Last modified on May 29, 2023, at 19:47

Hamilton Fish, III

Hamilton S. Fish, III
Hamilton S. Fish, III LOC portrait.png
Former U.S. Representative from New York's 26th Congressional District
From: November 2, 1920 – January 3, 1945
Predecessor Edmund Platt
Successor Peter A. Quinn
Former State Assemblyman from
New York (Putnam District)
From: January 1, 1914 – December 31, 1916
Predecessor John R. Yale
Successor John P. Donohoe
Information
Party Republican
Spouse(s) Grace Chapin (died 1960)
Marie Blackton (died 1974)
Alice Desmond (div. 1984)
Lydia Ambrogio
Military Service
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Army
Service Years 1917–1919
Rank Major
Commands Company K, 369th Infantry, 93rd Division
Battles/wars World War I
Awards Silver Star
Croix de guerre

Hamilton Stuyvesant Fish, III (December 7, 1888 – January 18, 1991), also known as Hamilton Fish, Jr. or occasionally Hamilton Fish, Sr.,[1] was a military officer[2] and conservative[3] Republican from New York who represented the state's 26th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1920 to 1945, known partly for sponsoring the Anti-Lynching Bill of 1940 with Democratic colleague Joseph Gavagan. He was previously a state representative from Putnam County.

Along with U.S. senators Gerald P. Nye and Burton K. Wheeler, Fish was a leading non-interventionist in Congress.[4]

U.S. House of Representatives

Fish was first elected to Congress in a 1920 special election, defeating Democrat opponent Rosslyn M. Cox by a landslide.[5] He was re-elected to a full House term that year in a rematch against Cox by a near-identical margin of victory.[6]

1920s: spearheading Lodge–Fish resolution

Fish in March 1921.[7]

A Zionist, Fish co-sponsored with Massachusetts Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge, Sr., the Lodge–Fish resolution 1922 which affirmed Israel as a permanent national home for Jews.[8] It asserted that the United States:[9]

“ ...favors the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of Christian and all other non-Jewish communities in Palestine, and that the Holy places and religious buildings and sites in Palestine shall be adequately protected. ”

The resolution unanimously passed both houses of Congress and was signed into law by President Warren G. Harding on September 21, 1922.[10] Fish's leading efforts at the time received the praise of Zionist leaders.[11]

The same year the Lodge–Fish resolution was approved and passed, Fish also supported the anti-lynching bill (the Dyer Bill) introduced by conservative Republican colleague Leonidas C. Dyer of Missouri,[8] which passed the House though was blocked in the Senate by an anti-civil rights group consisting of racist Mississippi politician Pat Harrison and liberal Republican William E. Borah.

Fish also advocated in 1923 for making Jerusalem the capital of the League of Nations, noting its:[12]

“ ...connecting link between East and West. ”

1930s: opposing New Deal and interventionism

Anti-Lynching Legislation
Major legislation:
Leaders:
Opponents:

During the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Fish became a leading opponent of the liberal New Deal agenda, though supported some of its programs such as Social Security and a minimum wage at the federal level.[8] Along with Joseph W. Martin and Bruce Barton, Fish was part of the "Martin, Barton and Fish" trio staunchly derided by FDR for their conservatism.[13][14]

In 1936, Fish faced a challenge from Democrat Alpha R. Whiton, who was backed by the Roosevelt Administration.[15] He easily defeated Whiton in the general election by nearly twenty percentage points.[16]

In the House, Fish was a leading non-interventionist who was disdained by supporters and beneficiaries of internationalist-oriented policies.[8] When the United States slowly approached war amidst World War II, his foreign policy views became more vocal. Pushing back against Roosevelt's attacks on neutrality laws in 1939,[17] Fish joined the majority of House Republicans in voting against legislation which granted FDR additional foreign policy powers.[18]

1940s: World War II, smear by British intelligence

In his 1940 re-election bid, Fish was targeted for defeat by the British government, which intended to:[19]

“ ...put the fear of God into every isolationist senator and congressman in the country. ”

The British Security Coordination (known as the BSC) distributed propaganda depicting Fish as an ally of Nazis.[19] The effort ultimately cost Fish a significant amount of support in his home district, though he was narrowly re-elected by seven percentage points.[20]

Accusations of anti-Semitism

Due to his adamant conservatism, Fish has been an occasional target by leftists who hurl the charge that he was supposedly anti-Semitic and sympathized with bigoted Nazi ideologies.[21][22] Although his career was embroiled in a number of controversies, including distributing the anti-Semitic publication Protocols of the Elders of Zion at one point, such occurrences are largely considered careless as opposed to the notion that it was evidence he was in league with virulent anti-Semites.[8]

Despite the "anti-Semitic" charge, Fish was an early opponent of Nazi Germany, spearheading an effort in late May 1933 to formally oppose Nazi persecutions of Jews.[23] He had also decried 1930 order by Britain prohibiting Jews from immigrating to their homeland, stating at the time:[24]

“ Our Jewish citizens have poured tens of millions of dollars into the country for the purpose of upbuilding it. They have made great sacrifices so that there could be laid a basis for a new center of Jewish civilization, and so that tens of thousands of Jews from Eastern Europe, suffering from economic destitution and political and religious discrimination, might find a haven.

The attitude taken by the British Government threatens the work that has been done in Palestine by the Jews of the world in the past decade. There has been laid down the principle that Jewish immigration into Palestine should be governed by the economic capacity of the country. That principle is now being violated by Great Britain. To hinder the entrance of Jews into Palestine for any other reason is to make mockery of the Jewish National Home; it is to betray the trust that has been placed in Britain by the civilized countries of the world. It is finally to nullify the agreement that has been entered into between Great Britain and our government.

”

Later life

In late January 1970, Fish called for President Richard Nixon and his administration to affirm the right of Israel to self-defense, stating:[25]

“ Israel is not asking for men or for volunteers but only for the right to buy armaments to defend her independence and security until the different Arab nations agree to definite peace terms with her. ”

Legacy

The "Martin, Barton, and Fish" sneer used by Roosevelt in the 1930s was invoked in 2012 in comparison to "Ryan, Cantor, and Mitch," referring to congressional Republican leaders Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor, and Mitch McConnell.[26] (see: U.S. "Party-switch" myth)

References

  1. ↑ Pearson, Richard (January 20, 1991). ISOLATIONIST CONGRESSMAN HAMILTON FISH SR. DIES. The Washington Post. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  2. ↑ Lankevich, George J. Fish, Hamilton. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  3. ↑ Fascinating Politics (April 15, 2020). MC-Index Scores of People I Have Profiled. Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  4. ↑ Fascinating Politics (July 25, 2021). The America First Senators: Gerald P. Nye and Burton K. Wheeler. Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  5. ↑ NY District 26 - Special Election Race - Nov 02, 1920. Our Campaigns. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  6. ↑ NY District 26 Race - Nov 02, 1920. Our Campaigns. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  7. ↑ Hamilton Fish, N.Y., [3/1/21] digital file from original. Library of Congress. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Fascinating Politics (December 30, 2018). Hamilton Fish: An American Hero Smeared By British Intelligence. Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  9. ↑ Glatt, Benjamin (September 21, 2016). After WWI, Christian Zionists sought a political expression in the world. The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  10. ↑ Freund, Michael (November 5, 2020). Warren G. Harding - a forgotten Zionist hero‏. The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  11. ↑ January 10, 1923. Zionists Acclaim Congressman Fish. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  12. ↑ March 16, 1923. Congressman Wants Jerusalem Made Seat of League of Nations. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  13. ↑ Fish, Hamilton, Jr. (1888-1991). The Political Graveyard. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  14. ↑ Pace, Eric (January 20, 1991). Hamilton Fish, in Congress 24 Years, Dies at 102. The New York Times. Archived version available here. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  15. ↑ September 13, 1936. NEW DEAL BACKS WHITON; Administration Hopes He Will Defeat Hamilton Fish.. The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  16. ↑ NY District 26 Race - Nov 03, 1936. Our Campaigns. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  17. ↑ Glass, Andrew (September 21, 2018). FDR assails neutrality laws, Sept. 21, 1939. Politico. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  18. ↑ TO AGREE TO THE CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.J. RES. 306 THA CONFERENCE REPORT CHANGES THE HOUSE'S ORIGINAL PROPOSAL, IN PART, BY GIVING THE PRESIDENT THE POWER TO DETERMINE WHERE "COMBAT-ZONES," WHERE AMERICAN SHIPPING IS NOT PER- MITTED TO GO, EXIST; ALSO, THE CONFERENCE REPORT INCORPO- RATES THE SENATE PROVISION THAT INDIVIDUALS FROM BELLIGERENT STATES, MAY BUY GOODS AND/OR NEGOTIATE LOANS FROM AMERICAN FIRMS.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Usdin, Steve (January 16, 2017). When a Foreign Government Interfered in a U.S. Election — to Reelect FDR. Politico Magazine. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  20. ↑ NY District 26 Race - Nov 05, 1940. Our Campaigns. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  21. ↑ March 8, 2010. Newstalgia Reference Room: Hamilton Fish III - 1941. Crooks and Liars via archive.md. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  22. ↑ Hart, Bradley W. (December 21, 2018). It started with Nazis: Concerns over foreign agents not just a Trump-era phenomenon. Salon via archive.md. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  23. ↑ Gurock, Jeffrey. America, American Jews, and the Holocaust: American Jewish History. Google Books. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  24. ↑ June 18, 1930. Congressman Hamilton Fish in House Speech Protests Stoppage of Immigration. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  25. ↑ January 27, 1970. Hamilton Fish, Former Isolationist; Defends Israel’s Right to Armed Defense. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  26. ↑ Abrams, Paul (March 25, 2012). FDR in 2012: 'Martin, Barton and Fish' Would Become 'Ryan, Cantor and Mitch'. Huffington Post. Retrieved October 23, 2021.

External links