Kit Francis Clardy (June 17, 1892 – September 5, 1961) was an American

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 ...

from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. He was also known as Michigan's McCarthy, referring to his affinity for the controversial anti-communist

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

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 ...

Early life

Clardy was born in

Butler, Missouri Butler is a city and the county seat of Bates County, Missouri, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The population was 4,220 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city is named for William Orlando Butler ...

, and afterwards moved with his family first to

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, and then in 1907 to a farm near

Liberty, Missouri Liberty is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Missouri, United States and is a suburb of Kansas City, located in the Kansas City Metro Area. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 30,167. Liberty is home to Willia ...

. He attended schools in Butler, Kansas City, and Liberty, and the

William Jewell College William Jewell College is a private liberal arts college in Liberty, Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and endowed with $10,000 by William Jewell. It was associated with the Missouri ...

in Liberty. He graduated from the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (branded as Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparati ...

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

in 1925 and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in the same year. He practiced law in

Ionia Ionia ( ) was an ancient region encompassing the central part of the western coast of Anatolia. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionians who ...

, 1925–1927; served as assistant attorney general of Michigan, 1927–1931; and was a member and chairman of the Michigan Public Utilities Commission from 1931–1934. Clardy reentered the private practice of law in 1934.

Political career

In 1950, Clardy lost to incumbent

William W. Blackney William Wallace Blackney (August 28, 1876 – March 14, 1963) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He served eight terms in the United States House of Representatives. Early life and education Blackney was born in Clio, Michigan, ...

in the Republican primary contest for 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

Michigan's 6th congressional district Michigan's 6th congressional district is a United States congressional district in southeast Michigan. In 2022, the district was redrawn to be centered around Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County, as we ...

. In 1952, Clardy won the Republican nomination after Blackney's retirement, and went on to defeat

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 ...

Donald Hayworth Donald Hayworth (January 13, 1898 – February 25, 1982) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. Hayworth was born in Toledo, Iowa, and attended a country school in Mahaska County, Iowa, and high school in New Sharon, Iowa. He gra ...

in the general election. He served a single term in the

83rd Congress The 83rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1953, until January 3, 1955, during the last two weeks of the Truman administration, with ...

, from January 3, 1953 until January 3, 1955. While in Congress, Clardy shared Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist sentiments and participated in

House Committee on Un-American Activities The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty an ...

(HUAC) hearings. Clardy conducted HUAC hearings in November 1953 in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

, in which the committee subpoenaed

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 ...

mathematics instructor

Chandler Davis Horace Chandler Davis (August 12, 1926 – September 24, 2022) was an American-Canadian mathematician, writer, educator, and left-wing political activist. The socialist magazine ''Jacobin'' described Davis as "an internationally esteemed mathemati ...

, pharmacology professor Mark Nickerson, and zoology professor

Clement Markert Clement Lawrence Markert (April 11, 1917 – October 1, 1999) was an American biologist credited with the discovery of isozymes (different forms of enzymes that catalyze the same reaction). He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences ...

. In May 1954 he conducted another HUAC hearing in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

, in which he reportedly "not only abused the witnesses but incited violence against them." Recalling how in 1937 college youths had thrown union organizers for the UAW- CIO into the Red Cedar River. He said, "I was proud of those kids. They should also have tossed into the river the then Governor, the late

Frank Murphy William Francis Murphy (April 13, 1890July 19, 1949) was an American politician, lawyer, and jurist from Michigan. He was a Democrat who was named to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1940 after a political career that included serving ...

." Reportedly, "Clardy's conduct of the hearing contributed to the lynch spirit which swept the city. A number of workers were dragged from their jobs in automobile plants by lynch gangs and beaten; hostile witnesses were evicted from their homes; their families had to go into hiding to escape the fury of mob hoodlums; the office of the lawyer for the witnesses was smeared with red paint." Clardy was defeated in the general election by Hayworth in 1954. In 1956, Clardy lost the Republican primary to Charles E. Chamberlain, who went on to defeat Hayworth in the general election.

Later life

In 1956 Clardy moved to

Palos Verdes Estates, California Palos Verdes Estates is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and neighboring Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills Estates. The city was master-planned by the noted American ...

, where he resided until his death there in 1961. He is interred in

Forest Lawn Memorial Park Forest Lawn may refer to: Cemeteries California * Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of cemeteries in southern California * Forest Lawn Cemetery (Cathedral City), California * Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale), California * Fore ...

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

References

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clardy, Kit Francis Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan California Republicans University of Michigan Law School alumni 1892 births 1961 deaths People from Palos Verdes Estates, California People from Ionia, Michigan People from Butler, Missouri Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) McCarthyism 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives Members of the House Un-American Activities Committee

Early life

Political career

Later life

See also

References