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Pat Mccarran: Political Boss Of Nevada
Although Patrick A. McCarran represented one of the least populated states in the country, he gained a national reputation as a U.S. Senator from Nevada. He entered the political spotlight by locking horns with the Roosevelt and Truman administrations on foreign policy, internal security, and many domestic issues. His strategic use of committee assignments, coupled with a strong backing of loyal, home-state supporters, enabled him to achieve a powerful position in the government. Within his native state of Nevada, McCarran constructed a machine designed to dominate the state’s political and economic life. This domination, which extended to both political parties, was built on personal favors for constituents, shrewd use of patronage, rewards for friends, and inevitable punishment for those suspected of being enemies. Ironically, the Senator employed the same tactics that others had once used against him to stymie his own early political efforts. This work discusses the Senator’s background, his rise to power, and his methods of establishing political domination. Personal correspondence, excerpts from speeches, newspaper editorials, and interviews all help bring to life a colorful account of a controversial, driven man who held the levers of political control in Nevada during the early twentieth century.
255 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 4, 2019
This was a book about a most unpleasant man, a narrow minded man, a bigoted man. Pat McCarran
played the political game really rough to become the Political Boss Of Nevada.
Until a spurt of growth brought on by the expansion and growth of Las Vegas and to a lesser extent
Reno, Nevada the Sagebrush state was 48th in population among the 48 continental US states, was
when I was born and was until Alaska was admitted in 1959. A lot of counties with populations very
low, some in triple digits. It got into the union because of its mineral wealth which Abraham Lincoln
was concerned not fall into Confederate hands. A state that could be run like a Chicago ward.
McCarran was one of many who did. He was born in 1876 and held a number of legislative and
judicial posts until running in 1932 for the US Senate beating incumbent Republican Tasker Oddie.
In the Senate he voted a lot with southern Democrats, occasionally for New Deal reforms and more
often not. He opposed FDR's Supreme Court packing plan and was a thoroughgoing isolationist.
He was a most serious Roman Catholic, two of his daughters became nuns. McCarran saw the
Catholic church as the bulwark against the scourge of Communism. In the 30s he found the leader
he admired most in the world Francisco Franco of Spain. Drew Pearson labeled McCarran,"the
Senator from Madrid".
Locally McCarran did well by his state bringing in the federal dollars. He was a dominating personality those he could not bend to his will, he sought to remove. He feuded with nearly all of
his Senate colleagues from Nevada in his lifetime. He had an iron grip on federal patronage which
he used to establish a personal machine.
In the Truman years McCarran reached his height. He was the head of the Senate Internal Security
Subcommittee and did a lot of investigating looking for traitors which was something he got
confused with dissent. He fought for the passage of a restrictive immigration policy that bore his
name. He sponsored legislation establishing a Subversive Activities Control Board that was gotten
rid of in the 60s. He'd have loved the idea of a border wall with Mexico.
He was to the right in the Democratic party, more to the right than many Dixiecrats. He had ill
health and a bad heart and in 1954 right after giving a speech at a political rally, keeled over and
died of a heart attack.
Author Jerome E. Edwards said of McCarran, "Personality characteristics that were attractive in his
youth - a take-charge, helpful spirit and great energy - intensified with age into an insatiable
desire to dominate".
I guess that sums up Pat McCarran, a most unpleasant Senator.
played the political game really rough to become the Political Boss Of Nevada.
Until a spurt of growth brought on by the expansion and growth of Las Vegas and to a lesser extent
Reno, Nevada the Sagebrush state was 48th in population among the 48 continental US states, was
when I was born and was until Alaska was admitted in 1959. A lot of counties with populations very
low, some in triple digits. It got into the union because of its mineral wealth which Abraham Lincoln
was concerned not fall into Confederate hands. A state that could be run like a Chicago ward.
McCarran was one of many who did. He was born in 1876 and held a number of legislative and
judicial posts until running in 1932 for the US Senate beating incumbent Republican Tasker Oddie.
In the Senate he voted a lot with southern Democrats, occasionally for New Deal reforms and more
often not. He opposed FDR's Supreme Court packing plan and was a thoroughgoing isolationist.
He was a most serious Roman Catholic, two of his daughters became nuns. McCarran saw the
Catholic church as the bulwark against the scourge of Communism. In the 30s he found the leader
he admired most in the world Francisco Franco of Spain. Drew Pearson labeled McCarran,"the
Senator from Madrid".
Locally McCarran did well by his state bringing in the federal dollars. He was a dominating personality those he could not bend to his will, he sought to remove. He feuded with nearly all of
his Senate colleagues from Nevada in his lifetime. He had an iron grip on federal patronage which
he used to establish a personal machine.
In the Truman years McCarran reached his height. He was the head of the Senate Internal Security
Subcommittee and did a lot of investigating looking for traitors which was something he got
confused with dissent. He fought for the passage of a restrictive immigration policy that bore his
name. He sponsored legislation establishing a Subversive Activities Control Board that was gotten
rid of in the 60s. He'd have loved the idea of a border wall with Mexico.
He was to the right in the Democratic party, more to the right than many Dixiecrats. He had ill
health and a bad heart and in 1954 right after giving a speech at a political rally, keeled over and
died of a heart attack.
Author Jerome E. Edwards said of McCarran, "Personality characteristics that were attractive in his
youth - a take-charge, helpful spirit and great energy - intensified with age into an insatiable
desire to dominate".
I guess that sums up Pat McCarran, a most unpleasant Senator.
January 29, 2022
A decent review of political episodes in Nevada history with a central focus on McCarran's brand of midcentury realpolitik. It's a profitable book if that is all the reader is looking for, but this is far from an adequate portrait of the man.
Pat McCarran was a ranking US Senator with a half-century long record of political involvement. There are a wealth of quotes and anecdotes that could've enriched this slim volume, but they didn't make it in, and I think that was a bad call on Edwards' part. It could have made a good book a great one.
Overall, I learned a lot of cool things about Nevada and the midcentury political era from this book, and that's why I'm glad to have read it. The political scene there hasn't changed much. There is also no question McCarran helped build the state into what it is today by action and inaction (he deserves that airport title more than Dingy Harry).
And if you want my opinion on McCarran based on this inadequate book- he may be a bastard, but he's my bastard. He helped save whatever function the Supreme Court had left by opposing court packing. He rightly flagged Communism as the top geopolitical threat. He understood that gambling was something for Nevada to grow past, not rely upon as the number one industry for the long haul. He's weighed in the balance and found...marginally acceptable for his era.
But that last paragraph is all editorial. For all you Nevada history scholars out here, there is a huge, gaping hole on this topic and I hope someone fills it in the near future. McCarran deserves a William Manchester-style treatment.
Pat McCarran was a ranking US Senator with a half-century long record of political involvement. There are a wealth of quotes and anecdotes that could've enriched this slim volume, but they didn't make it in, and I think that was a bad call on Edwards' part. It could have made a good book a great one.
Overall, I learned a lot of cool things about Nevada and the midcentury political era from this book, and that's why I'm glad to have read it. The political scene there hasn't changed much. There is also no question McCarran helped build the state into what it is today by action and inaction (he deserves that airport title more than Dingy Harry).
And if you want my opinion on McCarran based on this inadequate book- he may be a bastard, but he's my bastard. He helped save whatever function the Supreme Court had left by opposing court packing. He rightly flagged Communism as the top geopolitical threat. He understood that gambling was something for Nevada to grow past, not rely upon as the number one industry for the long haul. He's weighed in the balance and found...marginally acceptable for his era.
But that last paragraph is all editorial. For all you Nevada history scholars out here, there is a huge, gaping hole on this topic and I hope someone fills it in the near future. McCarran deserves a William Manchester-style treatment.
May 30, 2017
A good scholarly book. Edwards did a good job. It pointed out McCarran for what he was - a vindictive man who was mostly out for himself.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews