Arthur Vivian Watkins

Arthur Vivian Watkins (* 18th December 1886 in Midway , Wasatch County , Utah ; † 1. September 1973 in Orem , Utah) was an American politician of the Republican Party . From 1947 to 1959 he sat for the US state of Utah in the US Senate .

Life

Watkins was born in Midway, Utah, the son of Arthur Watkins and Emily Adelia Gerber. There he attended public schools. Watkins studied law at the Universities of Brigham Young , New York and Columbia . In 1912 he successfully completed his studies, returned to Utah, was admitted to the bar and practiced from then on in Vernal .

In 1914 he worked as an editor for a local newspaper in Vernal. In the same year he was appointed assistant district attorney for Salt Lake County . From 1919 to 1925 he worked as a farmer. Between 1928 and 1933 he was a judge on the court for the Fourth Judicial District of Utah , a state court.

In 1936 Watkins ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the US House of Representatives . In 1946 he ran again, this time for a seat in the US Senate. He prevailed against Orrice Abram Murdock and took his seat in January 1947. In 1952 he was re-elected. During his tenure in the Senate, he chaired the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs . He also chaired the subcommittee that dealt with the allegations against Joseph McCarthy . In 1958 Watkins tried again to be re-elected. In the primary he prevailed against J. Bracken Lee . Lee ran in the main election as an independent candidate, so that the Republican electorate was divided and the Democrat Frank Moss was able to prevail. Watkins resigned from the Senate in 1959.

After leaving the Senate, he first moved to Salt Lake City , then later to Orem. He authored a book of his work on the McCarthy subcommittee, entitled Enough Rope: The Inside Story of the Censure of Senator Joe McCarthy by his Colleagues: The Controversial Hearings that Signaled the End of a Turbulent Career and a Fearsome Era in American Public Life . Watkins died in Orem on September 1, 1973. There he was buried in the Eastlawn Memorial Hills cemetery . He left behind his (second) wife Dorothy and two children.

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personal data
SURNAME	Watkins, Arthur Vivian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American Republican Party politician
DATE OF BIRTH	December 18, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH	Midway , Wasatch County , Utah
DATE OF DEATH	September 1, 1973
Place of death	Orem , Utah