Darlington Hoopes (September 11, 1896 – September 25, 1989) was an American politician and lawyer who served in the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

as a member of the

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of America ...

. He served as chairman of the Socialist Party of America from 1946 to 1968. Hoopes was born in LaVale, Maryland, and educated at the George School and the University of Wisconsin School of Agriculture. He ran for multiple offices with the Socialist nomination and served in multiple position within the Socialist Party; with him later becoming chairman of the party. He served as the Socialist Party's vice-presidential nominee during the 1944 presidential election and as the party's presidential nominee during the

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

and

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

presidential elections. Hoopes conducted the last presidential campaigns of the Socialist Party of America. He briefly joined the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James ...

in the 1930s before returning to the Socialist Party and later joined the

Socialist Party USA The Socialist Party of the United States of America (also Socialist Party USA or SPUSA) is a socialist political party in the United States. SPUSA formed in 1973, one year after the Socialist Party of America splintered into three: Social De ...

after the dissolution of the Socialist Party.

Early life

Darlington Hoopes was born on September 11, 1896, in LaVale, Maryland, to

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

parents. He graduated from the George School in 1913, and attended the University of Wisconsin School of Agriculture. He was admitted to the

Pennsylvania Bar Association The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in Pennsylvania, United States. The association offers membership benefits, including publications, practice support, networking, and continuing ...

in 1921. He married Hazelette Miller, with whom he had three children.

Career

Early and party politics

Hoopes ran to be the Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Berks County, Pennsylvania, with the Socialist nomination in 1927, 1929, and 1957. From 1928 to 1932, he served as Assistant City Solicitor of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

and then as City Solicitor of Reading from 1936 to 1940. He served as the Socialist nominee for

Governor of Pennsylvania The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

during the 1946 elections. Hoopes became a member of the

in 1914. During the 1920s he served as secretary of the Socialist Party of Pennsylvania. Hoopes served as a member of the national Socialist executive committee during the 1930s. Hoopes was selected to serve as the chairman of the Socialist Party of America's 1934 national convention by a vote of 69 to 61 against George E. Roewer. He served as chairman of the Socialist Party of America from 1946 to 1968. Hoopes joined the

in 1973. In 1936, the Socialist Party of Pennsylvania severed its connection with the Socialist Party of America over ideological and tactical differences."SDF Calls Convention at Pittsburgh, May 20," ''The New Leader'' ew York vol. 20, no. 7 (Feb. 13, 1937), pp. 1-2. Hoopes remained with the state organization outside of any national organization. On February 7, 1937, the Socialist Party of Pennsylvania called an "Eastern States Conference of Social Democratic Organizations" in Philadelphia which moved forward towards establishing a new organization, the

. Hoopes was named to the 7 member committee which issued a call for a National Convention in Pittsburgh, to be held May 29–31, 1937.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Hoopes won election to the

in 1930, with the Socialist nomination alongside fellow Socialist Lilith M. Wilson. Hoopes and Wilson were the first third party delegation to serve in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives since 1917. During the 1930 campaign Hoopes had been arrested for attempting to conduct a political meeting without a permit, but the charges against him were later dropped. He was reelected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1932 and 1934. Hoopes ran for reelection in 1936, but lost in the general election. Hoopes sought election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1938, but lost.

Presidential and vice-presidential campaigns

On June 4, 1944, Hoopes was selected unanimously as the vice-presidential running mate to

Norman Thomas Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was an American Presbyterian religious minister, minister, political activist, and perennial candidate for president. He achieved fame as a socialism, socialist and pacifism, pacifis ...

, who was seeking the presidency for the fifth time. The Thomas and Hoopes presidential ticket placed fourth in the general election and received 79,019 votes. During the 1948 presidential election Hoopes was endorsed for the vice-presidency by the Socialist Party of Pennsylvania. However, Tucker P. Smith won the party's vice-presidential nomination at the national convention. On May 5, 1952, the Socialist Party of Massachusetts endorsed Hoopes for the Socialist Party of America's presidential nomination and Robin Myers for the vice-presidential nomination. Hoopes won the party's presidential nomination on a unanimous vote after his two opponents dropped out and Samuel H. Friedman was selected unanimously as his vice-presidential running mate. Hoopes was chosen as the party's presidential nominee after Thomas announced that he would not seek the party's presidential nomination again. During the campaign Hoopes spent $150 and in the general election he placed sixth after receiving 20,203 votes. He was the last member of the Socialist Party to appear on the ballot in Maine until a candidate of the Socialist Party USA appeared on the ballot for a seat in the

Maine Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the st ...

in the 2018 election. Hoopes and Friedman were selected as the party's presidential and vice-presidential nominees during the 1956 presidential election. However, the sixty delegates to the Socialist Party of America's national convention chose not to spend large amounts of money or effort on campaigning for president and would instead seek write-in votes for Hoopes and Friedman. In the general election he placed tenth after receiving 2,128 votes. Hoopes' 1956 presidential campaign was the last conducted by the Socialist Party of America before its dissolution in the 1970s.

Later life

From 1957 to 1962, Hoopes served as president of the Pennsylvania Equal Rights Council. He also served as president of the Berks County Bar Association from 1961 to 1962. On September 25, 1989, Hoopes died in a nursing home in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania of natural causes.

References

External links

Darlington Hoopes on Social Justice
(on

The History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the General Entertainment Content division of The Wa ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoopes, Darlington 1896 births 1989 deaths American Christian socialists American people of English descent People from Allegany County, Maryland Politicians from Berks County, Pennsylvania Quaker socialists Socialist Party of America presidential nominees Socialist Party USA politicians Socialist Party of America politicians from Maryland Candidates in the 1952 United States presidential election Candidates in the 1956 United States presidential election 1944 United States vice-presidential candidates Socialist Party of America politicians from Pennsylvania Members of the Social Democratic Federation (United States) George School alumni Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly