Culbert Olson

Culbert Levy Olson (born November 7, 1876 in Fillmore , Millard County , Utah , † April 13, 1962 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ). He was the 29th Governor of California from 1939 to 1943 .

youth

Culbert was a son of Daniel Olson and Delilah King. His mother was a member of the women's rights movement and was the first woman in Utah to be elected to public office. The parents were members of the Mormon Faith . However, Culbert did not believe in the existence of God and became an atheist . That alienated him from his parents. After elementary school he worked briefly in a telegraph office. He then studied law and journalism at Brigham Young University in Provo . After graduating, he worked as a journalist for the newspaper “Daily Ogden Standard”. He then continued his law studies in Michigan and at George Washington University in Washington, DC . In 1901 he was finally admitted to the bar in Utah.

Careers in Utah

In 1901 he settled in Salt Lake City and opened a law firm that was best known for defending unionists or politically progressive clients. In 1916 he finally decided to become politically active. After he had massively sided with the Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan in his newspaper in 1896 , he was now elected to the Utah House of Representatives , where he campaigned against child labor, for pensions for older workers and for better control of public institutions . However, he decided against re-election in 1920 and moved his residence to Los Angeles, California.

New start in California

He settled in Los Angeles as a lawyer and soon gained a reputation similar to that in Utah. He never lost sight of politics. In 1924 he supported Robert M. La Follette sr. and in 1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt in their election campaigns for the presidency. In 1934 he successfully applied for a seat in the California Senate as a Democrat . At the same time he supported the former socialist Upton Sinclair , who applied, albeit unsuccessfully, for the office of governor. In the California Senate, he was a supporter of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal program. He also campaigned against monopoly positions held by oil companies. For the gubernatorial elections in 1938 he was put up as their candidate by the Democrats with the support of Roosevelt. His opponent was the incumbent Frank Merriam, who by now was extremely unpopular with both conservatives and more liberal forces. As a result, Olson managed a clear win with 52 to 44 percent of the vote a comfortable win. This ended a decade-long series of defeats for the Democratic Party in California. No Democrat had made it to the highest government office in California since 1895, when James Budd won the election.

Governor of California

On January 2, 1939, Olson took office as the 29th Governor of California. The beginning of his term of office was overshadowed by personal problems. Just four days after taking office, he suffered a collapse that doctors attributed to a weak heart. Shortly afterwards, his wife Kate died. Politically, he tried to build friendly relationships with union leaders. Under his conservative predecessor, Merriam, relations with the trade unions had been severely disrupted since the days of the dock workers' strike in San Francisco in the summer of 1934. In September 1939 he pardoned Thomas Mooney , who had been imprisoned since 1916 for alleged involvement in an assassination attempt, but whose guilt was never proven. His alleged accomplice Willings was also pardoned a month later. Politically, he was in a difficult position. The majority in parliament saw him as a friend of the left and a communist. As a result, many of his applications have been rejected or stalled. As an atheist he was particularly suspicious of the Catholic Church and tried in vain to reduce its influence in the field of education. From December 1941 onwards, all these political activities were overshadowed by the consequences of the Second World War, which was now also beginning for the United States . The US was drawn into the war by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. On the west coast, and especially in California, there was now a fear of a possible Japanese invasion. On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt ordered all people of Japanese descent living on the west coast to be arrested and placed under guard in camps. The aim was to prevent a possible Japanese conspiracy. Governor Olson half-heartedly approved Roosevelt's move, but bowed to the president's arguments. The 1942 elections were also overshadowed by the war. The Republicans still accused Olson of left-wing attitudes. They also accused him of having pursued party political goals during wartime. Olson's challenger became Attorney General Earl Warren . Warren, a Liberal Republican, promised moderate and neutral policies, especially in these difficult times of war. In the end, Warren won the election by a large margin (57 percent against 41 percent of the vote). Olson later blamed the Catholics and a privately controlled conspiracy against him for his defeat.

Old age and death

After the end of his tenure, Olson practiced law again. He made headlines again in the 1950s when the State House of Representatives passed a law exempting Catholic schools from property tax, and Olson, staying true to his opinion, sued against it. In 1957 he became president of an association called "United Secularists of America", in which mainly atheists and free thinkers were organized. Olson died on April 13, 1962 at the age of 85.

family

He was married to Kate Jeremy, who passed away shortly after his inauguration as governor. The couple had three sons.

Web links

• Profile the Governor's Library (English)
• Culberth Olson at the National Governors Association (English)
• Culbert Olson in the database of Find a Grave (English)