Charles Ellsworth Goodell Jr. (March 16, 1926January 21, 1987) was an American politician who represented
New York in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from 1959 to 1968 and the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
from 1968 to 1971. In both cases he came into office following the deaths of his predecessors, first in a special election and second as a temporary appointee succeeding
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
.
He was elected to four full terms in Congress after winning his first race in 1959. He resigned on September 9, 1968, to accept an appointment by Governor
Nelson Rockefeller to fill the vacancy caused by the
assassination of United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy on June 5, 1968. Having earned the support of both the
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
and
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
parties in 1970, he lost in a three-way race to
Conservative Party candidate
James L. Buckley, having split the liberal vote with
Democratic Party candidate
Richard Ottinger
Richard Lawrence Ottinger (born January 27, 1929) is an American legal educator and politician from New York. A Democrat, he served in the United States House of Representatives for eight terms, from 1965 to 1971 and from 1975 to 1985.
Early y ...
.
Goodell was the father of
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
Commissioner
Roger Goodell.
Early life and education
Goodell was born in
Jamestown, New York, the son of Francesca (née Bartlett) and Charles Ellsworth Goodell. He attended the
public schools of Jamestown and graduated from
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kill ...
as a member of
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
in 1948. He served in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
during the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
era as a
seaman second class (1944–46) and in the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
as a
first lieutenant
First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment.
The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...
(1952–53) during the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
.
Goodell received an
LL.B.
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
from
Yale Law School
Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...
in 1951 and an
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in government from Yale in 1952. He briefly taught at
Quinnipiac College in 1952. Following his admission to the
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
bar (1951) and the New York bar (1954), he began his law practice in Jamestown. He was a great-grandson of William Goodell, an abolitionist.
Congressional career
Goodell was a congressional liaison assistant for the
Department of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
in 1954–1955. He won a
special election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
on May 26, 1959, as a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
to the
86th United States Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of
Daniel A. Reed. In NY District 43, Goodell polled 27,454 votes (65 percent) to the Democrat Robert E. McCaffery's 14,250 ballots (33.8 percent).
Goodell was re-elected in November 1960 to the
87th Congress, and re-elected three times thereafter. During his tenure in the House, Goodell voted in favor of the
Civil Rights Acts of 1960,
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
, and
1968, and the
Voting Rights Act of 1965, but voted against the
24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. He resigned on September 9, 1968, to accept Governor
Nelson A. Rockefeller's appointment to the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
, filling the vacancy caused by the
assassination of United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy on June 5, 1968. Because a special election to fill the vacancy would not be held for over two years, public objection to the length of Goodell's appointment led to a failed legal challenge to the Governor's power to appoint Senators in the event of a vacancy, ''Valenti v. Rockefeller''.
Although he had been a moderate to
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
member in the House, as a Senator he was nearly as
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
as New York's other Republican Senator,
Jacob K. Javits. In the
Senate, Goodell authored and sponsored a large number of bills, including several to provide conservation and development aid to small towns and rural areas. Many small upstate New York communities without municipal sewage systems built them with the aid of federal matching funds provided by Goodell's legislation. He "joined the quasi-
pacifist Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
senator
Mark Hatfield as the loudest anti-
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
voices in the Republican Party." Anti-war protesters and activists praised his advocacy of a withdrawal from Vietnam.
In 1970, the New York Republican Party was split deeply over the issue of the
Second New Right conservatism
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
of much of the
grassroots support for the party versus the perceived
liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
of the party organization, leadership, and Governor Rockefeller himself. While Rockefeller's supporters were strong enough within the party and its regular organization to assure Goodell's receiving the party's nomination for what would be his first full term, conservative activists left the party ''en masse'' to support someone farther to the right. Additionally, then
Vice-President Spiro T. Agnew, alluding to Goodell's shift from moderate-conservative Republican to liberal Republican, went so far as to call him the "
Christine Jorgensen
Christine Jorgensen (May 30, 1926 – May 3, 1989) was an American trans woman who was the first person to become widely known in the United States for having sex reassignment surgery. She had a career as a successful actress, singer and re ...
of the Republican Party," analogizing his ideological shift to Jorgensen's highly publicized
gender reassignment. Goodell was not discouraged. Running under the
slogan "Senator Goodell — He's too good to lose", he received the nomination of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
as well as that of the regular Republican organization, an
electoral fusion allowed under New York law.
One television ad aired by Goodell's campaign just before election day in 1970 contrasted his record with his two opponents. A voice over the graphics said "New York voters face real choices in this year's Senate election: Congressman
Richard Ottinger
Richard Lawrence Ottinger (born January 27, 1929) is an American legal educator and politician from New York. A Democrat, he served in the United States House of Representatives for eight terms, from 1965 to 1971 and from 1975 to 1985.
Early y ...
, the
Democratic candidate, who has sponsored two pieces of legislation in six years in the House. Republican Senator Charles Goodell, who has sponsored forty-four major pieces of legislation in twenty-two months in the Senate. Conservative nominee
James L. Buckley, who has an economic plan for the nineteenth century. Those are your choices on election day: the light weight; the heavy weight; and the dead weight."
In
the November 1970 election, despite Rockefeller's support and that of the Republican and Liberal parties, Goodell split the liberal vote with Ottinger, and was defeated by
Conservative Party candidate Buckley. Goodell finished third, with 24.3 percent of the vote.
Goodell would be the last appointed U.S. Senator from New York until 2009, when
Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from New York since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as member of the U.S. House of ...
was selected to replace
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
, who had been appointed
Secretary of State by
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
.
Life after leaving Congress
After leaving Congress, Goodell resumed the practice of law. In the mid-1970s, Goodell served as Vice-Chairman, with former Pennsylvania Governor
William Scranton
William Warren Scranton (July 19, 1917 – July 28, 2013) was an American Republican Party politician and diplomat. Scranton served as the 38th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967, and as United States Ambassador to the United Nations fr ...
as Chairman, of President
Gerald Ford's committee to draft rules for granting amnesty to
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
-era draft evaders and deserters.
Goodell was a resident of
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
and
Bronxville, New York, until his death on January 21, 1987.
He was buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Jamestown.
Books
* Goodell, Charles E. ''Political Prisoners in America''. New York: Random House, 1973.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodell, Charles
1926 births
1987 deaths
Politicians from Jamestown, New York
Military personnel from New York (state)
United States Navy personnel of World War II
Williams College alumni
Yale Law School alumni
Quinnipiac University faculty
Connecticut lawyers
New York (state) lawyers
Lawyers from Washington, D.C.
Republican Party United States senators from New York (state)
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)
Writers from New York (state)
20th-century American lawyers
20th-century American politicians
United States Navy sailors
United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War
United States Air Force officers