John Marshall Butler (July 21, 1897March 14, 1978) was an American lawyer and politician. A Republican, he served as a

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

from 1951 to 1963.

Early life and career

Born in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, to John Harvey and Eunice West (née Riddle) Butler, he received his early education at public schools in his native city. He worked as a

paperboy A paperboy is someoneoften an older child or adolescentwho distributes printed newspapers to homes or offices on a regular route, usually by bicycle or automobile. In Western nations during the heyday of print newspapers during the early 20th cen ...

and later an employee at a mattress factory. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served as a private in 110th Field Artillery ( 29th Division) of the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

from 1917 to 1918. After his military service, he returned to Baltimore and attended

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

(1919-1921) before joining his father's real estate business. He studied nights at the

University of Maryland School of Law The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly University of Maryland School of Law from 1924 to 2011) is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1816, it i ...

, where he received his law degree in 1926. After his admission to the bar, he joined the Baltimore law firm of Venable, Baetjer & Howard, where he worked until 1950. He served as a member of City Service Commission of Baltimore from 1947 to 1949.

Political career

In 1950, Butler was elected as a Republican to the

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 ...

from Maryland. In the Republican primary, he lost the popular vote to D. John Markey by a margin of 51%-49%, but won the nomination after receiving a larger unit vote count at the state convention. In the general election, he faced four-term Democratic incumbent

Millard Tydings Millard Evelyn Tydings (April 6, 1890February 9, 1961) was an American attorney, author, soldier, state legislator, and served as a Democratic Representative and Senator in the United States Congress from Maryland, serving in the House from 1 ...

. Butler received strong support from Senator

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, whose accusations of

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

infiltration into the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

had been rejected by the Tydings Committee. During the campaign, McCarthy's staff distributed a pamphlet that featured a falsified photograph showing Tydings with Communist leader

Earl Browder Earl Russell Browder (May 20, 1891 – June 27, 1973) was an American politician, spy for the Soviet Union, communist activist and leader of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA). Browder was the General Secretary of the CP ...

. Butler eventually defeated Tydings by a margin of 53%-46%. Following the election results, Tydings petitioned the Senate to disqualify Butler due to McCarthy's campaign tactics. The Senate subsequently convened a special subcommittee, which declared that Butler's campaign used "despicable methods" against Tydings and fined one of his aides $5,000, but refused to expel Butler. Butler admitted to paying the printer of the pamphlet and described the falsified photograph as "a product of enthusiastic but ill-advised friends." During his tenure in the Senate, Butler established himself as a staunch conservative. He sponsored the

Communist Control Act of 1954 The Communist Control Act of 1954 (68 Stat. 775, 50 U.S.C. §§ 841–844) is an American law signed by President Dwight Eisenhower on August 24, 1954, that outlaws the Communist Party of the United States and criminalizes membership ...

, which outlawed the Communist Party and authorized the prosecution of Communist-infiltrated organizations. When the federal courts blocked some prosecutions, Butler submitted a constitutional amendment in 1955 to limit the courts' jurisdiction and an omnibus bill in 1958 for the same purpose. He was one of the twenty-two Senators who voted against the

censure A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a sp ...

of Senator McCarthy in 1954. He supported returning offshore oil lands to the states, and voted in favor of the non-interventionist Bricker Amendment. In 1956, Butler was re-elected to a second term after defeating Democrat George P. Mahoney by a margin of 53%-47%. Former Senator Tydings had originally won the Democratic nomination, but later dropped out of the race due to poor health. Butler decided not to seek re-election to a third term in 1962. Butler did not sign the 1956

Southern Manifesto The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the 84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places. The manife ...

, and voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

, but did not vote on the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In 1959 he was the lone Republican senator to vote against Hawaiian statehood.

Later life

After retiring from the Senate, Butler returned to Baltimore. At 80, he died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in Rocky Mount,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, as he and his wife were returning from a vacation on St. Simons Island in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. He is buried at

Druid Ridge Cemetery Druid Ridge Cemetery is located in Pikesville, Maryland, just outside the city of Baltimore. Among its monuments and graves are several noted sculptures by Hans Schuler and the final resting places of: *Felix Agnus, American Civil War general a ...

in Pikesville.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, John Marshall 1897 births 1978 deaths 20th-century American lawyers United States Army personnel of World War I American United Methodists Johns Hopkins University alumni Lawyers from Baltimore Maryland Republicans Military personnel from Baltimore Politicians from Baltimore Republican Party United States senators from Maryland United States Army soldiers University of Maryland, Baltimore alumni 20th-century Methodists American anti-communists 20th-century United States senators