Charles Albert Vanik (April 7, 1913 – August 30, 2007) was a Democratic politician from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. He served 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 ...

from 1955 to 1981.

Early life

Vanik was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, the son of Stella (née Kvasnicka) and Charles Albert Vanik, a butcher. He was of

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

ancestry. His maternal grandmother, Alžběta Seberová (1868–1948), was born in village Hracholusky, southern

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

(then part of the

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

). Vanik completed undergraduate studies and a law degree at

Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

. After serving on the Cleveland City Council from 1938 to 1939 and the

Ohio State Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such t ...

from 1940 to 1942, Vanik enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve, seeing action in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. After the war, Vanik served as a city judge from 1946 to 1954.

United States House of Representatives

In 1954, he ran for Ohio's 21st congressional district. The district, located on Cleveland's East Side, was evenly divided between African Americans, who were then solidly Republican voters, and whites, who were mostly Democrats. In the Democratic primary, Vanik defeated longtime incumbent Congressman

Robert Crosser Robert Crosser (June 7, 1874 – June 3, 1957) was an American lawyer and politician who served 19 terms as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Ohio. He remains the longest-serving member of the United States Hous ...

as well as African-American challenger John Holly, founder of the Negro Future Outlook League. In the general election, Vanik defeated African-American Republican Francis E. Young, who helped organize the Cleveland branch of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

. Vanik shifted districts in 1968 to the neighboring , to make way for

Louis Stokes Louis Stokes (February 23, 1925 – August 18, 2015) was an American attorney, civil rights pioneer and politician. He served 15 terms in the United States House of Representatives – representing the east side of Cleveland – and was the firs ...

whose growing political operation had challenged him in previous races, defeating Frances P. Bolton, who had served the district since 1939. Vanik served in the district until 1981. In 1974, Vanik sponsored the

Jackson–Vanik amendment The Jackson–Vanik amendment to the Trade Act of 1974 is a 1974 provision in United States federal law intended to affect U.S. trade relations with countries with non-market economies (originally, countries of the Soviet Bloc) that restrict freed ...

with Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson, which denied normal trade relations to certain countries with non-market economies that restricted the freedom of emigration. The amendment was intended to allow refugees, particularly religious minorities, to escape from the Soviet Bloc. During this time, Vanik was the chair of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade. He used to insert into the ''Congressional Record ''what he called the "Annual Corporate Tax Study" in which he'd list corporations that paid little to no federal income taxes. In 1982, Vanik contested for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant-governor of Ohio as running mate with Ohio Attorney General William J. Brown who was running for governor. The ticket lost to Richard F. Celeste and Myrl Shoemaker. Vanik was known for wearing black bow ties with every suit.

Death

Vanik died in his sleep on August 30, 2007, at his home in

Jupiter, Florida Jupiter is the northernmost town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 US Census, the town had a population of 61,047. It is 84 miles north of Miami and 15 miles north of West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach. ...

. He was 94. He was survived by his wife, Betty, one son, one daughter and two grandchildren.

References

External links

Charles A. Vanik
A Memorial site created by the Vanik Family Retrieved on 2009-5-16

from ''The Cleveland Plain Dealer'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Vanik, Charles 1913 births 2007 deaths Politicians from Cleveland American people of Czech descent United States Navy sailors Cleveland City Council members Ohio lawyers Case Western Reserve University alumni Case Western Reserve University School of Law alumni Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Democratic Party Ohio state senators Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly