Clarence John McLeod (July 3, 1895 – May 15, 1959) was a politician from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

who served as a member of the

U.S. 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 ...

. McLeod was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, the son of a well-to-do Scottish father who had served as collector of internal revenue in Detroit. He attended the public schools and the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catholic univers ...

. He graduated with 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 the

Detroit College of Law The Michigan State University College of Law (Michigan State Law or MSU Law) is the law school of Michigan State University, a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan. Established in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law, it was the ...

in 1918. He was a member of

Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta Phi () is a professional law fraternity and a member of the Professional Fraternity Association. Delta Theta Phi is the only one of the two major law fraternities to charter chapters (senates) in the United States at non-American Bar ...

Military service

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, McLeod served as a private in the aviation section at the ground school,

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named ...

, and as sergeant in the Intelligence Division. He accepted appointment on May 12, 1919, as second lieutenant in the Officers' Reserve Corps, and successively as captain, major, and lieutenant colonel. He was admitted to the bar in 1919 and commenced the practice of law in Detroit.

Political career

In November 1920, McLeod was elected 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 ...

from

Michigan's 13th congressional district Michigan's 13th congressional district is a United States congressional district in Wayne County, Michigan. It is currently represented by Democrat Shri Thanedar. The district includes portions of Detroit and some of its suburbs, and it was t ...

to the 66th United States Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Charles A. Nichols. McLeod served from November 2, 1920, to March 3, 1921. At the time, McLeod was the youngest person ever elected to Congress, being just five months over the age of 25—the minimum age required by the

U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...

. Furthermore, McLeod was a candidate only to fill the unexpired term of Nichols. At that same election,

Vincent M. Brennan Vincent Morrison Brennan (April 22, 1890 – February 4, 1959) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He served one term in the United States House of Representatives from 1921 to 1923. Early life and education Brennan was born in Moun ...

was simultaneously elected to a full term in the

67th Congress The 67th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 192 ...

. In 1922, however, McLeod was elected to the 68th Congress and subsequently re-elected to the six succeeding Congresses, serving in the House of Representatives without interruption from March 4, 1923, to January 3, 1937. He was an unsuccessful candidate in the Republican primary election for governor of Michigan in 1934. In 1936, he lost to

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 (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

George O'Brien in the general election for the 75th Congress. In 1937, McLeod was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for

mayor of Detroit This is a list of mayors of Detroit, Michigan. See History of Detroit, Michigan, for more information about the history of the incorporation of the city. The current mayor is Mike Duggan, who was sworn into office on January 1, 2014. History ...

. In 1938, McLeod defeated O'Brien to be elected to the 76th Congress, serving from January 3, 1939, to January 3, 1941. McLeod lost to O'Brien in 1940, 1942, and 1944. In 1946, McLeod was defeated for the Republican nomination by Howard Aldridge Coffin, who then went on to defeat O'Brien in the general election. McLeod won the Republican nomination in 1950 and 1952, but lost both times to O'Brien in the general election.

Later life

After leaving Congress, McLeod returned to the practice of law and was a consultant to the administrator of Federal Civil Defense Administration. He died in Detroit in 1959 and was interred in the city's Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Notes

References

The Political Graveyard

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McLeod, Clarence J. 1895 births 1959 deaths Burials in Michigan Politicians from Detroit American people of Scottish descent Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan 20th-century American politicians Michigan lawyers University of Detroit Mercy alumni Cornell University alumni Detroit College of Law alumni American military personnel of World War I United States Army colonels 20th-century American lawyers