Frederick Lee Hall (July 24, 1916 – March 18, 1970) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician who served as the 31st

lieutenant governor of Kansas The lieutenant governor of Kansas is the second-ranking member of the executive branch of Kansas state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket with the governor for a four-year term. The lieutenant governor succeeds to the o ...

from 1951 to 1955 and 33rd

governor of Kansas 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'' ma ...

from 1955 until 1957 and a justice of the

Kansas Supreme Court The Kansas Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of seven justices, led by Chief Justice Marla Luckert, the court supervises the legal profession, administers the judicial branch, and serves as t ...

from 1957 to 1958. He was a member of the Republican Party.

Biography

Hall was born in

Dodge City Dodge City is a city in and the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. It was named after nearby Fort Dodge, which was named in honor of Grenville Dodge. The city ...

and graduated from Dodge City High School where his participation on the debate team and his academic achievements earned him a scholarship to the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. While attending U.S.C., he was a member of the International Debating Team, finished his B.A. degree in 1938, stayed on and earned his J.D. degree. He married Leadell Schneider and they had one child.

Career

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Hall enlisted and was rejected when he failed to pass his physical. From 1942 to 1944, he served as an assistant director of the

Combined Production and Resources Board The Combined Production and Resources Board was a temporary World War II government agency that allocated the combined economic resources of the United States and Britain. It was set up by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston ...

, coordinating

production planning Production planning is the planning of Production (economics), production and manufacturing modules in a company or industry. It utilizes the resource allocation of activities of employees, raw material, materials and production capacity, in ord ...

with Britain and Canada, and based in Washington. Hall established his law practice in

Topeka Topeka ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeaste ...

and

and served as the Ford County attorney from 1947 to 1949. Elected Lieutenant Governor of Kansas, he served from 1951 to 1955. Elected in 1954, Hall was sworn into the governorship on January 10, 1955. During his tenure, the director of the state purchasing agency was fired, a high school aid law was authorized, a water resource commission was organized, and a "right to work" bill was vetoed. Hall saw right-to-work legislation as a way to pit people against each other, and believed that the Republican Party shouldn't be an anti-labor party. Hall resigned to become a justice of

in 1957 after being defeated in the primary for re-election to office, in what is known as the "triple-play of 1956". Warren Shaw defeated Hall in the Republican primary for governor, and Shaw lost the subsequent Gubernatorial general election to

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 ...

George Docking George Docking (February 23, 1904 – January 20, 1964) was an American businessman who served as the 35th governor of Kansas (1957–1961). He was a member of the Democratic Party. Biography Born in Clay Center, Kansas, Docking was educated ...

. Sitting Chief Justice Bill Smitha strong supporter of Hallwas seriously ill and contemplating a retirement from his position as Chief Justice; however, he was concerned that if he retired after Docking took office in January 1957, Docking would appoint a Democrat as chief justice. Smith, Hall, and Lieutenant Governor

John McCuish John Berridge McCuish (June 22, 1906 – March 12, 1962) was the 34th governor of Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, McCuish is best known for his 11-day tenure as Kansas' governor, during which he appointed his immediate predecessor ...

devised a plan to prevent this from happening. Chief Justice Smith resigned effective January 3, 1957. Smith's resignation was quickly followed by Governor Hall's resignation also effective on January 3, 1957. As a result of Hall's resignation, Lieutenant Governor McCuish was sworn in as Kansas Governor. On the same day Walter G. Thiele became Chief Justice and Hall replaced Thiel as a justice of the

. Thiel left the court the same day Docking became governor and Jay S. Parker replaced Thiel as chief justice. Hall served on the Supreme Court bench until April 7, 1958, when he resigned to again run for the governorship where he lost the primary. Defeated in his bid, he retired from politics and moved to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

where he became an executive in the management control of the Aerojet General Corporation. Hall served as the president of the California Republican Assembly He was elected to the position at the organization's 1962 convention. Hall, who had found evidence of anti-Semitic and segregationist attitudes from

John Birch Society The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, right-wing populist, and ...

members in the California Republican Assembly, described the Society's ideology as totalitarian and the closest thing to a fascist party in America.Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars; Kliph Nesteroff, 2023 In 1964, he ran for the Republican nomination for the

1964 United States Senate election in California The 1964 United States Senate election in California was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent Democratic Senator Clair Engle, who had been first elected in 1958, underwent surgery for a brain tumor in August 1963. Facing a primary challenge f ...

, losing to

George Murphy George Lloyd Murphy (July 4, 1902 – May 3, 1992) was an American actor and politician. Murphy was a song-and-dance leading man in many big-budget Hollywood musicals from 1930 to 1952. He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1944 to ...

, a retired Hollywood star. He returned later to

and resumed his law practice.

Death and legacy

He was a member of the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

and a member of

Phi Kappa Tau Phi Kappa Tau (), commonly known as Phi Tau (), is a collegiate fraternity located in the United States. The fraternity was founded in 1906. As of May 2024, the fraternity has 161 chartered chapters, 83 active chapters, 7 associate chapters, a ...

fraternity and elected to a term on the Phi Kappa Tau National Council in 1956. Hall died at

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

and is interred at Maple Grove Cemetery in Dodge City.

References

External links

*
The Political GraveyardPublications concerning Kansas Governor Hall's administration available via the KGI Online Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Fred 1916 births 1970 deaths People from Dodge City, Kansas University of Southern California alumni Republican Party governors of Kansas Justices of the Kansas Supreme Court Lieutenant governors of Kansas 20th-century Kansas politicians 20th-century American lawyers USC Gould School of Law alumni 20th-century American judges American United Methodists 20th-century Methodists California Republicans