Jack H. Backman (April 26, 1922 – July 19, 2002) was an American politician who served in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

and the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

Early life

Backman was born on April 26, 1922, in

Saugus, Massachusetts Saugus is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 28,619 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Saugus is known as the site of the first integrated iron work ...

. His father was a shoe factory foreman and Backman grew up in various New England manufacturing towns, including

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest List of municipalities in Massachusetts, municipality in Massachusetts, United States, and the largest city in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line ...

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...

, and

Claremont, New Hampshire Claremont is the only city in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 12,949 at the 2020 census. Claremont is a core city of the Lebanon–Claremont micropolitan area, a bi-state, four-county region in the upper Connec ...

. In 1943 he graduated from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

. 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 ...

he was a sergeant in the

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. In 1948 he graduated from

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 ...

. From 1961 to 1966 he was a member of the

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...

Housing Authority.

Massachusetts General Court

Backman was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1965 to 1971 and the Massachusetts Senate from 1971 to 1987. While in the House he served as Vice-Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and later as Chairman of the Special Commission on Drug Abuse. In the Senate he remained Chairman of the Special Commission and was Chairman of the Senate Committee on Social Welfare, which became the Committee on Human Services and Elderly Affairs. During his tenure in the General Court, Backman was involved in a number of social issues, including health care, mental health, prison reform, divestment of pension funds from South Africa, labor issues, and the plight of refugees. In 1971 he proposed replacing welfare with a guaranteed annual income that would provide a family of four a minimum of $5,500.

Later life and death

After his retirement, Backman continued to crusade for social causes. He founded Human Rights for All, a nonprofit organization that promoted the implementation of the

United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, ...

. Backman died on July 19, 2002, at

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, Massachusetts is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and one of the founding members of Beth Israel Lahey Health. It was formed out of the 1996 merger of Beth Israel Hospital (f ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Rep. Barney Frank read the followin
statement
into the Congressional Record following Senator Backman's death, which includes a moving Boston Globe editorial by Renee Loth, chief Globe editorial writer, commemorating Sen. Backman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Backman, Jack 1922 births 2002 deaths Syracuse University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Massachusetts state senators Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Politicians from Bangor, Maine Politicians from Brookline, Massachusetts People from Claremont, New Hampshire Politicians from Lynn, Massachusetts Politicians from Newton, Massachusetts United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces soldiers 20th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court

Early life

Massachusetts General Court

Later life and death

See also

References