Clare Eugene Hoffman (September 10, 1875 – November 3, 1967) was a

United States representative 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 the ...

from

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 ...

's 4th congressional district. Unholy three

Background

Hoffman was born in Vicksburg, Union County, Pennsylvania, where he attended the public schools. He graduated from the law department of

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Chart ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, Downtown Chicago, ...

, in 1895.

Career

Hoffman was admitted to the Michigan

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

in 1896 and commenced practice in Allegan, Michigan, where he also became

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial ...

for the county from 1904–1910. In 1934, Hoffman ran as the Republican candidate for

Michigan's 4th congressional district Michigan's 4th congressional district is a United States congressional district that from 2003 to 2013 included portions of Northern and Central Michigan, consisting of all of Clare, Clinton, Gladwin, Gratiot, Isabella, Mecosta, Midland, ...

, defeating incumbent Democrat

George Ernest Foulkes George Ernest Foulkes (December 25, 1878 – December 13, 1960) was a United States representative from Michigan. Foulkes was born in Chicago and attended the public schools of Chicago. He graduated from the law department of Lake Forest Unive ...

. Hoffman was elected to the Seventy-fourth United States Congress and was re-elected to the thirteen succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1935 until January 3, 1963. He was seen as "a bitter lone wolf" during much of his time in office, unable to work with either the Democrats or the Republicans. Hoffman voted against the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Hoffman was a vocal opponent of the National Polio Immunization Program, claiming that the U.S. Public Health Service had been heavily infiltrated by

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

n-born doctors. In addition, he was known as an

anti-Semite Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Ant ...

with

fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

sympathies, even speaking at rallies held for the far-right America First Party (1944). He was chairman, Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments (

Eightieth Congress The 80th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1947, ...

) and the Committee on Government Operations ( Eighty-third Congress). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1962 to the

Eighty-eighth Congress The 88th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, ...

. Hoffman retired to his home in Allegan, Michigan.

Personal and death

Hoffman died at home, age 92. He was interred at Oakwood Cemetery in Allegan.

Bibliography

Walker, Donald Edwin. "The Congressional Career of Clare E. Hoffman, 1935-63." Ph.D. diss., Michigan State University, 1982.

References

Sources

The Political Graveyard

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Clare 1875 births 1967 deaths People from Union County, Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Old Right (United States) People from Allegan, Michigan Michigan lawyers Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni American anti-communists 20th-century far-right politicians in the United States