Lee Earl Emerson (December 19, 1898 – May 21, 1976) was an American politician who served in both the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...

and the

Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator repre ...

. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 63rd

Lieutenant Governor of Vermont The lieutenant governor of Vermont is elected for a two-year term and chosen separately from the Governor of Vermont, governor. The Vermont lieutenant governor's main responsibilities include acting as governor when the governor is out of state o ...

and the 69th governor of Vermont. When he was first elected in the 1950 Vermont gubernatorial election, he received over 70% of the vote, a feat not equaled until 1992 (by

Howard Dean Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, consultant, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 20 ...

) and not until 2022 by a Republican (

Phil Scott Philip Brian Scott (born August 4, 1958) is an American politician, businessman, and Stock car racing, stock car racer who has been the List of governors of Vermont, 82nd governor of Vermont since 2017. A member of the Republican Party (United S ...

). Despite his success in 1950, he lost the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Vermont in 1958 to Congressman Winston L. Prouty. He also lost the 1960 primary for Vermont's seat in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

to incumbent Governor Robert T. Stafford.

Early life

Emerson was born in

Hardwick, Vermont Hardwick is a town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic charac ...

, on December 19, 1898, and moved to Barton at the age of 16. He graduated from

Barton Academy Barton Academy is a historic Greek Revival school building located on Government Street in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was under construction from 1836 to 1839 and was designed by architects James H. Dakin, Charles B. Dakin, and Jam ...

in 1917, and served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as a member of the Students' Army Training Corps. Emerson received an A.B. from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

in 1921 and an

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D. ...

in 1926. He practiced law in Barton.

Political career

He was elected as a Republican to the

in 1938 and served two terms. He was elected

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

in his second term, serving from 1941 to 1943. He was elected to the

in 1942, served from 1943 to 1945, and was elected President Pro Tempore. He was elected Lieutenant Governor of Vermont in 1944 and 1946, serving from 1945 to 1949. Throughout much of Vermont's history Governors and Lieutenant Governors had served two one-year terms, and later one two-year term as part of the Republican Party's "Mountain Rule." However, Ernest W. Gibson, Jr. had successfully challenged the established structure to win the governorship in 1946. Gibson defeated Emerson in the 1948 Republican primary and went on to win reelection to a second term. Emerson's fellow conservative Harold J. Arthur succeeded Emerson as lieutenant governor. When Arthur unexpectedly became governor in 1950 after Gibson resigned to accept a federal judgeship, Arthur served out Gibson's term but declined to run for a full term himself, clearing the way for Emerson's comeback. Emerson was elected governor in 1950 and reelected in 1952, serving from 1951 to 1955. (Arthur instead ran for the U.S. House and lost the Republican primary to Winston Prouty, who went on to win the general election.) As Governor, he recommended that Vermont citizens serving in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

be paid a bonus by the state. He supported studies of the feasibility of building a natural gas pipeline for Vermont and of possible racial discrimination in the state. Also during his administration, legislation known as the Forest Act was passed, providing assistance for municipalities to establish forests. Emerson also played a role in "The Novikoff Affair," in which a

tenure Tenure is a type of academic appointment that protects its holder from being fired or laid off except for cause, or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Academic tenure originated in the United ...

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Alex B. Novikoff was dismissed for alleged

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

sympathies that were never substantiated.

Post gubernatorial career

In 1958, he ran unsuccessfully for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

, losing the Republican nomination to Winston Prouty. In 1960, Emerson was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for Vermont's seat in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, losing to incumbent Governor Robert T. Stafford. Stafford went on to victory in the general election, defeating one term incumbent

William H. Meyer William Henry Meyer (December 29, 1914 – December 16, 1983) was an American politician and Member of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont. Biography Born in Philadelphia, he attended the public schools of the city and gra ...

, the first

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

elected statewide in more than 100 years. (Myer had defeated Harold Arthur in the 1958 general election for the U.S. House seat.)

Personal

Emerson married Dorcas M. Ball on August 4, 1927. They had two children, Nancy and Cynthia.

Death and burial

He died in Berlin, Vermont, on May 26, 1976. He is buried at Welcome O. Brown Cemetery in Barton.

Footnotes

External links

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emerson, Lee E. 1898 births 1976 deaths People from Barton, Vermont United States Army personnel of World War I Syracuse University alumni George Washington University Law School alumni Vermont lawyers Speakers of the Vermont House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives Republican Party Vermont state senators Presidents pro tempore of the Vermont Senate Lieutenant governors of Vermont Republican Party governors of Vermont People from Hardwick, Vermont 20th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly