Grafton Dulany Cushing (August 4, 1864 – May 31, 1939) was an American teacher, lawyer, and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as the 45th lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 1915 to 1916. A

Progressive Republican The Republican Party in the United States includes several factions, or wings. During the 19th century, Republican factions included the Half-Breeds, who supported civil service reform; the Radical Republicans, who advocated the immediate and t ...

, his unsuccessful decision to contest the 1915 Republican gubernatorial primary against Samuel W. McCall opened the door for conservative Republican

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

's rise to lieutenant governor, and eventually state governor and president of the United States.

Biography

Early life and career

Cushing was born on August 4, 1864 to a prominent New England family that had produced several generations of Massachusetts politicians. His father Robert headed the mercantile house

Russell & Company Russell & Company () was the largest American trading house of the mid-19th century in China. The firm specialised in trading tea, silk and opium and was eventually involved in the shipping trade. Foundation In 1818, Samuel Russell was approach ...

. His uncle was New York socialite Thomas Forbes Cushing. Cushing studied at Noble's Classical School. He then graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1885 and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1888. At Harvard, he was a member of the

Hasty Pudding Club The Hasty Pudding Club, often referred to simply as the Pudding, is a social club at Harvard University, and one of three sub-organizations that comprise the Hasty Pudding - Institute of 1770. The current clubhouse was designed by Peabody and ...

. After graduating from law school, Cushing spent a year teaching at

Groton School Groton School is a Private school, private, college-preparatory school, college-preparatory, day school, day and boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, United States. It is affiliated with the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcop ...

. He left Groton for three years to enter private practice at Shattuck & Munroe, a Boston law firm, and contributed two articles to the ''

Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of ...

''. He returned to Groton in 1892, teaching in various capacities until 1906. He served on the Boston school board from 1900 to 1906, and was president of the board from 1902 to 1903. In 1903, Cushing became the president of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. According to the Society's website, he changed the Society's philosophy from taking children away from at-risk families to helping those at-risk families provide better conditions for their children. He also chaired the Massachusetts Child Labor Committee.

Political career

During Cushing's time as a teacher, he served as the president of the Massachusetts Republican Club in 1905 and 1906. Cushing's progressive views caught the attention of

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

, whose sons attended Cushing's school; Roosevelt was the leader of the progressive faction in the Republican Party. As summarized by Roosevelt, Cushing believed that "our aim must be the supremacy of justice, a more satisfactory distribution of wealth - so far as this is attainable - with a view to a more real equality of opportunity, and in sum a higher social system." Roosevelt encouraged Cushing to expand his political career. Roosevelt's interest in Cushing may have been more than purely political: in Cushing's obituary, the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said that at one point, he had reportedly been engaged to Roosevelt's daughter

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

. Cushing was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1905 and became Speaker of the House in 1912. In 1914, he successfully ran for Lieutenant Governor. At the time, the custom of the Massachusetts Republican Party was that the lieutenant governor ordinarily went on to become governor. However, Cushing served under a Democratic governor, David Walsh, disrupting the usual course of events. (Until 1966, candidates for Massachusetts governor and lieutenant governor were separately elected, which facilitated

split-ticket voting Split-ticket voting or ticket splitting is when a voter in an election votes for candidates from different political party, political parties when multiple political office, offices are being decided by a single election, as opposed to straight- ...

.) Ahead of the 1915 election, Cushing was faced with a choice: running for re-election as lieutenant governor, or competing with Samuel W. McCall for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Although McCall had never served as lieutenant governor, he was a political veteran, having represented Massachusetts 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 ...

for twenty years. Cushing decided to run for governor, which opened the door for Massachusetts Senate president

, also a Republican, to run for lieutenant governor. One of Coolidge's biographers said that if Cushing had deferred to McCall and ran for a second term as lieutenant governor, Coolidge would not have run against him. Cushing's gamble failed: although he outpolled McCall in Boston, McCall narrowly defeated him by just 6,143 votes (48.66% to 44.13%). Coolidge went on to become Lieutenant Governor, Governor, Vice President, and finally President of the United States. Cushing's political fortunes waned with those of the Republican Party's progressive wing. When Theodore Roosevelt returned to the GOP following the defeat of the

Bull Moose Party The Progressive Party, popularly nicknamed the Bull Moose Party, was a Third party (U.S. politics), third party in the United States formed in 1912 by former president Theodore Roosevelt after he lost the 1912 Republican Party presidential prim ...

, Cushing supported his unsuccessful campaign for the 1916 Republican presidential nomination. In 1917, Cushing launched a primary challenge to unseat now-Governor McCall, but lost handily. Following these setbacks, Cushing exited electoral politics.

Post-political career

After leaving electoral politics, Cushing entered the banking business. During World War I, he headed a "semi-official commission of nine American business men" invited to the United Kingdom to inspect British military facilities. He encouraged the American government to provide additional

Liberty Loan A liberty bond or liberty loan was a war bond that was sold in the United States to support the Allies of World War I#Co-belligerents; the United States, Allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty ...

support to the British government.

Personal life

Cushing was a lifelong bachelor, despite his rumored engagement to Alice Roosevelt. During his years at Groton, Cushing cohabited with William Amory Gardner, the school's co-founder. He was one of the founding trustees of the

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts, which houses significant examples of European, Asian, and American art. Its collection includes paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and decorative arts. It was found ...

, which was established by Amory Gardner's aunt. A socialite and a dandy, Cushing was a member of the

Knickerbocker Club The Knickerbocker Club (known informally as The Knick) is a gentlemen's club in New York City that was founded in 1871. It is considered to be the most exclusive club in the United States and one of the most Aristocracy (class), aristocratic gent ...

of New York and the

Somerset Club The Somerset Club is a private social club in Boston, Massachusetts that opened to members in 1852, but had origins in related associations dating back to 1826. It is a center of Boston Brahmin families - New England's upper class - and is know ...

of Boston. The ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' described him as a "

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on Land reclamation, reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the ...

social dictator." When an overdressed Loring Young visited then-Vice President Calvin Coolidge in Washington, D.C., Coolidge joked, "Hello, Loring, seen Grafton Cushing lately?" In 1911, the ''

'' reported on Cushing's attempt to build a stone wall separating his family's

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

beach house from that of

Henry Clews Henry Clews (August 14, 1834 – January 31, 1923) was a British-American financier and author. He was an economic advisor to President Ulysses S. Grant, and a friend of Abraham Lincoln. Born in Staffordshire, England, he emigrated to the United ...

. Cushing and his brother were reportedly irritated by the frequent screaming of Clews' toddler grandson. In 1929, Cushing moved to New York City. He died on May 31, 1939.

References