Frank Bateman Keefe
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Frank Bateman Keefe (September 23, 1887February 5, 1952) was an American lawyer and Republican politician from
Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List o ...
. He served six terms in the
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...
, representing
Wisconsin's 6th congressional district Wisconsin's 6th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in eastern Wisconsin. It is based in the rural, suburban and exurban communities between Madison, Milwaukee, and Green Bay. It also ...
from 1939 to 1951. He previously served six years as district attorney of
Winnebago County, Wisconsin Winnebago County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 171,730. Its county seat is Oshkosh. It was named for the historic Winnebago people, a federally recognized Native American tribe now known ...
.


Early life and education

Frank Keefe was born in
Winneconne, Wisconsin Winneconne is a village in Winnebago County, Wisconsin. The population was 2,544 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The village is located within the Winneconne (town), Wisconsin, Town of Winneconne. Developed along the Wo ...
, in September 1887. He was educated at public schools and went on to attend Oshkosh State Normal School (now the
University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh The University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh (UW Oshkosh or UWO) is a public university in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs to around 13,0 ...
). He graduated in 1906 and went to work as a school teacher in
Viroqua, Wisconsin Viroqua is the county seat of Vernon County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,504 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is in the Viroqua (town), Wisconsin, town of Viroqua. Etymology The town was originally name ...
, for two years. He continued his education at the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
and earned his
LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
in 1910.


Early legal and political career

He was admitted to the bar at
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
. He briefly worked as an attorney in
Portage, Wisconsin Portage is a city in Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 10,581 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in Columbia County. It is part of the Madison metropolitan area. Portage was named for ...
, before returning to the Oshkosh area in 1911 and opening a law firm in
Omro, Wisconsin Omro is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,652 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is located along the Fox River (Green Bay tributary), Fox River, approximately 10 miles west of Oshkos ...
. As a young man, he was active in the
Democratic Party of Wisconsin The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is currently headed by chair Ben Wikler. Important issues for the state party include support for workers and unions, strong public edu ...
. He first sought public office in 1912, when he was elected village president of Omro. Later that year, he was solicited to run for
Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...
on the Democratic Party ticket in what was then Winnebago County's 3rd Assembly district, but he did not enter the race. In 1914, he sought election as village president again but lost the election to Frank W. Stanley. Days after the 1914 election, Keefe launched a criminal complaint against Charles H. Stevens, alleging he circulated false accusations against Keefe in the election, at the time this was prosecutable under the state's new corrupt practices act. The alleged false statement was that Keefe had accepted a $500 bribe from a brewery to allow them to open a saloon in Omro. Stevens was convicted by a jury, but he appealed the conviction. Keefe moved to Oshkosh later that year. In the fall of 1914, he was elected chairman of the Winnebago County Democratic Party, and served in that role for several years. After the 1914 fall election, he was hired as Winnebago County's first assistant district attorney, under
district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...
Daniel E. McDonald. McDonald declined to run again in 1916, and Keefe stood as the Democratic candidate for district attorney. He lost the general election to Republican David K. Allen. In subsequent years, Keefe became increasingly active in local affairs and civic groups. He served on the city
draft board {{further, Conscription in the United StatesDraft boards are a part of the Selective Service System which register and select men of military age in the event of conscription in the United States. Local board The local draft board is a board tha ...
after the United States entered he was a member of the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE), commonly known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks, is an American fraternal order and charitable organization founded in 1868 in New York City. Originally established as a social club for m ...
, and was president of the local
Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. In 1987, the organization ...
. He also partnered with Henry Barber in his law practice, under the firm name Barber In 1912, Oshkosh had adopted a different form of municipal government, where the councilmembers were elected at large. Keefe championed a movement to return to the traditional city council model of aldermanic districts, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Keefe attended
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
's 2nd inauguration in 1917, and spoke vigorously in defense of the Democratic Party agenda as late as the spring of 1920. It was a surprise two months later when Keefe sought the Republican Party nomination for district attorney, challenging the incumbent David K. Allen. In a statement, Keefe acknowledged his past association with the Democratic Party and explained that he had always considered himself an independent. He further suggested that the party platforms had very little difference as of 1920. Allen won the primary. Two years later, Keefe challenged Allen again, and lost a third time. As a new member of the Republican Party, Keefe identified with the progressive wing. When Wisconsin U.S. senator Robert M. La Follette ran for the presidency in 1924 on the Progressive Party ticket, Keefe supported him.


District attorney

In 1926, district attorney David K. Allen announced he would not run again. Keefe entered the race to succeed him; he defeated assistant district attorney R. Curtis Laus and former Menasha city attorney Silas L. Spengler in the Republican primary. He faced no opposition in the general election. In his first term as district attorney, Keefe took down two of the county's highest ranking elected officials. He brought charges of corruption and mismanagement against Winnebago County sheriff Walter F. Plummer in the fall of 1927. He concluded, however, that he had no legal recourse against the sheriff, so instead made his case to the governor, Fred R. Zimmerman, who was empowered to remove sheriffs for cause. Three weeks of hearings were held in early 1928, in which it was detailed that the sheriff had accepted bribes for protection of
speakeasies A speakeasy, also called a beer flat or blind pig or blind tiger, was an illicit establishment that sold alcoholic beverages. The term may also refer to a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. In the United State ...
operating during Prohibition, and had separately used confiscated alcohol from other prohibition-related raids for parties and "orgies" held at the county jail, and had otherwise abused his authority over the jail. Zimmermann stripped Plummer of his office. Keefe followed that act by arresting and indicting the chairman of the Winnebago County board, George A. Loescher. Loescher was charged with self-dealing in contracts for the county's Sunnyview sanatorium and Hicks Memorial Home over ten years. Loescher ultimately made a plea deal, pleading ''
nolo contendere ''Nolo contendere'' () is a type of legal plea used in some jurisdictions in the United States. It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. It is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a Criminal charge, charg ...
'', resigning from office, and paying a penalty. Keefe was subsequently re-elected in 1928 and 1930. He announced in March 1932 that he would not run for a fourth term. After leaving office, Keefe returned to his legal practice, then known as Barber, Keefe, Patri, & Horwitz. In December 1933, however, he was appointed to serve as a special prosecutor for the neighboring Outagamie County district attorney in an investigation of financial irregularities in county agencies. Keefe delivered his report two months later, detailing self-dealing and rigged bidding practices in the county highway department; he named several local and county elected officials as complicit in the scheme, and also accused several others of being negligent in their oversight responsibilities. During these years he also became president of the county bar and a member of the board of governors of the state bar.


Congress

Although Keefe had supported La Follette in his independent Progressive Party bid for the presidency in 1924, when La Follette's sons broke off from the
Republican Party of Wisconsin The Republican Party of Wisconsin is a conservative politics, conservative and Right-wing populism, populist political party in Wisconsin and is the Wisconsin affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party (GOP) ...
and created the
Wisconsin Progressive Party The Wisconsin Progressive Party (1934–1946) was a political third party that briefly held a major role in Wisconsin politics under the two sons of the late Robert M. La Follette. It was on the political left wing, and it sometimes cooperated wit ...
in 1934, Keefe remained with the Republican Party. In 1936, Keefe made his first run for
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...
after he was endorsed by the 6th congressional district Republican convention. Despite the strong endorsement from the delegates, he still faced a primary against former state senator Albert J. Pullen. Keefe won the primary with two thirds of the vote. In the general election, Keefe faced incumbent Democrat Michael Reilly, running for his fourth consecutive term, and a third party challenge from Progressive Adam F. Poltl, who was then the mayor of
Hartford, Wisconsin Hartford is a city in Washington County, Wisconsin, Washington and Dodge County, Wisconsin, Dodge counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,000. All of this popul ...
. Much of the race was a debate over national policies of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. Keefe attacked Roosevelt for wasteful spending, broken promises, and radicalism, saying his farm policies were destroying domestic farm products and lowering the tariff barrier to foreign imports. Keefe also tried throughout the fall to engage Reilly in a debate, but Reilly avoided it and mocked the request. Reilly also accused Keefe of trying to obfuscate his party affiliation and avoid mention of the Republican presidential nominee
Alf Landon Alfred Mossman Landon (September 9, 1887October 12, 1987) was an American oilman and politician who served as the 26th governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1937. A member of the Republican Party, he was the party's nominee in the 1936 presidential ...
. Reilly narrowly won the election, taking 39% of the vote in the three-way race. Keefe ran again in the 1938 midterm. This time he faced no opponent for the Republican nomination, but still saw unusually high turnout at the primary. He faced Reilly and Poltl again in the general election. Keefe doubled down on his attacks on the Roosevelt administration, calling him a "dictator" over his
court packing A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts general ...
and government reorganization plans, but softened his opposition to several
New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
policies such as the
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...
and the
Public Works Administration The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by United States Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was ...
. Keefe also feuded openly with the press, particularly the editor of the ''Sheboygan Press''. Another major issue in the 1938 election was the
Townsend Plan The Townsend Plan, officially the Old-Age Revolving Pensions (OARP) plan, was a September 1933 proposal by California physician Francis Townsend for an old-age pension in response to the Great Depression, leading to a social and political movement. ...
, an alternative social security proposal; Keefe eventually endorsed the plan. The 1938 election saw a Republican wave; Keefe defeated Reilly, Poltl, and a fourth candidate from the short-lived Union Party, taking an outright majority of the vote in the general election. During the 76th Congress, Keefe embraced the work of the
House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 19 ...
and became a vocal anti-communist, with increasingly hostile rhetoric toward the Roosevelt administration. Keefe was also outspoken and voted repeatedly to maintain strict U.S. neutrality as Europe spiraled into During the Congress, he also voted for the creation of American
concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...
s, intended for the detention of
aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, a lifeform with ext ...
whose country of origin would not readmit them. Keefe said of the measure, "If we detain American citizens who are unable to cope with conditions, why not detain aliens?" In early 1940, Keefe flirted with a run for
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 ...
, to challenge incumbent Robert M. La Follette Jr., but he ultimately chose to run for re-election to the House instead. Keefe easily won his second term with 57% of the vote in the 1940 election. In the 77th Congress, Keefe was appointed to the powerful
House Appropriations Committee The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Co ...
, and remained a member of that committee for the rest of his career in Congress. He continued his opposition to all aide to countries participating in , saying that
Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft) * 28 naval vessels: ** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign) * ...
would be tantamount to a declaration of war. His position shifted dramatically after the
Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...
in December 1941. Keefe then embraced the war effort, but spent much of 1942 attempting to justify his previous anti-war position. Nevertheless, Keefe won his third term in 1942 by his largest margin yet, taking 62% of the vote. Keefe won three more terms, serving until January 1951. In the
79th Congress The 79th 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, 19 ...
, he was appointed to the
Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGra ...
. In 1950, Keefe announced he would retire from Congress, but Wisconsin press speculated that this was in preparation for a run for U.S. Senate or Governor in 1952. It's unknown if Keefe would have launched a campaign; on February 6, 1952, Keefe collapsed and died of a heart attack after giving a speech at a women's luncheon club in
Neenah, Wisconsin Neenah ( ) is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. It is situated on the banks of Lake Winnebago, Little Lake Butte des Morts, and the Fox River (Green Bay tributary), Fox River approximately northeast of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, O ...
.


Personal life and family

Frank Keefe was the third of eight children born to Thomas Martin and Kathryn Rogene (' Forsythe) Keefe. Thomas Keefe was a child of
Irish American Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...
immigrants, and one of the earliest settler families in Winnebago County; Thomas's elder brother was described as the first white child born in the town of
Poygan, Wisconsin Poygan is a town in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,301 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 35.89%, is water, con ...
. On December 13, 1912, Frank Keefe married Mildred Virginia Steele of
Ripon, Wisconsin Ripon () is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 7,863 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is surrounded by the Ripon (town), Wisconsin, Town of Ripon. Ripon is home to the Little White S ...
. They had three children together and were married for forty years before his death in 1952.


Electoral history


U.S. House of Representatives (1936–1948)


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keefe, Frank Bateman 1887 births 1952 deaths People from Winneconne, Wisconsin People from Viroqua, Wisconsin Politicians from Vernon County, Wisconsin People from Portage, Wisconsin Politicians from Columbia County, Wisconsin People from Omro, Wisconsin Politicians from Oshkosh, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni District attorneys in Wisconsin Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin 20th-century Wisconsin politicians American people of Irish descent 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives