Robert Clymer Hendrickson Sr. (August 12, 1898December 7, 1964) was an American attorney, Republican Party politician, and diplomat who represented New Jersey in 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 1949 to 1955. He also served in local and county offices in Gloucester County, which he represented in the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...

from 1934 to 1940, and served as New Jersey Treasurer from 1942 to 1949. After his term as United States Senator expired, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed him as United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa from 1955 to 1956. He was a key ally of Governor Alfred E. Driscoll, who managed Hendrickson's campaign for governor in 1940 and supported his campaign for the Senate in 1948. He won the nomination for Senate by gaining establishment support from local and county Republican leaders, which forced incumbent Albert W. Hawkes out of the race ahead of the primary. However, involvement in such intraparty fighting led to his withdrawal from the 1954 campaign, and he was succeeded by Clifford Case.

Early life, military service and education

Robert Clymer Hendrickson was born in

Woodbury, New Jersey Woodbury is a city in and the county seat of Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

on August 12, 1898. He attended Woodbury High School before leaving to enlist in the United States Army in 1918. Since he left for war before his senior year of high school ended, Hendrickson received his diploma while he was deployed in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. While there, he served as an ambulance driver and private. He graduated from Temple University Law School in 1922. After graduating from law school, Hendrickson was admitted to the New Jersey bar, commencing practice in Woodbury.

Political and diplomatic career

State politics

Hendrickson was a member of the Gloucester County Board of Chosen Freeholders from 1929 to 1934 and was city solicitor of Woodbury in 1931. In 1933, he was elected to represent Gloucester County in the

. He served two three-year terms from 1934 to 1940. He was named vice chair of the Commission on the Delaware River Basin in 1936 and served in that role until 1951. In 1939, he was President of the Senate. In 1940, Hendrickson ran for governor. He defeated former governor Harold G. Hoffman in the Republican primary but lost the general election to former United States Secretary of the Navy Charles Edison by roughly 64,000 votes out of 1,900,000 cast. His unsuccessful campaign was managed by Camden County senator Alfred E. Driscoll. Although Hendrickson's defeat represented a setback for the Republican Party, which also lost seats in the legislature, it elevated Driscoll to senate majority leader, which he later parlayed into an election as governor himself in 1946.Felzenberg, Alvin S
Biography of Alfred E. Driscoll (PDF)
New Jersey State Library Also in 1940, Hendrickson became a member of the board of managers of the Council of State Governments, which he chaired in 1941.

State treasurer and World War II service

Hendrickson was appointed by his opponent, Governor Edison, to serve as state treasurer in 1942. He remained in that office until 1949, serving under two additional governors, Walter E. Edge and Driscoll. While serving as state treasurer in 1943, Hendrickson rejoined the Army, received a commission as a major, and served as the chief legal officer of the Fifth Army during the

Allied invasion of Italy The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allies of World War II, Allied Amphibious warfare, amphibious landing on mainland Italy that took place from 3 September 1943, during the Italian campaign (World War II), Italian campaign of World War II. T ...

. In that role, he worked on the re-establishment of civil rights and local courts, the implementation of denazification programs, and the care of displaced persons. He left the service as a colonel in 1946. While in the Senate, he was called back into active duty for the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

in 1951. He served on the New Jersey Constitutional Revision Commission.

United States Senate

In the 1948 United States Senate election, Governor Driscoll and other Republican leaders sought to replace incumbent Albert W. Hawkes with a candidate who was more moderate and ostensibly electable, particularly after Hawkes expressed his "hatred" for the late President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

at a private fundraiser. After their initial choice, David Van Alstyne, failed to unify establishment support against Hawkes, Hendrickson entered the race on February 13, 1948, with the support of 17 out of 21 county Republican leaders. Hawkes, facing an uphill battle against Driscoll and Hendrickson, ended his campaign on March 5, bitterly denouncing Driscoll, Hendrickson, and the "

South Jersey South Jersey, also known as Southern New Jersey, comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located between Pennsylvania and the lower Delaware River to its west, the Atlantic Ocean to its east, Delaware to its south, ...

coalition" which had beaten him. In the April primary, Hendrickson defeated state labor commissioner Harry Harper. In the November general election, he narrowly defeated Archibald S. Alexander, a Princeton attorney with the

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

firm of Carter Ledyard & Milburn. While in the Senate, Hendrickson was one of a few Republicans to oppose

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 ...

, signing the committee report censuring McCarthy for his conduct. From 1953 to 1955, Hendrickson also headed a subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary to study juvenile delinquency; the resulting report was published in 1956 as a book written with investigative journalist Fred J. Cook titled, "Youth in Danger".

Ambassador

Following his retirement from the Senate in 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Hendrickson as Ambassador to New Zealand and

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

; he resigned on November 20, 1956, to return to his law practice in Woodbury.

Personal life and death

Hendrickson married Olga Bonsai of Woodbury in 1919. They had at least one son and four daughters and twenty-two grandchildren as of his death in 1964. Hendrickson died at his home in Woodbury on December 7, 1964, following a major surgery. He was buried in Eglington Cemetery in Clarksboro, New Jersey.

References

External links

Robert C. Hendrickson Papers
at Syracuse University {{DEFAULTSORT:Hendrickson, Robert 1898 births 1964 deaths County commissioners in New Jersey Republican Party New Jersey state senators United States Army officers Republican Party United States senators from New Jersey Politicians from Woodbury, New Jersey Ambassadors of the United States to New Zealand Presidents of the New Jersey Senate Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni Woodbury Junior-Senior High School alumni 20th-century American diplomats Military personnel from Gloucester County, New Jersey 20th-century United States senators 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature