken'']].<ref>[http://supreme.justia.com/us/294/125/case.html 294 U.S. 125 (1935)]</ref> While Brittin promptly served his sentence, MacCracken continued to resist the Senate’s authority, filing a petition of ''[[habeas corpus]]'' in federal courts to overturn his arrest. After litigation, the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] unanimously ruled that Congress had acted constitutionally, denied the petition in the case [[Jurney v. MacCracken\|''Jurney'' v. ''MacCracken'']],<ref>[http://supreme.justia.com/us/294/125/case.html Jurney v. MacCraken, 294 U.S. 125 (1935)] {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811095052/http://supreme.justia.com/us/294/125/case.html \|date=2011-08-11 }} at [[Justia]]</ref> and forced him to serve his sentence.<ref name=DDL>Daniel D. Lee (1991) "Senator Black's Investigation of the Air Mail 1933-34", [[The Historian (journal)\|The Historian]] 53: 423–42</ref>{{rp\|436}}According to [[The Washington Post]], "Chesley Jurney, the [[Senate sargeant at arms]], had no place to hold MacCracken who, after being sentenced, showed up at Jurney's house and stayed the night. The next day he was confined to a room at the [[Willard Hotel]]".<ref>Philip Bump (January 18, 2018) [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/01/18/congress-ability-to-twist-arms-is-limited-unless-it-wants-to-arrest-bannon-itself/ Congress’s ability to twist arms is limited] {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508072754/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/01/18/congress-ability-to-twist-arms-is-limited-unless-it-wants-to-arrest-bannon-itself/ \|date=2019-05-08 }}, [[The Washington Post]]</ref> From 1942 to 1968 MacCracken was an attorney for the [[American Optometric Association]].<ref name=FAA/> "His influence on optometry's recognition by the federal government was profound."<ref>[{{Cite web \|url=http://fs.aoa.org/archives/AOAtimeline.html \|title=Timeline of American Optometric Association] \|access-date=2017-10-10 \|archive-date=2015-03-02 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150302005517/http://fs.aoa.org/archives/AOAtimeline.html \|url-status=live }}</ref> A biography of William P. MacCracken was assembled and published by [[Southern College of Optometry]]. He died on September 20, 1969, in [[Washington, DCD.C.]]. {{-}} ==Honors== * Secretary, [[American Bar Association]] 1925 to 36<ref name=ABA>{{Google books\|id=JRxtwqp3eEwC\|title=William Patterson MacCracken, Jr. 1888 — 1969 \|page=PA1065}}, Journal of the [[American Bar Association]] November 1969</ref> April 6, 1927 recipient of the first pilot certificate issued by the Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce. [[Collier Trophy]] 1928 (Aeronautics branch of US Department of Commerce)<ref>[https://naa.aero/awards/awards-and-trophies/collier-trophy/collier-1920-1929-winners Collier Trophy winners 1920 to 29] {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170609012128/https://naa.aero/awards/awards-and-trophies/collier-trophy/collier-1920-1929-winners \|date=2017-06-09 }} from * [[National Aeronautical Association]]</ref> * LL.D. [[Norwich University]], Northfield Vermont 1936<ref name=Pap/> * [[Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy]] 1959 ==References== {{~~reflist~~Reflist}} ==Further reading== * Michael Osborn & Joseph Riggs (1970) ''Mr. Mac: William P. MacCracken, a biography on aviation, law, and optometry'', introductions by [[Charles Lindbergh]] and [[Hugo Black]], [[Southern College of Optometry]], 228 pages. * W. P. MacCracken Jr. and W.B. Courtney (December 21, 1929) "~~Its~~It's hard to get you up;: ~~selling~~Selling aviation in America", [[Collier's]] * W. P. MacCracken Jr. and W.B. Courtney (March 29, 1930) "Flight Savers: Safety first in the air", ''Collier's'' * W. P. MacCracken Jr. and W.B. Courtney (May 10, 1930) "Shrinking the seas, leviathans of the air", ''Collier's'' ==External links== *{{commons category-inline}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Maccracken, William P. Jr.}} Line 40 ⟶ 75: [[Category:1969 deaths]] [[Category:American aviators]] [[Category:~~Flight~~American ~~instructors~~prisoners and detainees]] [[Category:United States Department of Commerce officials]] [[Category:University of Chicago Law School alumni]] [[Category:Illinois lawyers]]▼ [[Category:Illinois politicians convicted of crimes]] [[Category:Lawyers from Chicago]] [[Category:American aviation businesspeople]] [[Category:American flight instructors]] ▲[[Category:~~Illinois~~20th-century American lawyers]] [[Category:People convicted of contempt of Congress]]