Fred Dubois
Encyclopedia
Fred Thomas Dubois was a controversial American politician who served two terms in the United States Senate
from Idaho
. He was best-known for his opposition to the gold standard
and his efforts to disenfranchise
Mormon
voters.
, was an immigrant who distinguished himself at the Battle of Tippecanoe
. Dubois' father, Jesse K. Dubois, was an official at the United States Land Office in Palestine, Illinois, a former judge and state legislator, an early supporter of the Republican Party
, and a close friend of fellow Illinois Republican Abraham Lincoln
. In 1856 the elder Dubois was elected Illinois State Auditor and moved the family to the state capital, Springfield
.
Fred Dubois studied at Yale
from 1870 to 1872, where he was elected to Scroll and Key
. He then participated in business until 1875, when he was appointed to the board of railroad and warehouse commissioners of Illinois. He held this position for one year, resigning shortly before the death of his father. In 1880, he moved to Idaho Territory
with his brother, Jesse Dubois, Jr. (1850–1908), a doctor.
In 1882, Dubois was appointed to be the United States Marshal for the Idaho Territory. During this period Dubois launched a successful campaign to disenfranchise Mormon voters in Idaho Territory on the grounds they broke the law by practicing polygamy
.
incumbent, John Hailey
, and remained in the position until statehood.
Dubois strongly supported Idaho's application for statehood and opposed efforts to split the territory among neighboring regions. He reputedly lobbied President Benjamin Harrison
in support of Idaho statehood by alluding to the common Battle of Tippecanoe connection between Dubois' grandfather and Harrison's grandfather, William Henry Harrison
.
became the State of Idaho
in July 1890. In November of that year Dubois helped engineer a plan for the Idaho Legislature to effectively elect three people to the United States Senate
: Governor George L. Shoup to the Class 2 seat up for election in 1894, state constitutional convention member William J. McConnell
to serve for the remainder of the Fifty-first United States Congress ending in March 1891, and Dubois himself to succeed McConnell and serve a full six-year term in the Class 3 seat beginning in March 1891.
During his first term in the Senate, Dubois concentrated on domestic politics, advocating for positions that he thought would benefit Idaho. He was a strong supporter of tariff
s, particularly on wool
and lead
which Idaho produced much of. He also helped to negotiate a treaty with the Nez Perce Native Americans in 1894. In 1895, commenting on the exemption of the Bannocks from hunting limits, he said, "the extermination [driven over the boundary] of the whole lazy, shiftless non-supporting tribe of Bannocks would not be any great loss."
Dubois' most prominent position, however, was in support of bimetallism
. In 1896, he was among those who left the Republican Party to join the Silver Republican
faction. He considered having the Idaho Republicans fuse with the Democrats and Populists, but his allies were ousted from the Idaho Republican Party. This disorganization gave control of the Idaho Legislature to the Democrats and Populists. In 1896 Dubois was defeated for reelection in the Idaho Legislature by Populist
Henry Heitfeld
. After leaving the Senate in 1897, Dubois returned to his ranch in Blackfoot
, where he grew alfalfa
.
and joined the Democratic Party, one of few politicians in that era to do so. He remains the only person in Idaho history to serve in the United States Congress
as both a Republican and a Democrat.
During his second term in the Senate, Dubois continued to advocate abandoning the gold standard, but focused most of his attention on opposition to imperialism
and Mormonism
. Dubois led a group of senators which tried to force Reed Smoot
of Utah
, the first Mormon ever elected to the Senate, to resign.
Dubois strongly opposed efforts to make the Philippines
, which were annexed from Spain
after the Spanish-American War
, an American territory. Dubois first supported independence for the Philippines, but after a 1905 visit he declared that Filipinos could not rule themselves and advocated selling the islands to Japan
. His main reason for opposing expansion was that he was afraid of the new territories' economic competition with the rest of America. Dubois also supported strong limits on Chinese
immigration.
Dubois broke with most Democrats of the day and supported President Theodore Roosevelt
's agenda of environmental conservationism. He supported William Randolph Hearst
for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1904.
ism, Democrats in Idaho suffered significant electoral losses during his second term in the Senate. In 1906, a Republican Idaho Legislature chose prominent Boise
attorney William Borah
to replace Dubois in the Senate.
Dubois lived the rest of his life in Washington, D.C.
He made attempts at writing and business, which largely failed. He supported Champ Clark for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1912, but after Clark's defeat he worked for the Woodrow Wilson
campaign in 1912 and 1916. His last major political action was in 1918 when he supported the election of various politicians from both parties in Idaho to support Wilson's progressive
agenda, including Borah. Dubois served on the Board of Ordinance from 1918 to 1920 and on a commission on U.S. boundary disputes with Canada
from 1924 until his death on February 14, 1930. He was buried in Blackfoot.
in Clark County
, as well as Dubois Avenue in Twin Falls
are named after Dubois.
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
. He was best-known for his opposition to the gold standard
Gold standard
The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed mass of gold. There are distinct kinds of gold standard...
and his efforts to disenfranchise
Disfranchisement
Disfranchisement is the revocation of the right of suffrage of a person or group of people, or rendering a person's vote less effective, or ineffective...
Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
voters.
Early life and career
Dubois was of French-Canadian descent. His paternal grandfather, Toussaint DuboisToussaint Dubois
Toussaint Dubois was a Montreal born Frenchman and American soldier who joined with Lafayette to fight for American independence in the American Revolutionary War.-Biography:...
, was an immigrant who distinguished himself at the Battle of Tippecanoe
Battle of Tippecanoe
The Battle of Tippecanoe was fought on November 7, 1811, between United States forces led by Governor William Henry Harrison of the Indiana Territory and Native American warriors associated with the Shawnee leader Tecumseh. Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa were leaders of a confederacy of...
. Dubois' father, Jesse K. Dubois, was an official at the United States Land Office in Palestine, Illinois, a former judge and state legislator, an early supporter of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, and a close friend of fellow Illinois Republican Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. In 1856 the elder Dubois was elected Illinois State Auditor and moved the family to the state capital, Springfield
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
.
Fred Dubois studied at Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
from 1870 to 1872, where he was elected to Scroll and Key
Scroll and Key
The Scroll and Key Society is a secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the wealthiest and second oldest Yale secret society...
. He then participated in business until 1875, when he was appointed to the board of railroad and warehouse commissioners of Illinois. He held this position for one year, resigning shortly before the death of his father. In 1880, he moved to Idaho Territory
Idaho Territory
The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 4, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Idaho.-1860s:...
with his brother, Jesse Dubois, Jr. (1850–1908), a doctor.
In 1882, Dubois was appointed to be the United States Marshal for the Idaho Territory. During this period Dubois launched a successful campaign to disenfranchise Mormon voters in Idaho Territory on the grounds they broke the law by practicing polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
.
Territorial delegate
Based on this political success, in 1886 Dubois ran as a Republican for the Congressional delegate position from Idaho Territory. He defeated the DemocraticDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
incumbent, John Hailey
John Hailey
John Hailey was a Congressional Delegate from Idaho Territory.He was born in Smith County, Tennessee, and attended the public schools. Of Scottish ancestry, his grandfather, Philip Hailey, and his father, John Hailey, were both natives of Virginia...
, and remained in the position until statehood.
Dubois strongly supported Idaho's application for statehood and opposed efforts to split the territory among neighboring regions. He reputedly lobbied President Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
in support of Idaho statehood by alluding to the common Battle of Tippecanoe connection between Dubois' grandfather and Harrison's grandfather, William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...
.
Senator
Idaho TerritoryIdaho Territory
The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 4, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Idaho.-1860s:...
became the State of Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
in July 1890. In November of that year Dubois helped engineer a plan for the Idaho Legislature to effectively elect three people to the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
: Governor George L. Shoup to the Class 2 seat up for election in 1894, state constitutional convention member William J. McConnell
William J. McConnell
William John McConnell was the third Governor of Idaho from 1893 until 1897. Prior to that he represented Idaho as one of its first United States Senators after statehood.-Early years:...
to serve for the remainder of the Fifty-first United States Congress ending in March 1891, and Dubois himself to succeed McConnell and serve a full six-year term in the Class 3 seat beginning in March 1891.
During his first term in the Senate, Dubois concentrated on domestic politics, advocating for positions that he thought would benefit Idaho. He was a strong supporter of tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
s, particularly on wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
and lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
which Idaho produced much of. He also helped to negotiate a treaty with the Nez Perce Native Americans in 1894. In 1895, commenting on the exemption of the Bannocks from hunting limits, he said, "the extermination [driven over the boundary] of the whole lazy, shiftless non-supporting tribe of Bannocks would not be any great loss."
Dubois' most prominent position, however, was in support of bimetallism
Bimetallism
In economics, bimetallism is a monetary standard in which the value of the monetary unit is defined as equivalent both to a certain quantity of gold and to a certain quantity of silver; such a system establishes a fixed rate of exchange between the two metals...
. In 1896, he was among those who left the Republican Party to join the Silver Republican
Silver Republican Party
The Silver Republican Party was a United States political faction active in the 1890s. It was so named because it split from the Republican Party over the issues of "Free Silver" and bimetallism. The main Republican Party supported the gold standard....
faction. He considered having the Idaho Republicans fuse with the Democrats and Populists, but his allies were ousted from the Idaho Republican Party. This disorganization gave control of the Idaho Legislature to the Democrats and Populists. In 1896 Dubois was defeated for reelection in the Idaho Legislature by Populist
Populist Party (United States)
The People's Party, also known as the "Populists", was a short-lived political party in the United States established in 1891. It was most important in 1892-96, then rapidly faded away...
Henry Heitfeld
Henry Heitfeld
Henry Heitfeld was an American politician. A Populist, he served as a United States Senator from Idaho.-Early life:...
. After leaving the Senate in 1897, Dubois returned to his ranch in Blackfoot
Blackfoot, Idaho
Blackfoot is a city in Bingham County, Idaho, United States. The population was 10,419 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Bingham County. Blackfoot is self-designated the "Potato Capital of the World", because it claims to have the largest potato industry in the world...
, where he grew alfalfa
Alfalfa
Alfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop in the US, Canada, Argentina, France, Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, and many other countries. It is known as lucerne in the UK, France, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, and known as...
.
Return to the Senate
As the Silver Republican faction declined, it was thought by many that Dubois' political career was over. But in 1900, after refusing to rejoin the Republican Party, he was elected again to the United States Senate by the Democratic Idaho Legislature by defeating Shoup, his onetime political ally. Shortly after returning to the Senate in 1901, Dubois switched partiesParty switching
Party-switching is any change in political party affiliation of a partisan public figure, usually one currently holding elected office.In many countries, party-switching takes the form of politicians refusing to support their political parties in coalition governments...
and joined the Democratic Party, one of few politicians in that era to do so. He remains the only person in Idaho history to serve in the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
as both a Republican and a Democrat.
During his second term in the Senate, Dubois continued to advocate abandoning the gold standard, but focused most of his attention on opposition to imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
and Mormonism
Mormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...
. Dubois led a group of senators which tried to force Reed Smoot
Reed Smoot (U. S. Senator)
Reed Owen Smoot was a native-born Utahn who was first elected to the United States Senate from Utah in 1903, and served as a Senator until 1933...
of Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, the first Mormon ever elected to the Senate, to resign.
Dubois strongly opposed efforts to make the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, which were annexed from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
after the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, an American territory. Dubois first supported independence for the Philippines, but after a 1905 visit he declared that Filipinos could not rule themselves and advocated selling the islands to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. His main reason for opposing expansion was that he was afraid of the new territories' economic competition with the rest of America. Dubois also supported strong limits on Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
immigration.
Dubois broke with most Democrats of the day and supported President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
's agenda of environmental conservationism. He supported William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1904.
Defeat and later years
Caused in no small part by Dubois' obsession with anti-MormonAnti-Mormon
Anti-Mormonism is discrimination, persecution, hostility or prejudice directed at members of the Latter Day Saint movement, particularly The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
ism, Democrats in Idaho suffered significant electoral losses during his second term in the Senate. In 1906, a Republican Idaho Legislature chose prominent Boise
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
attorney William Borah
William Edgar Borah
William Edgar Borah was a prominent Republican attorney and longtime United States Senator from Idaho noted for his oratorical skills and isolationist views. One of his nicknames later in life was "The Lion of Idaho."...
to replace Dubois in the Senate.
Dubois lived the rest of his life in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
He made attempts at writing and business, which largely failed. He supported Champ Clark for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1912, but after Clark's defeat he worked for the Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
campaign in 1912 and 1916. His last major political action was in 1918 when he supported the election of various politicians from both parties in Idaho to support Wilson's progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
agenda, including Borah. Dubois served on the Board of Ordinance from 1918 to 1920 and on a commission on U.S. boundary disputes with Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
from 1924 until his death on February 14, 1930. He was buried in Blackfoot.
Legacy
The town of DuboisDubois, Idaho
Dubois is a city in Clark County, Idaho, United States. The population was 647 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Clark County.The city was named for U.S. Senator Fred Dubois....
in Clark County
Clark County, Idaho
Clark County is a rural county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2000 Census the county had a population of 1,022 . The county seat and largest city is Dubois...
, as well as Dubois Avenue in Twin Falls
Twin Falls, Idaho
Twin Falls is the county seat and largest city of Twin Falls County, Idaho, United States. The population was 44,125 at the 2010 censusTwin Falls is the largest city of Idaho's Magic Valley region...
are named after Dubois.