Chase Addison Clark (August 21, 1883 – December 30, 1966) was an American jurist who served as the 18th governor of Idaho and was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Idaho The United States District Court for the District of Idaho (in case citations, D. Idaho) is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Idaho (except for the part of the state within Yellowstone National Park, which is un ...

Education and career

Clark was born on August 21, 1883, in Hadley,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, the son of Eunice (Hadley) and Joseph Addison Clark. He arrived in

eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

Idaho Territory The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as Idaho. History 1860s The territory ...

in 1884. His father engineered an early canal on the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...

and later became the first Mayor of

Idaho Falls Idaho Falls is the List of cities in Idaho, fourth most populous city in Idaho and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, Bonneville County. It is the state's most populous city outside the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United St ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

in 1900. Clark attended the public schools and left

Idaho Falls High School Idaho Falls High School (IFHS) is a four-year public secondary school in central Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA. The current building opened in 1952, though the school itself has been in operation since 1897. Idaho Falls is the older of the two traditio ...

at age 15 and then attended school in

Terre Haute Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and its metropolitan area had a population of 168,716. Located along the Wabash River about e ...

, Indiana. Clark returned to Idaho Falls working as a mercantile clerk, then moved to Mackay, Idaho shortly after its founding and saved money to attend the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (branded as Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparati ...

, but did not graduate but instead

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

to enter the bar in 1904. He entered private practice in Mackay from 1904 to 1930. He was a Judge Advocate General for the State of Idaho from 1914 to 1915. Clark left to fight in 1916 in the Border War and then

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 ...

. He served in a machine gun unit and achieved the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

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 ...

. He was a member of the

Idaho House of Representatives The Idaho House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Idaho Legislature. It consists of 70 representatives elected to two-year terms. The state is divided into 35 districts, each of which elects two representatives to separate seats. ...

from 1913 to 1916. He returned to private practice in Idaho Falls from 1930 to 1940. He was the Mayor of Idaho Falls from 1937 to 1938. He was the

Governor of Idaho A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' may ...

from 1941 to 1942.

Gubernatorial service

Clark was elected

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

as a

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 ...

in 1940, defeating the Republican incumbent, C. A. Bottolfsen. At an April 1942 War Relocation Administration conference at Salt Lake City to discuss using Japanese-American internees to help with the farm labor shortage, Governor Clark "went so far as to ask that both Issei and Nisei already residing freely in his state be rounded up and placed under supervision." These citizens of Idaho were not covered by the U.S. Government's order forcefully removing people of Japanese descent from the West Coast. Speaking of the

internment of Japanese Americans United States home front during World War II, During World War II, the United States forcibly relocated and Internment, incarcerated about 120,000 people of Japanese Americans, Japanese descent in ten #Terminology debate, concentration camps opera ...

in May 1942, months after the

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

bombing, Clark spoke in a Lions Club meeting stated "Japs live like rats, breed like rats and act like rats. We don't want them ... permanently located in our state." As the governorship was a two-year term, Bottolfsen then defeated Clark to regain the governorship in 1942; both elections had been very close.

Federal judicial service

Clark was nominated by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

on February 18, 1943, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Charles Cheatham Cavanah. He was confirmed by 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 ...

on March 5, 1943, and received his commission on March 10, 1943. He served as Chief Judge from 1954 to 1964. He assumed senior status on April 30, 1964. His service terminated on December 30, 1966, due to his death.

Family

Clark married Jean Elizabeth Burnett, the 18-year-old daughter of a Mackay merchant, on January 10, 1906.

Death

Clark suffered a stroke at age 83 in December 1966, and spent his final weeks at St. Luke's Hospital in

Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...

, Idaho. He died on December 30, and was interred at Rose Hill Cemetery in Idaho Falls.

References

External links

*
National Governors Association

''Gem of the Mountains'', University of Idaho annual: 1942
*

– Chase Clark law office, 1910 {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Chase Addison 1883 births 1966 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Idaho Democratic Party governors of Idaho Mayors of places in Idaho Democratic Party members of the Idaho House of Representatives Democratic Party Idaho state senators Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Idaho United States district court judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt People from Idaho Falls, Idaho People from Custer County, Idaho Lawyers from Boise, Idaho People from Hendricks County, Indiana Military personnel from Idaho United States Army officers University of Michigan Law School alumni United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law 20th-century members of the Idaho Legislature